Dubai is home to a ridiculous indoor ski slope, the world’s most expensive cocktail and the very height of hubris, the Burj Tower: 2,260ft and still climbing. The diminutive emirate also likes to flex its coastline, building ludicrously shaped and immodestly named islands such as the Palm, the World and the Universe.

Comparisons with Dubai are inevitable, though not very useful. While not as cosmopolitan or as sophisticated as Dubai, Abu Dhabi also lacks traffic jams and the poseurs that plague its neighbour, making it a much more liveable city if you don’t crave clubbing. After closely watching Dubai’s phenomenal growth, Abu Dhabi has chosen its development projects wisely, and while the laid-back feel might eventually change, the local Emirati flavour of the capital appears certain to remain.

There is a different ethic driving Abu Dhabi’s sudden desire to be a hot tourist destination, another set of needs and desires. Dubai, 90 miles along the coast, hopes tourism will be a comfort when oil revenues dry up, which might be sometime soon. But Abu Dhabi is sitting on almost 10% of the world’s proven oil reserves and 4% of its gas: more than enough for at least another century.

Getting There

The best way is with Eithad (www.etihadairways.com), who operate seven flights a week from Dublin.

Flight EY48 departs Dublin on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 7.55pm and arrives in Abu Dhabi at 7.20am the following day.

Return flight EY41 departs Abu Dhabi on the same day at 1.50pm and arrives in Dublin at 6.25pm the same day.

Flight EY42 departs Dublin on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9.00am and arrives in Abu Dhabi at 8.25pm the same day.

Return flight EY45 departs from Abu Dhabi on the same days at 2.10am and arrives in Dublin at 6.45am the same day.

Special fares start at €448

What to See

On the Breakwater, beside the big flagpole, is the charming Abu Dhabi Heritage Village. After renovations, it’s now one of the most interesting in the UAE. Set in lush gardens with trickling fountains, it’s a lovely place to spend a morning, before it gets too steamy.

It offers a glimpse of Abu Dhabi life in the pre-oil days, with a re-creation of a souq, a traditional old mosque, a Bedouin encampment with a goat-hair tent and camels, and a barasti house. Workshops are held where you can watch craftsmen making pots, blowing glass, beating brass and weaving on traditional looms.

You don’t have to check in to Abu Dhabi’s extravagant Emirates Palace (www.emiratespalace.com) to check it out, and unlike Dubai’s Burj al- Arab, you’re not required to make a booking or spend your dirhams to take a peak. The hotel is so colossal – over 400 rooms and suites, 114 domes, a 2.5 km walk around its perimeter – it’s hardly going to get crowded.

And nor is your rubber-necking going to disrupt the privacy of VIP guests – the high-security Presidential, Rulers and Royal suites are on floors inaccessible to the rest of the guests, with their own private driveways and entrances. While the enormity of the building impresses, it’s the lavish use of marble, gold and crystal (1002 Swarovski chandeliers!) throughout that’s the most mind-boggling.

Once home to the ruling Al-Nahyan family, the splendid, white Qasr al-Husn palace, built in 1761, is Abu Dhabi’s oldest building. This is from where Abu Dhabi was governed from the 18th century until 1966. Not officially open to the public, the palace will soon be undergoing restoration to return it to its original state – until work begins you can call the Cultural Foundation to arrange an informal tour.

Decorated with gorgeous Portuguese tiles, the imposing main entrance features a small, wooden door spiked with black iron nails set within a larger wooden door. Within the walls there are pleasant courtyards and palm-filled gardens that are wonderful to wander around. Inside the palace itself are intricately carved wooden doors, long corridors divided by delicate mashrabiyya screens, and high-ceilinged rooms decorated with painted friezes of birds, peacocks, flowers and calligraphy.

