Saudi Arabia's sightseeing is anchored by institutions of recent but serious ambition. The national museum covers the Arabian Peninsula's history from geological deep time through Nabataean, Islamic, and modern periods with a chronological depth that most visitors don't expect. Diriyah, the ancestral home of the Al Saud dynasty, is now a major restoration project opening mud-brick streets and palaces. Al-Ula in the northwest holds Hegra — a UNESCO-listed Nabataean site with over 100 monumental rock-cut tombs comparable to Petra — in a landscape of red sandstone pillars. The Asir highland cultural landscape and the Red Sea heritage extend the sightseeing geography considerably. Tours by locals add the missing layer. Take it all in.