You can walk between the Louvre and the Guggenheim in this new art district

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Right now, if you’d like to visit the Louvre and the Guggenheim in one day, you’d need to cross international borders.

But with Abu Dhabi’s long-awaited cultural district on Saadiyat Island nearing completion, by the end of the year, you’ll be able to walk between them.

The new cultural district will feature international outposts of the world-famous Louvre and Guggenheim museums, along with other institutions, including an immersive digital art space from teamLab and a natural history museum.

“Many places around the world have fantastic cultural institutions; many of them are much older than these. But I think the proximity of all of them is what makes this quite special,” says Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi.

The project is piloting a network of “cool paths,” which implement nature-based shading techniques, to allow visitors to navigate between the museums and cultural sites on foot, says Al Mubarak.

The multi-billion-dollar, 2.43 square kilometer museum complex is one of the largest cultural investments of its kind in the world, and its design — by “starchitects” like Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry, and Norman Foster — is expected to be as much of an attraction as its artworks.

Dr Peter Magee, director of the Zayed National Museum, currently under construction, describes the district as “a constellation of stars” illuminating the region’s history, culture, and art.

The project broke ground in the mid-2000s and has not been without controversy. Human Rights Watch raised concerns about conditions for migrant workers, which were refuted by Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), which was overseeing the project. Others have questioned whether the Unites Arab Emirates’ censorship laws are aligned with the values of the Louvre and Guggenheim.

But Abu Dhabi will be hoping the complex, which will have more than 1.7 million square feet of space across its five main institutions, will become a world-renowned tourist destination in the same way as Hong Kong’s 98-acre (40-hectare) West Kowloon Cultural District and Berlin’s 21-acre (8.6-hectare) “Museum Island.”

As several of the museums prepare to open later this year, take a look at what to do in Saadiyat Cultural District.

Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum, pictured here in a digital rendering, will feature exhibitions on ancient geology and dinosaurs.

Abu Dhabi’s science-focused museum explores the 13.8-billion-year story of our universe, complete with a research center. When it opens later this year, the 35,000-square-meter (377,000-square-foot) museum will be the largest of its kind in the region.

Its star attraction is Stan, the world’s most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, which was purchased for $31.8 million in 2020. The 67-million-year-old fossil will be on display alongside the Murchison meteorite, which crash-landed in Australia in the 1960s and contains organic compounds never identified on Earth, as well as “pre-solar grains” formed before our own sun, and to date, the oldest material discovered on Earth.

Zayed National Museum

Zayed National Museum, pictured here in a digital rendering, is expected to open in late 2025.

Named after the UAE’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, this Foster + Partners-designed museum will showcase Emirati history and culture through six permanent indoor galleries.

Opening late 2025, visitors can expect to journey through 300,000 years of local and regional history, including the evolution of the nation’s unique desert landscape, the settlement of Bedouin ancestors, and the role of the UAE as a global trading hub.

Louvre Abu Dhabi

Louvre Abu Dhabi opened in 2017.

Opened in 2017, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is the first international outpost of the iconic French museum. Its 23 galleries showcase a range of works, from Ancient Egyptian sculptures to Italian Renaissance masterpieces to 20th-century abstract paintings. The collection includes a number of works of regional significance, too, including a 3,000-year-old Middle Eastern gold bracelet, and the oldest known photograph of a woman wearing a veil.

The museum — designed by Pritzker Prize-winning French architect Jean Nouvel — has become an Abu Dhabi icon, with a domed roof and geometric patterns inspired by elements common in Islamic architecture.

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

The “experimental” architecture of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, pictured here in a digital rendering, is designed by Frank Gehry.

First opened in New York in 1959 in a groundbreaking building by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum now has outposts in Bilbao and Venice, and very soon, Abu Dhabi.

The collection of contemporary art will be housed in an experimental building designed by American architect Frank Gehry, and construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

Focused on work produced since the 1960s, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will particularly highlight West Asian, North African and South Asian art and commission original works for its expansive galleries.

teamLab Phenomena

Art collective teamLab has opened a museum in Abu Dhabi. It’s home to 25 immersive digital works, including the “Spontaneous Order in Chaos,” a swirling exhibit of strokes of colored light. Scroll through to see more.

Called teamLab Phenomena, the museum is an interactive experience. This “Levitation Void” is a giant floating orb that rises and falls in response to people in the room.

In a “Flutter of Butterflies,” the insects appear as lights from visitors’ feet in a kaleidoscope of colors, and fly up giant columns.

The museum is divided into wet and dry areas. In the wet area, the floor of the “Accumulation of Time” is covered in water, the level of which fluctuates, blurring boundaries between the art and the visitors’ bodies.

“Obverse and Reverse” first presents itself as a white light membrane, and then transforms into color when viewed from a new position.

Soap bubbles drift around “Massless Amorphous Sculpture,” constantly changing shape.

A visitor plays with “Living Crystallized Light” in the water.

In “Morphing Continuum,” silver balls float through the air.

This immersive art experience just opened in Abu Dhabi

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Japanese art collective teamLab opened its first immersive digital art experience in the UAE earlier this year with teamLab Phenomena in Saadiyat Cultural District. Designed in collaboration with Abu Dhabi firm MZ Architects, the 17,000-square-meter (183,000-square-foot) cloud-like building is teamLab’s largest location to date and features 25 installations that blend science, art, and technology.

For example, “Floating Microcosms,” an exhibit in the “wet” area of the museum, features unanchored ovoid sculptures in ankle-deep water. As visitors wade through the water, the waves ripple out, toppling the sculptures and changing their sound and color, creating tactile, unique experiences.

Beyond museums: What else to do on Saadiyat Island

Heavenly: Saadiyat’s name translates as “Island of Happiness.”

Turtle neck: Saadiyat is home to endangered hawksbill turtles.

And relax: Saadiyat Beach Club offers the perfect pool experience on the coastline.

Superstars: The Louvre Abu Dhabi was designed by architect Jean Nouvel and includes works from the famous gallery’s collection.

See food: The beachfront promenade at Mamsha al Saadiyat is home to excellent restaurants, like NIRI, which offers Japanese food.

Play hard: Cultural institutions on the island include an outpost of Boston’s Berklee College of Music.

Authentic Italian: Restaurant Antonia is run by an Italian chef who brought over his grandmother’s sourdough starter to make pizza.

Big is beautiful: The island’s golf course is the longest in the UAE when playing on black tees.

Lebanese dream: The waterfront is filled with international restaurants, such as Beirut sur Mer.

Wild life: The golf course’s sustainable practices means you’ll find Arabian gazelles wandering around between your shots.

Eats for miles: Coastal neighborhood Mamsha Al Saadiyat’s waterfront promenade doubles as a restaurant strip.

Exploring Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi’s coastal retreat

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Additional reporting by Kayla Smith, CNN.