Hotels

Abu Dhabi Hilton A well-established favourite in Abu Dhabi, this competent and elegant five-star hotel is everything one would expect of a Hilton. The relatively small rooms are nonetheless comfortable and many have views out to sea. While not exactly on the beach, the hotel is connected by underpass to the beach club. Rooms from €152

Millennium Hotel This delightful hotel in the heart of the city, with its elegant marble lobby and beautifully appointed rooms, is a real bargain. The service and facilities are of a uniformly high standard, and the Moroccan restaurant with live Arabic entertainment is worth a visit in its own right. It’s also home to Cristal, the best bar in town. Rooms from €160

Sheraton Towers & Hotel A visitor could be forgiven for taking one look at the outside of this particularly ugly hotel and running off to the competition. That would be a pity, however, as its ruby-marbled, floral-carpeted makeover makes the Sheraton one of the most grandiose venues in town. The Sheraton is particularly well placed for the frayed-nerved businessperson who is looking for easy access to the city but who has time to unwind in the landscaped garden, lounge in the attractive pools or dip a toe in the hotel’s private lagoon. Rooms from €170

Le Meridien Abu Dhabi Not entirely warranting its top dollar billing, Le Meridien is nonetheless a relaxed and comfortable (if somewhat odd) hotel. Conveniently situated near Abu Dhabi Mall and the rest of the commercial district, it also boasts a piece of beach, tennis courts and a large fitness centre. The words ‘quirky’ and ‘eclectic’ spring to mind in describing Le Meridien’s odd blend of French Art Nouveau and Arabic kitsch. With a majlis (Arabic tented seating area) and Moroccan fountain in the foyer, French bijoux lights dangling from the ceiling, and glass motifs that are more retro than nouveau, the guest may well forget that this is no-nonsense Abu Dhabi. The disorientation continues in the garden with an American sports bar, Turkish restaurant, French bistro and Thai cocktail bar. Rooms from €190

And of course, the Emirates Palace, where a basic room starts at €400. Is it worth it? Only to those who don’t care about the price.

Restaurants

If you’re peckish in the Abu Dhabi Heritage Village, try some traditional Emirati dishes or Arabic mezze at Al Dhafra, on the white-sand beach where you can enjoy the splendid city skyline while you eat.

Affectionately known as ‘Roy’s’, this neighbourhood café (Café du Roi, Corniche Rd West, Al-Khalidiya )is popular with expats and Emiratis alike, from academics calling in for a gossip over lunch to Emirati guys doing deals on their mobiles. The haloumi and zaatar croissant is delicious while the decent coffee is still the cheapest around.

Café Firenze (cnr Al Nasr & Tariq ibn Ziyad Sts, Al-Hosn) Beloved by the expat community, the large al fresco terrace makes this a wonderful choice when the weather is cool. They also make some of the best coffee around, along with delicious cooked breakfasts.

Carrefour (Marina Mall, Breakwater) has the best bakery and deli counter in Abu Dhabi, with barrels of delicious olives and Arabic cheeses, good quality fruit and vegetables, and a huge range of products from Europe.

India Palace (As-Salam St, Madinet Zayed) You’ll feel as if you’re in Rajasthan rather than Abu Dhabi when you eat at this expat favourite with its regal Raj interior and fine North Indian cuisine, including lots of vegetarian options and delicious tandoori dishes.

A Good Deal?

For $1 million (or an even cheaper-sounding €765,000) the Emirates Palace will fly you first class from anywhere served by Etihad, including Dublin, to Abu Dhabi.

You spend the next seven nights in the hotel’s 680sq m Palace Suite (that’s 7,300sq ft in old money, or about six three-bedroom semis). Decorated in gold, silver and marble, and with a lavish bedroom, it has a butler to make you feel at home. As if.

Waiting outside is a chauffeur-driven Maybach – as is a private jet, engines ticking over in readiness for your first day trip – to Iran, where you design a Persian carpet to be made by hand. Next you jet off to Jordan, to wallow in the Dead Sea, followed by spa treatments at the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar. Then there is a quick hop to Bahrain, to see pearl diving at first hand and, of course, take away a few choice souvenirs crafted into fine jewellery. You’ll also be taken to Yas, the region’s best-known perfumer, to create a signature scent.

Gifts to take home include more pearls from Tahiti’s Robert Wan, as well as a selection of “sporting guns”. Good luck getting those through the airport.

Three Things to See

Colosseum

Of all the monuments in Rome, the Colosseum thrills the most. It was here that gladiators met in mortal combat and condemned prisoners fought off hungry lions. This great symbol of eternal Rome still excites the imagination as you’ll see from the hordes waiting to get in.

