The Katara Towers are the reason most photographs of Lusail look the way they do — two curved towers crossing above the marina, lit from below at night. They are the landmark of the Marina District and the thing visitors most often want in the background of a meal. This is a guide to what they are, where to see them from, and where to sit with them in view.

What are the Katara Towers?

The Katara Towers are a 211-metre, 40-floor building on the Lusail Marina Promenade, covering roughly 300,000 square metres. The design takes its shape from two crossed scimitars, the traditional sword of the region, which is why the two arms curve toward each other rather than standing straight.

Construction began in 2014 and finished in 2022, at a cost of around 600 million US dollars. Dar Al-Handasah was the architect, with Kling Consult International as architecture firm.

They sit on the Lusail Marina Promenade at the northern end of the Marina District, which is why they anchor almost every photograph of the waterfront. At 211 metres they are not Qatar's tallest building, but the crossed-arm silhouette makes them the most recognisable one.

What do the two towers contain?

Two five-star hotels, both Accor brands and managed jointly: Raffles Doha in one tower and Fairmont Doha in the other. Both opened in 2022, the year Qatar hosted the FIFA World Cup.

That means the towers are a working hotel complex rather than an observation deck. There is no public viewing platform inside them, which is why the good views are from outside looking in.

Where can you see the Katara Towers from?

The Marina Promenade is the obvious answer and the best free one. It runs several kilometres along the water with palm-lined pathways, fountains, the Glass Bridge of Lusail and the I Love Lusail sign, and the towers sit at the end of that sightline.

The other vantage point is height. The towers read best from a rooftop in the surrounding Marina District buildings, where you are looking across at them rather than up at them. The House's rooftop terrace faces them directly.

The Glass Bridge of Lusail and the Egal art installation by Shouq Al Mana are both on the promenade and both work as foreground. Visit Qatar also lists palm-lined pathways, fountains and a shaded playground along the same stretch, so it holds up as a walk in its own right rather than just a viewpoint.

When do the towers look best?

After dark. The towers are illuminated at night and the promenade lights with them — Visit Qatar describes the area as vibrant and illuminated after sunset, against peaceful and cool in the mornings.

Sunset is the transition worth timing. The ocean sunsets from the promenade are the other thing Visit Qatar singles out, and the half hour after them is when the towers come up and the marina is at its best.

How do you get to the Katara Towers?

By public transport: Doha Metro Red Line to Legtaifiya, then the Lusail Tram. The Orange and Pink lines serve the Marina District, with Marina South and Marina Central the closest stops to the waterfront. The metro-to-tram transfer is free if you tap in within five minutes.

The journey is about 30 to 45 minutes from central Doha, 20 to 25 from West Bay, and around 20 from The Pearl. The tram runs until 1:30am Saturday through Thursday, so an evening visit works without a car.

Where can you eat with a view of the towers?

The hotels inside the towers have their own restaurants, but for a view of the towers themselves you want to be outside them. The Marina District buildings opposite are where the rooftops are.

The House sits in Manarat Lusail Tower on Street 318 and runs a rooftop terrace facing the towers, open daily from 8am to midnight. It also has a planted secret garden, an indoor dining room and a ground floor beside the open kitchen, so the view is one option rather than the only one. Pasta and pizza start at QAR 75 and the menu runs to roughly QAR 250 at the upper end.

What else is worth seeing nearby?

The Lusail Marina itself has more than 1,200 berths, and the Lusail Marina Food Arena on the promenade runs close to 70 food trucks in the evenings. Place Vendome is a short drive away and puts on a 3D laser show hourly between 7pm and 11pm.

Lusail Stadium, with its 80,000 capacity, and Al Maha Island are both within Lusail City, which covers 38 square kilometres across 19 districts. If you are making an evening of it, the promenade and the towers are the walkable part; everything else needs a car or the tram.

The towers are best seen from across the water or from a rooftop opposite, and best seen at dusk. Everything else about a visit follows from those two facts.

the rooftop terrace · the full menu and prices · location and booking