Masdar City is Abu Dhabi’s sustainable, pedestrian-friendly district — a walkable cluster of cafes, innovation hubs and striking modern architecture. Car-free and shaded by design, Masdar City is a genuinely different place to wander, and a window into how future cities might work.
Cool, quiet and quietly fascinating, it rewards an unhurried visit. Here is how to make the most of it, as part of our main Abu Dhabi guide.
Getting your bearings in Masdar City
The compact centre gathers cafes, the podium plaza and university and innovation buildings along shaded, car-free streets, close to the airport and a short drive from Yas Island.
Where to eat in Masdar City
The central plaza gathers cafes and eateries popular with students and workers; for more ideas across the capital see the best restaurants in Abu Dhabi.
Things to do in Masdar City
The car-free streets, experimental architecture and shaded plazas make Masdar City a fascinating wander, with sustainability tours and pop-up events adding to the draw.
Where to stay
A handful of hotels serve the district, handy for the airport and the Yas Island attractions nearby.
Getting to Masdar City
Close to the airport and best reached by taxi or car; once there, Masdar City is pedestrian-first and easy to explore on foot.
Best time to visit
The shaded, breeze-cooled streets make Masdar City comfortable much of the year, with the cooler months best for lingering outdoors.
Eating and getting around Masdar City
Masdar City’s food scene is small but growing — the central plaza and My City Centre Masdar hold a cluster of cafés, bakeries and casual, health-leaning eateries that suit the district’s low-key, walkable feel. It’s more a place for a quiet coffee between the eco-architecture and the driverless pods than a dinner destination, though the surrounding Khalifa City area adds more everyday options.
For anything bigger, Masdar City’s location does the work: it sits minutes from Yas Island and the airport, so it pairs neatly with our guides to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi and Yas Waterworld, while nearby hotels appear in our roundup of luxury staycations in Abu Dhabi. Masdar City works best as a curiosity-led half-day with the island attractions close by.
Explore more of Abu Dhabi
Nearby: Yas Island. Or head back to the main Abu Dhabi guide.
Good to know
Masdar City is Abu Dhabi’s experiment in sustainable urban living — a low-rise, pedestrian-first district designed around shade, wind towers and clean-tech research on the city’s eastern edge near the airport. Visitors come for the striking eco-architecture, the driverless transport pods, and a quiet cluster of cafés and organic eateries. Masdar City is a compact, curiosity-led half-day rather than a nightlife spot, and a genuine point of difference in the UAE’s urban landscape.