Al Ain — "The Spring" in Arabic — is the UAE's largest inland city and the second-largest settlement in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, sitting on the eastern edge of the country against the border with Oman. The drive from Dubai or Abu Dhabi is about 90 minutes across the desert, and the change of climate when you arrive is immediate: Al Ain sits at the foot of the Jebel Hafeet mountain range, which casts a rain shadow that gives the city a noticeably cooler and drier microclimate than the humid coast. It has been continuously inhabited for around 5,000 years thanks to the natural oases that bubble up in the middle of the desert here, and the ancient falaj irrigation channels still water its palm groves today.
Al Ain is the UAE's cultural and historical heart. This was the birthplace of Sheikh Zayed, the founding father of the UAE, and the city retains a more traditional Arabic feel than the glass towers of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Al Ain Oasis in the city centre — a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the other oases and archaeological sites of the region — is a vast walled palm grove of 147,000 date palms irrigated by an ancient falaj system; walking its shaded paths is one of the best ways to experience the pre-oil Gulf. The Al Jahili Fort, a 19th-century mud-brick citadel restored as a museum, and the nearby Al Ain National Museum are both worth an hour. Above the city, the switchback road up Jebel Hafeet climbs to 1,249 metres for one of the finest views in the Emirates — a particularly dramatic drive at sunset. At the base of the mountain, the Mercure hotel hot springs are a modest but pleasant place to soak.
The city also has one of the largest and oldest camel markets in the Gulf, still operating on the eastern edge of town — a fascinating glimpse of traditional Bedouin life, though not for the squeamish. And the Al Ain Zoo, unexpectedly, is one of the finest zoos in the region, with extensive desert and African animal collections. Allow a full day for the main sights; a long weekend if you want to include Jebel Hafeet and cross briefly into Oman (no visa needed for the nearby border town of Buraimi).