Its construction was started by Emperor Vespasian in AD72 in the grounds of Nero’s private Domus Aurea and it was inaugurated by his son Titus in AD80. Thereafter, inaugural games lasted for 100 days and nights, during which some 5000 animals were slaughtered.

With the fall of the Empire, the Colosseum was abandoned and became overgrown with exotic plants; seeds had inadvertently been transported with the wild beasts that appeared in the arena (including crocodiles, bears, tigers, elephants and hippos.) In the Middle Ages it became a fortress, occupied by two of the city’s warrior families.

Damaged several times by earthquake, it was later used as a quarry for travertine and marble for Palazzo Venezia and other buildings. To this day, it remains an evocative place to explore.

Pantheon

Marcus Agrippa’s Pantheon is one of the world’s most sublime architectural creations: a perfectly proportioned floating dome resting on an elegant drum of columns and pediments. Built in 27 BC, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in 120 AD, it is one of Rome’s best-preserved ancient monuments. Its extraordinary dome is the largest masonry vault ever built.

The temple has been consistently plundered and damaged over the years; it lost its beautiful gilded bronze roof tiles in Pope Gregory III’s time, and in the 17th century, Pope Urban VIII allowed Bernini to melt down the bronze ceiling of the portico for the baldachin over the main altar of St Peter’s.

After being abandoned under the first Christian emperors, the Pantheon was converted into a church in 609 and dedicated to the Madonna and all the martyrs.

The Italian kings Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I and the artist Raphael are buried here.

Trastevere

Although its traditionally proletarian nature is changing as the crumbling palazzi become gentrified, a stroll among the labyrinthine alleys of Trastevere still reaps small gems of a bygone past. Washing strung out from the apartments in best Mama-leone tradition has everyone sighing and reaching for the Kodaks.

The lovely Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere is the area’s heart. It’s a true Roman square – by day peopled by mothers with strollers, chatting locals and guidebook-toting tourists, by night with artisans selling their craft work, young Romans looking for a good time, and the odd homeless person looking for a bed. The streets east of the piazza is where you’ll find the most photographed washing in the world.

Three things to Do

Walking Through Ancient Rome. A vast, almost unified archaeological park cuts through the center of Rome. It’s fun to wander on your own and let yourself get lost on the very streets where Julius Caesar and Lucrezia Borgia once trod. A slice of history unfolds at every turn: an ancient fountain, a long-forgotten statue, a ruined temple dedicated to some long-faded cult. A narrow street suddenly opens to a view of a triumphal arch. The Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill are the highlights, but the glory of Rome is hardly confined to these dusty fields. If you wander long enough, you’ll eventually emerge onto Piazza della Rotunda to stare in awe at one of Rome’s most glorious sights, the Pantheon.

Taking a Sunday Bike Ride. Only a daredevil would try this on city streets on a weekday, but on a clear Sunday morning, while Romans are still asleep, you can rent a bike and discover Rome with your own two wheels. The Villa Borghese is the best place to bike. Its 6.5km (4-mile) borders contain a world unto itself, with museums and galleries, a riding school, an artificial lake, and a grassy amphitheater. Another choice place for Sunday biking is the Villa Doria Pamphilj, an extensive park lying above the Janiculum. Laid out in the mid-1600s, this is Rome’s largest park, with numerous fountains and some summer houses.

Climbing Janiculum Hill. On the Trastevere side of the river, where Garibaldi held off the attacking French troops in 1849, the Janiculum Hill was always strategic in Rome’s defense. Today a walk in this park at the top of the hill can provide an escape from the hot, congested streets of Trastevere. Filled with monuments to Garibaldi and his brave men, the hill is no longer peppered with monasteries, as it was in the Middle Ages. A stroll will reveal monuments and fountains, plus panoramic views over Rome. The best vista is from Villa Lante, a Renaissance summer residence. The most serene section is the 1883 Botanical Gardens, with palm trees, orchids, bromeliads, and sequoias — more than 7,000 plant species from all over the world.

Churches

There are more than 900 churches in Rome.
The skeletal remains of 4,000 Capuchin monks, arranged in hearts and rosettes underneath the Santa Maria della Concezione (Via Veneto 27), make the people who stacked the bones in Paris’s catacombs look like amateurs.

