Your ultimate guide on things to do indoors in Riyadh
30 different activities to check out…
Summer is officially upon us out here in Riyadh, and we’re all heading indoors to beat the intense heat. And luckily for us, the capital caters almost perfectly to our needs. From art galleries to go-karting experiences, here are the best things to do indoors in Riyadh.
Art
Naila Art Gallery
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Art will certainly liven up any day, especially ones where the heat is exceptionally bad. At Naila Art Gallery, top local and international artists’ modern works are on display.
Location: Al Takhassousi, Al Mathar Ash Shamali
Time: Sun to Wed 10am to 6pm, Thu noon to 8pm, Closed Fri, Sat 2pm to 10pm
Abstract Arts Gallery
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Encouraging local artists and giving them a place to show their work, the Abstract Art Gallery fosters a connection between the artist and the viewer. Abstract Arts Gallery in Olaya is where you want to go to view artworks inspired by magical geometric angles and colourful textiles.
Location: Olaya St, Al Olaya
Time: Sat to Thu 9.30am to 9.30pm, Closed Fri
Acoustic Bistro & Café
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Located in Circle 3 in Fenaa AlAwwal, Acoustic is the place where food meets art. Tuck into everything from chicken baos to sweet treat like acai bowls.
Location: Circle 3 in Fenaa AlAwwal
Time: Mon to Fri 10am to 10pm.
SAMoCA
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Meet the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art at Jax (SAMoCA@Jax), a space where artistic expression becomes a dialogue between cultures, generations, and ideas. SAMoCA has welcomed a wide range of international contemporary art exhibitions.
Locations: Al Diriyah Al Jadidah, 2308
Times: Mon to Thu 10am to 10pm, Fri to Sat 4pm to 10pm, Closed Sun.
Arcades
Magic Planet
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Magic Planet is an emporium of family-friendly fun, complete with retro arcade games, soft play for little ones and even a trampoline park where guests of all ages can bounce around. There’s even a selection of rides, including the Chrystal Mine Train, bumper cars and a drop ‘n twist. Find it at Riyadh Front and Riyadh Park. You’ll need to buy a Magic Planet Card to use all the rides and games.
Location: Riyadh Park, First Level
Time: Sat to Wed 10am to 1am, Thu to Fri 10am to 2am
Hello Park
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The world’s largest multimedia park chain, Hello Park is located inside Panorama Mall. An interactive digital park for the whole family, this is an indoor attraction where little ones can let their imaginations run wild. Inside Hello Park, you’ll find multimedia games, physical installations and colourful projections, all created around themed narratives.
Location: Panorama mall, Al Takhassousi, Al Mathar Ash Shamali
Time: Sat to Wed 9.30am to 11pm, Thu 9.30am to 11.30pm, Fri 2pm to 11.30 pm
Firstaiment
The biggest paintball experience not just in the Kingdom, but in the Middle East region, Firstaiment is set over a sprawling 25,000 square metres. As well as the outdoor paintballing setup, there’s also the indoor target shooting range, which will test marksmanship, strategy, and critical thinking. Packages start from SAR110.
Location: Alrimal 7315, Al Najah St, Riyadh 13256
Time: Daily 4pm to midnight, Tel: (920) 003 318
Escape rooms
Escape the Room
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Escape The Room has three locations across KSA, including two in Riyadh. The concept is simple, you choose a room, enter and then you’ve got 60 minutes to try and figure out the way out. Designed for small groups, this is the ultimate test of your logical and creative thinking, with themed rooms available to book including ‘mafia kingdom,’ ‘the prison,’ and ‘saw 2.’ Everyone can play, but it’s recommended for players aged 12 and above. Games for two start from SAR400.
Location: Al Ghadir, Exit 5 – King Abdulaziz Road, Riyadh,
Time: Sun to Wed 3pm to midnight, Thu 1pm to midnight, Fri 1.30pm to midnight, and Prince Muhammad Ibn Saad Ibn Abdulaziz Rd, Al Aqiq, Riyadh 13511, Mon to Wed 3pm to midnight, Thu to Sun 1pm to midnight.
Contact: Tel: (0)50 809 9911
Escape
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Escape is one of the escape rooms that has impressed us deeply. The moment you step into the room, you will completely be immersed in the character. It also includes a Virtual Reality (VR) system into the gameplay to further engage the players. There are seven different rooms to choose from, including one of its most difficult, “Prince of Persia: The Dagger of Time”, which sees up to four players finding a way out of a reimagined Fortress of Time. This attraction is for puzzlers who have a penchant for suspense.
Location: Prince Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz Rd, As Sulimaniyah, Riyadh 11546,
Time: Daily midnight to noon, 3pm to midnight.
