Dubai · Arts & museums
Burj Khalifa at the hour it turns gold
828 metres, and from level 148 the desert and the sea are both in the same frame. Sunset slots go first, so book the day you decide.
90 minutesAED 179 from
City · Dubai
Dubai city
Dubai is the country's largest city by population and it is genuinely two places. The creek and its two banks — Deira and Bur Dubai — are the trading city that came first, crossed by abra for a few fils. The towers, the malls and the boulevards are the second, and the distance between them is fifteen minutes by metro.
What marks it out
- Burj Khalifa, 828 m and still the tallest building in the world
- The creek, crossed by abra between the two old souks
- Museum of the Future, which sells out — book the hour
Getting there
The metro is step-free and runs the length of the city; the drive to Sharjah is short in distance and long at peak.
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25.2048, 55.2708
Dubai
Experiences in this emirate
Dubai · Heritage & forts
Cross the Creek by abra
A wooden boat, a bench, a coin, and the oldest working commute in the city. Spice souk on one bank, gold on the other.
20 minutesAED 1 from
Dubai · Mountains & adventure
Kayak the Hatta dam
Turquoise water held between bare Hajar rock, ninety minutes from the skyline. Go early: the wind picks up after eleven.
Half dayAED 120 from
What's on
What is on in this emirate
Shopping & city
Dubai Shopping Festival
December to January
The retail festival that reshaped the region's winter season: city-wide sales, nightly fireworks and open-air concerts.
Free entry · elements ticketed
Entry to the festival and the city-wide sales is free. The concerts and the ticketed attractions inside it are sold separately.
Dubai
Sport
Dubai World Cup
Late March
The richest day in world racing, at Meydan, and the closing night of a carnival that runs from January.
Ticketed
Enclosures and hospitality are sold by the racecourse, and the raceday fills long before the date.
Dubai
Cities
Elsewhere in Dubai
Neighbourhood
Al Fahidi
Dubai's wind-tower quarter, on the Bur Dubai…
Neighbourhood
Deira
The trading bank of the creek: gold, spice a…
Neighbourhood
Downtown Dubai
The tower, the fountain and the boulevard ar…
Neighbourhood
Al Quoz
Dubai's warehouse district, and where its ga…
Island
Palm Jumeirah
A built island in the shape of a palm, with …
Region
Hatta
Dubai's mountain exclave, in the Hajar footh…