What appears to be a dome at the Sant’Ignazio di Loyola (Piazza di Sant’Ignazio) is actually a trompe l’oeil, The Entry of St. Ignatius into Paradise, by 17th-century painter Andrea del Pozzo. Stand on the marble disk in the middle of the floor and look up. From here the dome looks almost real.

And, of course, the mother of them all…St Peter’s

In the nave on the right (the first chapel) stands one of the Vatican’s greatest treasures: Michelangelo’s exquisite Pietà, created while the master was still in his early 20s but clearly showing his genius for capturing the human form.

Under Michelangelo’s dome is the celebrated twisty-columned baldacchino(1524), by Bernini, resting over the papal altar. The 29m-high (96-ft.) ultrafancy canopy was created in part, so it’s said, from bronze stripped from the Pantheon, although that’s up for debate.

In addition, you can visit the treasury, which is filled with jewel-studded chalices, reliquaries, and copes. One robe worn by Pius XII strikes a simple note in these halls of elegance. The sacristy contains a Historical Museum (Museo Storico) displaying Vatican treasures, including the large 1400s bronze tomb of Pope Sixtus V by Antonio Pollaiuolo and several antique chalices.

You can also head downstairs to the Vatican grottoes, with their tombs of the popes, both ancient and modern (Pope John XXIII gets the most adulation). Behind a wall of glass is what’s assumed to be the tomb of St. Peter himself.

To go even farther down, to the necropolis vaticana, the area around St. Peter’s tomb, you must apply in advance at the Ufficio Scavi (tel. 06-69885318), through the arch to the left of the stairs up the basilica. You specify your name, the number in your party, your language, and dates you’d like to visit. They’ll notify you by phone of your admission date and time. For 10€ ($12), you’ll take a guided tour of the tombs that were excavated in the 1940s, 23 feet beneath the church floor. For details, check www.vatican.va.

After you leave the grottoes, you’ll find yourself in a courtyard and ticket line for the grandest sight: the climb to Michelangelo’s dome, about 113m (375 ft.) high. You can walk up all the steps or take the elevator as far as it goes. The elevator saves you 171 steps, and you’ll still have 320 to go after getting off. After you’ve made it to the top, you’ll have an astounding view over the rooftops of Rome and even the Vatican Gardens and papal apartments — a photo op, if ever there was one.A St. Peter’s Warning

St. Peter’s has a strict dress code: no shorts, no skirts above the knee, and no bare shoulders. You will not be let in if you don’t come dressed appropriately. In a pinch, men and women alike can buy a big, cheap scarf from a nearby souvenir stand and wrap it around their legs as a long skirt or throw it over their shoulders as a shawl. No photographs are allowed.

Where To Stay

Hotel Santa Maria (Vicolo del Piede 2; tel 06 589 46 26; www.hotelsantamaria.info; doubles €160-300) A gorgeous haven of tranquillity housed in a converted 17th-century cloister. 19 attractive rooms, set, hacienda-style, round a central courtyard – terracotta tiles, cream walls and wrought-iron bedsteads. Young, attentive, English-speaking management. This isn’t just the best hotel in Trastevere, but one of the best in Rome. It has got the lot – location (right in the heart of Trastevere); atmosphere (orange trees, a brick portico and wood-beamed ceilings); pretty, well-appointed rooms and an ample wine cellar. That the staff are so friendly is the icing on the cake. It’s the sort of place you look forward to returning to.

Residenza Cellini (tel 06 478 25 204; www.residenzacellini.it; Via Modena 5; double €150-200; metro Repubblica) Hidden away in a fairly non-descript building is this absolute gem of a place. Only six vast rooms with an atmosphere of discreet elegance. Antique furniture and modern fittings make a wonderful mix.

Hotel Capo d’Africa (Via Capo d’Africa 45, tel: 06 77 28 01; www.hotelcapodafrica.com; room from €230)

Big rooms (by Roman standards) in a chic, design hotel with great views of the Colosseum. Some might even describe it as “an eye-catching ensemble of neutral backgrounds, colourful contemporary furniture and bold Rothko-inspired artwork.” Throughout great care has been taken to incorporate comfort into the grand design, so while beds feature polished-wood headsteads they are firm with top quality linen. Similarly bathrooms sport grey marble sinks and soft, fluffy towels.

