Kuwait City
Travel Guide > Middle East > Kuwait > Kuwait City
Introduction
Kuwait City is the capital of Kuwait and is the largest city in the country with about 2.4 million people living in the metropolitan area. It is located in the central coastal part at the Persian Gulf and is the economic, cultural and political heart, while the rest of the country being almost empty. The city has been inhabited since almost 300 years ago and has seen an enormous growth during the last decades.
Today, it is a wealthy city with many high-rise office buildings and several of the bigger international hotel chains all have luxurious hotels to choose from. This means that spending time here doesn't come cheap. Still, it's great place to visit and not many travellers come here although it has something to offer if you are into something different than Dubai.
The Kuwait Towers is a main landmark and a display of wealth of both the city and the country.
Neighbourhoods
Sights and Activities
Kuwait Towers
The three concrete reinforced Kuwait Towers dominates the skyline of Kuwait City. The principle tower is 187 m high, has a restaurant, a viewing area at 123 m and can moves around doing a full rotation every 30 minutes. The second tallest tower is used to store water and can hold over one million gallons of water. The third tower controls the flow of electricity to the suburbs of Kuwait City. Opening to the public in 1979 it became a big tourist sight very quickly. The towers were heavily damaged during the war and were restored afterwards. Although a careful eye can still see some damage to the exterior of the towers.
Other Sights and Activities
- The Science Center - Located on the water front in the Salmiya area, this is a great place to have fun and learn. There are also some cool boats to see.
- Shopping - Go to some of the finest shops in the world in the Salmiya district.
- Jal Az-Zor - Near to Kuwait City, go to this preserve to watch many migratory birds including the elusive Black Vulture.
Events and Festivals
Weather
Kuwait is warm to extremely hot and most of the times it is at dry as it gets. Temperatures in summer can top 50 °C during summer so the best time to visit is winter with pleasant temperatures.
Getting There
By Plane
Kuwait International Airport is located 16 km south of the city. The national airline, Kuwait Airways flies throughout the Middle East and to some parts of Asia. All Gulf countries are served at least daily. Destinations further away include Bangkok, Manila and Kuala Lumpur to the east and Paris, Frankfurt and London to the west. Even New York is served.
Kuwait has its own lowcost airline as well, the Jazeera Airways. Destinations are almost exclusively in the Middle East, and the North Africa as well as South Asia.
By Train
By Car
By Bus
By Boat
Eat
Drink
Work
Learn
This is version 3. Last edited at 22:16 on Jun 9, 08 by Lavafalls (+1094). 1 article links to this page.
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