Escape Mission
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Race against time, test your mind, teamwork and instincts at Escape Mission. It is currently home to three themes. The Joker will see you be transported to Gotham City, tasked with saving the city from destruction, while The Lab of Dr. Fizz requires you to discover a secret blood elixir set in a laboratory of a missing biologist Dr. Fizz. If you’re looking for something a little more adventurous, the Game of Thrones could be just the ticket for you, where you’ll be a hero trying to save the kingdom.
Location: Dhahrat Laban, Riyadh 12565
Time: Sat to Wed 4pm to midnight, Thu to Fri 5pm to 1am.
The Box Experience
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There’s a brand-new escape room in town. Experience The Box is now open in Al Malqa, and promises escape room experiences like no other. Expect fun and inventive puzzles, unique concepts, and so much more.
Ice Cream
Dara’s Ice Cream
Sweet dreams are made of this. One of Egypt’s most prized possessions, Dara’s Ice Cream, is now officially open in our sweet capital. If you’re anything like us, you keep your sweets close and your ice cream even closer.
Location: Century Corner, Al Olaya.
Time: Sat to Wed 1pm to midnight, Thu to Sat 1pm to 1am.
Nakhati
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Meaning ‘my flavour’ in Arabic, Nakhati, made using high-quality natural ingredients, is a homegrown gelato experience that supports local communities of women across the GCC. A must-try is their matcha gelato.
Location: 5176 Imam Saud Bin Abdulaziz Bin Mohammed Rd, An Nakheel، Unit 6
Time: Sat to Thu 9am to midnight, Fri noon to midnight.
Durma
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Fancy a Turkish ice cream? Durma offers five classic flavours: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, pistachio and lotus. Try them in their waffle cones, in a clay pot or sandwiched between the fluffy donuts.
Location: The Boulevard
Time: Daily 11am to 2am.
Contact: 050 072 3393.
Cafes
Ladurée Café
Experience a delightful afternoon break in the chic Parisian-style tea rooms with classic French dishes or a Parisian afternoon tea. And if you do bag a seat, don’t miss a box or two of the beautifully-packaged macarons. Those prized treats could be just what the dessert doctor ordered.
Location: Kingdom Centre, Riyadh Park, Layzen Valley
Time: Daily noon to 1am.
EL&N
This London-born brand prides itself on being one of the most Instgrammable cafes in the world. The initials stand for eat, drink and nourish – a motto we have certainly gotten behind. The gorgeous interiors boast bright neon signs with statements like “lights, camera, coffee,” and more. Amazing food and delicious coffee await.
Location: Panorama Mall, Roshn Front, and more
Time: Sat to Wed 9am to midnight, Thu to Fri 9am to 1am.
Sociale Cafe
Riyadh has its fair share of amazing cafes, but for us, one that always stands out has to be Sociale Cafe. Home to an amazing vibe, a cosy productive atmosphere, and tonnes of gorgeous artworks, the space is also moving into hosting a cool calendar of events every month too, the space is originally from Lebanon.
Location: Prince Muhammad Ibn Abd Al Aziz, As Sulimaniyah,
Time: Daily 8am to 12.45am.
Cafe Bateel
One of the oldest cafes in town, but still a firm favourite among the Riyadh crowd, Café Bateel offers an award-winning experience in all of its branches. The venue is the perfect place to be if you’re after good food and even better coffee.
Location: Tahlia Street, The Zone, Northern Ring Branch Road, and more
Time: Sat to Wed 7am to 12.30am, Thu to Fri 7am to 1am.
Level Up
The venue is known for hosting curated events, unique retail sections, and its incredible food and drinks created in a cutesy coffee bar indoors. Aiming to create an environment that fosters community building to create meaningful interactions. You can look forward to casual video gaming experiences that encourage conversations, car simulators, and board games too.
Location: Hittin
Time: Sun to Wed 4pm to midnight, Thu 11am to 12.30am, Fri 12.30pm to 1.30am, Sat 11am to 12.30pm.
Lavazza Coffee
Inspired by Lavazza’s flagship stores in Milan and London, the Riyadh location offers an immersive experience within the coffee culture that stimulates all five senses. The space’s focal points are the iconic chandelier, made of more than 300 illuminated coffee beans, and the innovative counter, made of recycled coffee powder and resin for an original effect.
Location: Laysen Valley, Salem Bin Abi Baker Shikhan St., Building 30, Riyadh.
Time: Sun to Wed 7.30am to 1am, Thu 8.30am to 2am, Fri 1pm to 2am, Sat 11am to 1am
Sporty/Musical
9Round
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You can tell by the name that 9ROUND is a boxing venue. The nine rounds, each lasting three minutes and involving a full-body, rigorous kickboxing workout without interruptions, provide thirty minutes of intense kickboxing. There is even an additional workout during each one-minute break between rounds. The best part? The first workout is on the house.