Hotel Bramante (tel 06 688 06 426; www.hotelbramante.com; Vicolo delle Palline 24; single/double €140/197; nr Vatican) A charming hotel tucked away behind St Peter’s in a restored 16^th-century building – a testament to the art of interior decoration. Antique furniture complements wooden-beamed ceilings and the details are just right. Terrific spot.

Hotel Teatro di Pompeo (tel 06 683 00 170; www.hotelteatrodipompeo.it; Largo del Pallaro 8; singles/doubles from €130/170; nr Corso Vittorio Emmanuele II) Quiet, comfortable rooms in a building that is built over the remains of Pompey’s Theatre (55 BC) – where breakfast is served. There’s no more atmospheric spot to enjoy a cappuccino.

Hotel des Artistes (tel 06 445 43 65; www.hoteldesartistes.com; Via Villafranca 20; room about €150; metro Castro Pretorio) A young and helpful couple run this excellent hotel that has all three-star trappings: satellite TV, ISDN lines etc. A terrific roof garden. There are cheaper rooms for around €60 without bathroom An excellent budget option – and still available for this weekend.

Hotel de Russie (tel 06 32 88 81; www.roccofortehotels,com; Via del Babuino 9; single/double from €418/572; metro Flaminio) Hollywood’s visiting superstars (Cruise, diCaprio, Diaz etc) is the most beautiful hotel in Rome, with décor that is both sumptuous, minimal and tasteful. No expense spared – from the massive mosaic-tiled bathrooms to the finest linen and a luxurious spa.

Where to Eat

Good Dining…

Ambasciata d’Abruzzo (Via Pietro Tacchini 26, tel 06 8078256; www.ambasciata-di-abruzzo.it; Closed Sunday) My favourite restaurant in Europe, and a longstanding recommendation of the Right Hook Travel Slot.

Papa Giulio (Via Giulia 14; tel 06 6813 5920; www.ristorantepapagiulio.com) Near the Pantheon; excellent Italian food; just ask the waiter to bring you a selection of dishes if you don’t understand the Italian menu.

In Campo dei Fiori, behind the market’s flower stands, is Il Forno di Campo dei Fiori (at the corner of Campo dei Fiori and Vicolo dei Cappellari). There’s always a crowd inside, but the pizza bianca is worth the wait.

For ice cream…

San Crispino. Via della Panetteria 42. Near the Trevi Fountain, (there is also a location on Via Acaia, outside the walls). Closed Tuesday.
Some, including my husband, think this is the finest gelateria in Rome. Yes, it is wonderful, with intense flavors. No cones, only cups. Try the special San Crispino flavor, which is full of fruits, nuts and Marsala wine.

For coffee…

For espresso with just the right touch of cream, and a hot cornetto (a buttery Italian croissant), or maritozzo (a horn-shaped pastry filled with cream), stop by La Tazza d’Oro (Via degli Orfani 84/86).

Shops

Start at the Scalinata Trinità dei Monti (Piazza di Spagna), a cascading 1720s staircase that overlooks a tight grid of streets—Vie Borgognona, Veneto, Condotti, and Frattina—where Armani and Versace, among others, sell designer clothes. (For a map, click here.)

On Sunday, visit the Porta Portese flea market (on streets between Porta Portese, Ponte Testaccio and Viale di Trastevere), for authentic (and faux) paintings, antique furniture, vintage clothes, hand-painted china, and more. To beat the crowds, arrive when it opens at 6 a.m.

Shop at the open-air market in Campo dei Fiori for fresh fruit and vegetables (open until 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday). In an incomparable setting of medieval houses, this is the liveliest fruit and vegetable market in Rome, where peddlers offer their wares as they’ve done for centuries. The market is best visited after 9am any day but Sunday. By 1pm the stalls begin to close.  For goat cheese, prosciutto, and more than 60 kinds of fine Italian wine, shop at Volpetti (Via Marmorata, 47), a gourmet specialty shop.