Riyadh is Saudi Arabia’s capital and the governing centre of the Kingdom. For many travellers, it is also one of the major gateways into a wider journey within Saudi Arabia.

It is a city with an extraordinary amount of energy. Busy, ambitious and constantly evolving, there is a sense that something is always happening, opening, being built, played or performed.

To understand Riyadh, we always make time for Diriyah. The ancestral home of the Al Saud family and birthplace of the First Saudi State, its extraordinary Najdi mud-brick architecture rises beside Wadi Hanifah, a surprisingly verdant valley of palms, farms and gardens that has sustained communities here for centuries.

Spend time walking through At-Turaif and the lanes of Diriyah, then return to contemporary Riyadh and look up. The cityscape is changing at remarkable speed, with increasingly ambitious architecture sitting alongside a cultural life that seems to be expanding just as quickly.

Sport is a serious part of Riyadh now. So are music, art, museums and entertainment. The Saudi Cup brings some of the world’s finest thoroughbreds and racing people to Riyadh for one of the richest fixtures in international horse racing. Major football, boxing and tennis sit within that same increasingly international sporting calendar.Riyadh Season brings another level of energy to the city, with international sport and concerts alongside Saudi programming, while a growing number of galleries, cultural institutions and creative spaces give good reason to explore throughout the year.

And then there is the food. Riyadh is a city we love to eat in. Traditional Saudi cuisine sits alongside restaurants and cuisines from across the region and much further afield, reflecting a capital that has become increasingly international while retaining a very particular Saudi character.

There is a great deal happening in Riyadh. The pleasure is in deciding what deserves your time.