Doha in the last twenty years has gone from a dusty Gulf port to an unapologetically ambitious capital. I.M. Pei's Museum of Islamic Art on its private island was the opening shot; the slate-tiled National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel — meant to evoke a desert rose — is the follow-up. Between them, walk the Corniche, the seven-kilometre promenade along Doha Bay. Souq Waqif, the restored traditional market, is where the city socialises at night.