Like a secret in plain sight, Sharjah, the third most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, extends uninterrupted along the Gulf coast northeast of Dubai. The city offers up culture, history and nature in spades and promises a quieter experience away from the crowds. Sharjah’s old city is packed full of fascinating museums in quirky venues, ranging from an abandoned airport to a 1930s school. Given the ever-increasing number of art galleries and other institutions, it comes as no surprise that Sharjah has a long list of cultural accolades, including the Islamic Culture Capital in 2014, the Capital of Arab Tourism in 2015 and UNESCO’s 2019 World Book Capital. Beyond Sharjah city, the emirate stretches through the interior desert to a couple of laid-back beach towns on the Gulf of Oman.