What You Can do in Kuwait City?

There are quite a few things to do in Kuwait City. It's possible to have lunch or dinner in the Kuwait towers (the three towers by the sea with water storage). It is worthwhile to take a tour of the Grand Mosque in Kuwait, just kindly ask the security guard in front of the entrance to the mosque. Across the street from the Grand Mosque is the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange, which seems to be open to the public.

While in Kuwait it is also crucial to smoke Shisha (Hookah/Hubbly Bubbly) at a cafe in Kuwait. There are also quite a few great restaurants with Iranian, Lebanese, and Arab foods.

To escape the intense heat of the Middle East, visit the Aqua Park near the Kuwait Towers. It's KWD3.50 to get in and offers a variety of modern rides and pools.

One can also walk along many of the well-kept sidewalks that line the coast of Kuwait. At dusk, it's ideal to sit on a bench across from the Sharq Mall and watch the sun set on the Arabian Sea. Buy yourself a cheap sack of nuts or bagful of olives from the souq in the fish market and relax.

Fitness fanatics and the health conscious have several options to get engaged with exclusive fitness centres in and around Kuwait City. Some of the best health clubs and gyms are attached to hotels like the Palms, SAS Radisson, Hilton etc. There are also stand alone spas and fitness centres. Elysium, Flex, Spa time and Ayurmana are a few of the highly top fitness centers in Kuwait. Ayurmana also has a highly rated Exclusive Yoga Studio for women.

Prices are quite expensive especially compared with other places in the region – most name brand products will cost 2-5 times what they would cost in the west.

• Western style shopping centres: Souk Sharq (Kuwait City) and Marina Mall (Salmia) are both on the coastal Gulf Road and offer excellent shopping. Another shopping centre is “Al-Kout” (Fahaheel) it has several beautiful coffee shops and many other outlets. “Araya Mall” (Sharq) and Al-Salhiya Mall (Sharq) offers high-price designer brands. The Avenues is a new mall which has come up and is one of the largest in Kuwait. Because there is no sales tax or value added tax in Kuwait, some brand name items have prices comparable to the US prices, and often lower than in countries with VAD.

• Traditional markets: A famous destination is the Souk Al Mubarakiya in the heart of downtown. Middle Eastern and Oriental items abound as well as a gold and jewelry market. Souk Al-Juma'a is a Friday market with very low-priced mass-produced goods and second-hand stuff. The Mahameed markets in Behbahani complex have similar selection and pricing as well.

• A more Oriental atmosphere can be found on the other side of town also in a western-style mall called Souk Al-Watiya or Al-Watiya Complex, located beside the Sheraton Hotel and 4 Point Sheraton. This place is also called the Adidas Building by local Filipinos. Situated close to churches the whole area can look like a mini India Town and Filipino Town during Friday and Sunday. Many restaurants also serving either fast food or oriental traditional foods. This is also a good place to buy any gold or jewelry.

The Al-Fanar mall in Kuwait has restaurants, cafes and many shops like Ralph Lauren and Lacoste.