After years of delay, Zayed National Museum Abu Dhabi to finally open on 3 December 2025
- maxwell museums
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi has an official opening date. The national museum of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will open to the public on 03 December 2025, bosses have announced.
The museum is located in the heart of Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Cultural District, which is also home to Louvre Abu Dhabi and the future Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The opening has been a long time coming. The museum was first announced in 2007, with a first proposed opening date of 2012. But construction was beset by delays with multiple new opening dates announced.
Yet with tickets now officially on sale, there's very little time left to wait to finally see inside.
Visitors to the Zayed National Museum — which is named after the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan — are promised an immersive journey that tells the story of the Emirates, spanning from ancient times to the present day.
What is inside Zayed National Museum?
Half of the museum’s 3,000-strong collection of objects will be on display across six themed permanent galleries.
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These will include Our Beginning, the largest in the museum and the first visitors will experience. It sheds new light on the life, legacy and values of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, intertwined with the history of the nation he founded. There’ll be rare photographs, archival film, historical documents and personal objects on show.
Another gallery — To Our Ancestors — will examine evidence of human activity in the region dating back 300,000 years, and the early trade with other societies in the Arabian Gulf. A highlight object will be one of the world’s oldest pearls. Visitors will learn what archaeologists have discovered about the people of this land up until the Bronze Age.
Another highlight will be the Al Masar Garden, an outdoor gallery that will welcome visitors before even stepping foot in the building, and it is inspired by the landscapes found in the UAE.
Stretching 600 metres from the Saadiyat coast to the museum entrance, the garden will feature native plants and trees representing desert, oasis and urban environments. It also includes a working falaj irrigation system, artistic sculptures, multisensory installations and a timeline charting the life of Sheikh Zayed and the country’s history.
There could also be items on loan from the British Museum in the galleries. The two venues agreed a partnership in 2009, which was renewed in 2018 with one of the British Museum's galleries renamed after the UAE founder. Room 51 — which shows the history of Europe and the Middle East — is officially called the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Gallery. At the time, an official statement said that “the agreement will also include the development of a loan framework that will see important objects from the British Museum be exhibited at Zayed National Museum upon its opening.” Whether this has come to fruition has not yet been revealed.
Zayed National Museum’s design by Foster + Partners
The striking building will also be a major draw. Designed by Britain’s Lord Norman Foster and his studio Foster + Partners, the museum architecture features five eye-catching lightweight steel towers that soar into the sky resembling birds' wings, and which act as thermal chimneys to draw cool air into the galleries below.
Inside, Foster + Partners say they have chosen colours for the spaces which match the distinctive warm-white shade of the Saadiyat Island sand.
“As the national museum of the UAE, sitting at the heart of Saadiyat Cultural District, Zayed National Museum presents the story of our land, our people, and our heritage in a way that is alive, evolving, and open to all,” Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, said in a press release announcing the opening date.
He added that it’s a place “where visitors of all generations can engage with our nation’s journey from its ancient roots to its aspirations for the future.”
Zayed National Museum tickets
Tickets to the Zayed National Museum are now on sale. An adult ticket costs AED70 (£14.25/€16.32). Under 18s go free, as do Emiratis and UAE residents over 60. The museum will be open daily from 10:00 until 20:00.