Abu Dhabi is gearing up to be one of this year’s must-visit destinations, finds Katie Wright

Bringing together 192 countries for a six-month high-tech spectacle in a 1,000 acre site, Expo 2020 is going to be a big deal, to put it mildly.

While Dubai is the official host city, the Expo is located just an hour from Abu Dhabi, making the latter an ideal base from which to explore the multicultural event when it opens in October (expo2020dubai.com).

Held every five years, a World Expo is an international festival designed for countries to share ideas, innovations and eye-popping entertainment.

This year, the huge sprawl of 190 participating nation pavilions – from Algeria to Zimbabwe – will offer live performances, cultural experiences, local food flavours and a glimpse into the future with cutting-edge tech demonstrations.

With direct flights zipping over from the UK to Abu Dhabi in just seven hours, and the Expo taking place when the scorching heat of summer has subsided, it’s the perfect time to soak up some winter sun with no risk of debilitating jet lag (the time difference is only three hours).

Plus, there’s so much more to this Arabian gem, as I discover when I venture to the largest of the seven emirates.

Size matters, it seems, in Abu Dhabi, because everywhere I go, I encounter buildings so vast they cause my jaw to drop – and it’s not just the shiny skyscrapers that line the city centre’s Corniche Road.

The first time it happens is when I enter the main courtyard of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (szgmc.gov.ae), a gleaming expanse of white marble, topped with four minarets and 82 gold domes, that can accommodate some 50,000 worshippers at a time. On days when the Grand Mosque isn’t populated with Muslims at prayer, it’s free for visitors, but you must be appropriately attired in long-sleeved clothing and, for women, a headscarf (‘abaya’ dresses and head scarves are provided on entry).

Despite its size – and popularity with tourists – the site remains a whisper-quiet haven of calm, the silence broken only by the call to prayer.

Inside, I’m surprised to find the pale marble makes way for a colourful, intricately patterned carpet, stretching as far as the eye can see, and a series of crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. It turns out I’m looking at two of the mosque’s three record-breaking features: the world’s biggest chandelier and the largest handwoven carpet (the third is the largest dome of its kind).

Rivalling the Grand Mosque for gasp-inducing architecture is the Great Hall of Qasr Al Watan Palace (£12 for an adult ticket; qasralwatan.ae), a cavernous room you access through a door big enough to fit an elephant.

A working presidential palace that opened just two years ago, it has the kind of ornate white, gold and blue marble decor that gives the appearance it’s been around for much longer.

Just when I think the architecture can’t get any grander, I find myself gazing up in wonder at the ceiling of the Louvre Abu Dhabi (around £12 for an adult ticket; louvreabudhabi.ae), the sister museum of the Paris institution.

Above the whitewashed walls of the gallery, a huge domed roof appears to float in mid-air. Constructed from interlocking star shapes and weighing the same as the Eiffel Tower, it lets only occasional rays of light shine through, creating a delicate dappled effect on the ground.

I could sit for hours in the shade, watching the rippling water, but there’s more to see inside.

The Louvre’s permanent collection of art and antiquities is set out in chronological order, starting with crude bowls and blades from the earliest human settlements and progressing to magnificent sculptures and intricate modern artworks.

It’s safe to say culture vultures will be content in Abu Dhabi, but a holiday here isn’t all about strolling sedately around museums and mosques.

Later that night, under a glorious sunset that turns the sky lavender, I experience a serious adrenaline rush as I zoom around Yas Marina Formula 1 track by bike. Home to the annual Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December, the circuit is open on Tuesday and Sunday nights during the rest of the year for members of the public to cycle, run or walk round the floodlit 5.5 km track for free (yasmarinacircuit.com).

After my exertions on the F1 track, I round off my night with a couple of refreshing pisco sours at the resort’s Nasma Beachfront Bar. But I don’t linger too long, because I’m up early the next morning for my final activity: kayaking through Eastern Mangrove National Park (£34 per person; sea-hawk.ae).

Taking the back seat in a two-person kayak, I paddle at a leisurely pace through the quiet, winding waterways of the grey mangroves, stopping half-way to take a dip in the warm water and laze on the sandy shore.

This diverse and dynamic emirate has so much more going for it, and in 2020, that message will be broadcast to the rest of the world.