Wadi Al Sail
Summer sunrise behind the West Bay towers.
Jaseem Hamza — CC BY 3.0 · Jaseem Hamza — CC BY 3.0 · Jaseem Hamza — CC BY 3.0 · Ramamanivannan — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Staff Sgt. Bethany La Ville — Public domain
Al Bidda Park is Doha's great central park: almost 175 hectares of lawns, gardens and paths along Corniche Street. Free and open from 4 am to midnight, it has three zones: the formal gardens of Al Rumailah, the quieter lawns of Al Bidda and the open ground of Wadi Al Sail. It covers the historic heart of the city: Al Bidda, first recorded in 1681, was the town Doha grew out of, and many park paths still bear the names of its old streets. The former Al Rumailah Park, one of Doha's oldest, closed in 2014 and reopened, rebuilt and enlarged, on 13 February 2018. It then hosted Expo 2023 Doha, the Arab world's first horticultural expo. Its 1,766 trees include the sidr, dear to Qatari culture, and many mature ones were saved from the gardens of houses that once stood here. There are eight playgrounds, two mazes, cycle lanes with bike hire and a fitness trail. A terraced mound topped by the national flag gives all-round views, and a watchtower rebuilt in 2005 crowns one of Doha's few outcrops of natural rock. Hoopoes feed on the lawns. Al Bidda metro station, on the Red and Green lines, lies within the park's southern end, Corniche station near its north. On summer mornings, watch the sun rise behind the West Bay towers from Wadi Al Sail, but keep out of the wadi itself, a nature reserve. Souq Waqif and the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque each lie about 2 km from the park's centre as the crow flies.
Summer sunrise behind the West Bay towers.
All-round views over park and city.
Stone terraces facing the skyline.
Corniche Street, next to Qatar National Theatre, Doha
Barbecues are allowed only at the designated grills, booked in advance through the park's website or app; fires and cooking elsewhere are banned. Tennis, padel, basketball, volleyball and football courts are booked the same way for a fee, while the cycle lanes and the fitness trail with its exercise areas need no booking.
Yes. The park and its buildings have step-free access, most paths suit wheelchairs, and a free electric golf-cart service for visitors with limited mobility can be requested on 4428 7777.