Location: Al Takhassousi, Ar Rahmaniyyah
Time: Sun to Thu 6am to 11pm, Fri 3pm to 11pm, Sat 6am to 11pm.
Bounce Riyadh
Bounce Riyadh is not only insane fun but a serious workout too. The super-sized trampoline park is filled with obstacle courses, dodgeball, climbing walls, speed slide, slam dunk area and, of course, trampolines galore.
Location: 4466 Khurais Branch Rd, AR Rawdah,
Time: 2pm to 10pm Sun to Fri, 12pm to 10pm, Sat 12pm to 10pm
Contact: (055) 198 8993.
WWE Experience at BLVD City
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Wrestling fans can check out the WWE Experience, where you’ll find yourself immersed in a variety of themed rooms, each telling a unique story through historical photos, and a life-sized wrestling ring. There will also be a dedicated area paying homage to The Undertaker. Stepping into this section feels like entering a graveyard-themed sanctuary dedicated to the iconic wrestler.
WWE Experience, BLVD City, 5pm to midnight. The ticket starts from SAR75 and can be purchased here. @riyadhseason
Beast House
If you haven’t heard of Beast House already, it’s the newest brainchild of Saudi’s very own music powerhouse, MDLBEAST. Beast House is an exclusive membership club that gives music enthusiasts access to community-based experiences and more.
Location: Jax District, Al Dariyah Al Jadidah
Time: Mon to Thu 11am to midnight, Closed Sun, Fri to Sat 2pm to midnight.
attache
Meet attaché. Once an equestrian club, attaché is the latest standalone project from MDLBeast, tucked in a valley between the endless rows of embassies in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter (DQ). Divided into four areas, the sprawling space is a cohesive juxtaposition of then and now, elevating the property’s rich equestrian heritage with modern accents to complement a unique sense of place.
Location: Diplomatic Quarter, Al Safarat, Riyadh 12513
Time: Sun to Tue 6pm to 1am, Wed to Thu 6pm to 2am, Fri to Sat 10pm to 3am
Tel: 053 244 6209
Bowling
Universal Bowling Centre
It’s a no-frills, old-school pin smashing at Saudi Arabia’s largest bowling alley. You’ll feel like you have taken a step back in time upon entering Universal Bowling Centre. The industrial warehouse-styled space might not win quite so many style points, but with 30 lanes, table tennis, arcade games, pool tables, PlayStation, and Dunkin’ Donuts all under one roof, what’s there not to love?
Location: Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Bin Abdulaziz Rd, Ar Rafiah, Riyadh 12752,
Time: Daily 4pm to 1.30am.
Cost: SAR29 per person per game of bowling.
Contact: 050 526 9788
Go Bowling
With bowling, laser tag, arcade games, a full menu and more, you’ll want to plan an entire day here. This family-friendly spot is home to a six-lane bowling alley and is priced at Sar60 per person per game. We reckon your kids will love this place so much that you may end up planning your next birthday soiree here.
Location: Sahara Mall
Time: Sun to Wed 3pm to 11pm, Thurs 3pm to 1am, Fri 4pm to 1am & Sat 4pm to 11pm.
Cost: SAR60 per person per game of bowling.
Contact: 053 355 0212.
Bob’s
With Riyadh branches in Al Hamra Mall, Al Nakheel Mall and U Walk, Bob’s has been bowling over the competition. All its venues feature state-of-the-art lanes in a handsome neon-lit space with a vibrant street art vibe and groovy music. This adult favourite also offers a well-rounded menu – ranging from burgers and steaks to boneless chicken wings with maple sauce and nachos – all delivered right to your lane.
Locations: Al Hamra Mall, Al Nakheel Mall, U Walk, and more
Time: Sat to Thurs 11am to 2am & Fri 2pm to 2am.
Cost: SAR99 per person per game of bowling.
Karting
Doos Karting
Keen to give go-karting a go? Then head to Doos Karting. At the Hitten location, you race 27HP electric karts around a 350metre track, navigating multi-level spiral ramps.
Location: Boulevard Riyadh City
Time: Daily 6pm to 2am
Battle Kart
Are you ready for a thrilling adventure? Hop into an electric kart and race around the track while interacting with virtual game elements projected on the track. BattleKart combines video gaming, augmented reality, and go-karting to create one unforgettable experience.
Location: 3112 Al Bahar Al Arabi, Ishbiliyah, Riyadh 13226.
Time: Al Bahar Al Arabi, Ishbiliyah and Hittin
Cost: The ticket is priced at SAR120 per person and can be purchased here.
