Msheireb Museums

The Msheireb Museums are Doha’s best free museums, and some of its most thoughtful. In the heart of Msheireb Downtown, the regenerated district beside Souq Waqif, four heritage houses have been restored and turned into small museums, each with its own theme. Mohammed Bin Jassim House, built by a son of the founder of modern Qatar, looks at the history of the district and the sustainable thinking behind its rebuilding. Company House was the headquarters of the first oil company in Qatar and tells the stories of the Qatari men who worked in the early oil fields. Radwani House shows how family life in a traditional Doha home changed over the twentieth century. Bin Jelmood House is the most powerful of the four, a museum about the history of slavery in the region and around the world, and about modern forms of exploitation.

How it works: entry is free. The museums are open Monday to Thursday and Saturday from 9am to 5pm and on Friday from 3pm to 9pm, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. They are closed on Sunday and on official holidays. Guided tours can be arranged.

What to expect: each house takes about half an hour, and the four sit within a few minutes’ walk of each other. The displays mix objects, films and personal testimony, and the tone is serious and reflective.

Making the most of it: start with Bin Jelmood House, then walk across Barahat Msheireb, the district’s great shaded square, to the others. Finish at Souq Waqif, a short walk away.