Riyadh

Riyadh needs 2 days: the historic district of Diriyah (birthplace of the Saudi dynasty) on one, and the modern Kingdom Centre and Souq Al Zal market on the other. November-March avoids the extreme heat of the Arabian desert, which exceeds 45°C in summer. It's expensive, with international-level hotels in a city that only opened to leisure tourism in 2019. It's the capital of a country that until recently didn't issue tourist visas, and its contrast between historic mud-brick Diriyah and futuristic skyscraper Riyadh sums up the accelerated transformation Saudi Arabia is undergoing.