United Arab Emirates · Emirate of Sharjah
Where to Stay in Sharjah, Emirate of Sharjah
Museums and old courtyard houses ring Sharjah, the port city and capital of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
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Where to stay in Sharjah
Not every neighbourhood fits every trip — here's what each one is good for.
Sharjah spreads inland from its creek, and where you stay turns on how close you want to be to the heritage core, the museums, or the wider Emirate of Sharjah. The old heart gathers the restored houses and the historic buildings of Sharjah, with Bait Al Naboodah and the Sharjah Fort within easy reach and the Sharjah Heritage Museum close by. The heritage core rewards a first stay.
Base yourself here if you have come for the Arabic and Islamic heritage that gives the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah its name. The arts and museum quarter draws a different traveller. Around the Sharjah Art Museum and the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, the collections of the cultural hub of the United Arab Emirates sit close together in a calmer stretch of the city.
Families look toward the leisure side, where the Al Montazah Amusement and Water Park anchors a quarter away from the old core. Each part of Sharjah keeps its own character. In Sharjah the choice is yours to make between them.
About Sharjah
What is Sharjah known for?
Sharjah is known as the cultural hub of the United Arab Emirates, a port city built on Arabic and Islamic heritage and lined with museums. The Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization and the Sharjah Art Museum anchor that reputation, while the Sharjah Calligraphy Museum and the Sharjah Science Museum carry it further. Heritage sits at the heart of Sharjah.
The old core of the Emirate of Sharjah keeps restored courtyard houses such as Bait Al Naboodah, and the city stands as the capital of the emirate ruled by the Al Qasimi dynasty since the 18th century.
What are the main landmarks in Sharjah?
Sharjah draws its landmarks from heritage, faith, and the museums that fill the old core. The Sharjah Fort and Bait Al Naboodah mark the historic heart, while the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization and the Sharjah Art Museum gather the collections that made the city the cultural hub of the United Arab Emirates. Craft has its own home.
The Sharjah Calligraphy Museum keeps the written word, the Sharjah Heritage Museum holds the older ways of the Emirate of Sharjah, and the Al Montazah Amusement and Water Park turns to leisure on the city's outer edge.
What is the history of Sharjah?
Sharjah traces its founding to 1793, and it has been ruled by the Al Qasimi dynasty since the 18th century, growing as the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah on the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The sea set the town's course. Its port worked the trade of the gulf while the settlement gathered inland along the creek, and the Sharjah Fort rose at the centre of the ruling family's power.
Heritage became the city's calling. Sharjah kept its Arabic and Islamic character as the surrounding country changed, and the old courtyard houses such as Bait Al Naboodah were preserved rather than swept away. The city grew into part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area, its museums making it the cultural hub of the United Arab Emirates.
The Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization carries that record forward. History anchors it still.
Where is Sharjah?
Sharjah sits on the gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates, the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. The city runs inland from a creek off the coast, its old core near the water and the newer districts spreading across the flat ground toward the wider emirate. It borders Dubai and Ajman along the built-up shore.
The coast frames the city.
What is the climate of Sharjah?
Sharjah has a hot desert climate on the gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates. Summers run long and fiercely hot across the Emirate of Sharjah, with heavy humidity drawn off the water, while winters turn mild and pleasant through the shorter cool season. Rain rarely comes.
The little that falls arrives in the cooler months, leaving the coast and the creek dry over most of the year.
How do you get to Sharjah?
Sharjah is an easy reach within the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area, sitting directly beside Dubai on the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Roads run in from Dubai to the south and Ajman to the north, tying the three cities into one built-up stretch along the gulf, and the highways carry most arrivals into the Emirate of Sharjah. A busy port handles the freight.
From the heritage core, city roads link the museums and the newer districts across Sharjah.
Good for
Updated July 2026