Abu Dhabi city is a modern city with broad boulevards, tall office and apartment buildings, and busy shops. Principal thoroughfares are The Corniche, Airport Road, Sheikh Zayed Street, Hamdan Street and Khalifa Street. Many streets are known for specialized businesses that tend to cluster on them. Hamdan Street is the main shopping street, Khalifa Street is lined with banks, Al Najdha Street is known for hardware stores, Defense St is filled with mobile telephone shops and Sheikh Zayed St (Also known as Electra Street) is the computer street.

Abu Dhabi city is known in the region for its greenery; the former desert strip today includes numerous parks and gardens. Key buildings include the Qasr al-Hosn (a.k.a. Old Fort or White Fort), Clock Tower (now demolished due to construction of the new Corniche), headquarters of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and its many operating-company subsidiaries and the Cultural Foundation. The Corniche, which was redeveloped in 2005, is now one of the best sea front parks in the Gulf.