UAE

The Emirates do spectacle better than anywhere on earth, and leaning into it is half the fun. Dubai stacks the superlatives: the world's tallest tower, dinner in the clouds, beach clubs that turn afternoons into productions. Abu Dhabi answers with the Louvre's floating dome and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, eighty-two domes of white marble that silence every visitor who walks in. But the trip changes register the moment you leave the highway. Twenty minutes out, the desert takes over, and a night at a luxury desert resort, watching oryx walk the dunes at sunrise, is the memory most guests rank first. Falconry, dune drives, old souks that still smell of oud. The UAE is an easy, glamorous week and the world's most convenient stopover.