Opened on Saadiyat Island in 2017 under a Jean Nouvel dome 180 metres across, perforated so the sun falls through it in what the architect called a rain of light. The galleries are hung chronologically rather than by civilisation, so a Chinese bronze stands near a Greek one of the same century and the point makes itself. The collection is part its own, part on loan from France. It is around ninety minutes from Dubai, so most people pair it with Qasr Al Watan and make a day of the drive.
