What to See in Dubai - Top Sights and Attractions

Museum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai Museum is the main museum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is located in the Al Fahidi Fort, built in 1787 and is the oldest existing building in Dubai.

The museum was opened by the Ruler of Dubai in 1971, with the aim of presenting the traditional way of life in the Emirate of Dubai. When entering, one can see the fort constructed and the various displays that go along with it. From the fort, there is a path to the galleries, which display the general culture of the land, especially in the 1800s. It includes local antiques as well as artifacts from African and Asian countries that traded with Dubai. It also includes several dioramas showing life in the emirate before the advent of oil, in addition to artifacts from recent discoveries as old as 3000 BC.

In 2007, Dubai Museum received 1,800 visitors daily, with a yearly total of 611,840. In March 2008, the museum had 80,000 visitors. The most popular times are from August to April. The museum received over 1 million visitors in 2013. The total area of Dubai museum is 4,000 square meters.^[1]

160-story skyscraper and observation deck. The Burj Khalifa, known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 m and a roof height of 828 m, the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in 2009, supplanting Taipei 101, the previous holder of that status.

Construction of the Burj Khalifa began in 2004, with the exterior completed five years later in 2009. The primary structure is reinforced concrete and some of the structural steel for the building originated from the Palace of the Republic in East Berlin, the former East German parliament. The building was opened in 2010 as part of a new development called Downtown Dubai. It was designed to be the centrepiece of large-scale, mixed-use development. The decision to construct the building was based on the government's decision to diversify from an oil-based economy, and for Dubai to gain international recognition. The building is named in honour of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Abu Dhabi and the UAE government lent Dubai money to pay its debts. The building broke numerous height records, including its designation as the tallest building in the world.

Burj Khalifa was designed by a team led by Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the firm that designed the Sears Tower in Chicago, a previous record holder for the world's tallest building. Hyder Consulting was chosen to be the supervising engineer with NORR Group Consultants International Limited chosen to supervise the architecture of the project. The design is derived from the Islamic architecture of the region, such as in the Great Mosque of Samarra. The Y-shaped tripartite floor geometry is designed to optimize residential and hotel space. A buttressed central core and wings are used to support the height of the building. Although this design was derived from Tower Palace III, the Burj Khalifa's central core houses all vertical transportation with the exception of egress stairs within each of the wings. The structure also features a cladding system which is designed to withstand Dubai's hot summer temperatures. It contains a total of 57 elevators and 8 escalators.

At a certain point in the architectural and engineering process, the original Emaar developers experienced financial problems, and required more money and economic funding. Sheikh Khalifa, the ruler of the United Arab Emirates, granted monetary aid and funding, hence the changing of the name to "Burj Khalifa". The concept of profitability derived from building high density developments and malls around the landmark has proven successful. Its surrounding malls, hotels and condominiums in Downtown Dubai have generated the most revenue from the project as a whole, while the Burj Khalifa itself made little or no profit.

Critical reception to Burj Khalifa has been generally positive, and the building has received many awards. However, there were numerous complaints concerning migrant workers from South Asia who were the primary building labour force. These centered on low wages and the practice of confiscating passports until duties were complete. Frequent suicides committed by expatriate employees who worked at the structure were reported in 2011.^[3]

Huge, choreographed fountain complex. The Dubai Fountain is a choreographed fountain system located on the 12 hectare manmade Burj Khalifa Lake, at the center of the Downtown Dubai development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was designed by WET Design, a California-based company also responsible for the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel Lake in Las Vegas. Illuminated by 6,600 lights and 50 colored projectors, it is 275 m long and shoots water up to 500 ft into the air accompanied by a range of classical to contemporary Arabic and world music. It was built at a cost of AED 800 million.

The name of the fountain was chosen after a contest organized by the developer Emaar Properties, the result of which was announced on 26 October 2008. Testing of the fountain began in February 2009, and the fountain was officially inaugurated on 8 May 2009 along with the official opening ceremony of The Dubai Mall.^[5]

Sports venue in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Dubai Autodrome is an FIA sanctioned 5.390 km motorsports circuit located in Dubailand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The architects of the project were Populous and the circuit was designed by Clive Bowen of Apex Circuit Design Ltd.

Opened in October 2004 with the final round of the LG Super Racing Weekend featuring the final rounds of the FIA GT Championship, European Touring Car Championship and 2004 Formula Renault V6 Eurocup season, Dubai Autodrome was the first part of the Dubai Motor City development that was available for use. The venue hosted the December 2005 A1 Grand Prix and the FIA GT Championship from 2004 to 2006. The track record at the longest configuration was set by Kamui Kobayashi (DAMS) with a time of 1:41.220 in a GP2 Asia car.

Since 2006 the Autodrome has been home to the Dubai 24 Hour, a GT, sports car and touring car automobile endurance race open to both professional and semi-professional teams. The circuit has FIA Grade 1 license, which means that it has all the requirements to host a Formula One race (though Abu Dhabi currently hosts F1 races in the UAE).

Some of the world's most famous drivers have driven competitively or visited the circuit including Formula One world champions Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen, Nico Rosberg, and Jenson Button.^[7]

Market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai Spice Souk or the Old Souk is a traditional market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Spice Souk is located in Deira, in eastern Dubai, and is adjacent to the Dubai Gold Souk. The Spice Souk is in the locality of Al Ras, on Baniyas Street. The souk comprises several narrow lanes which are lined with open and closed-roof stores, and is a tourist attraction.

Stores in the Spice Souk sell a variety of fragrances and spices from frankincense and shisha to the many herbs used in Arabic and South Asian food. In addition, several household, textiles, tea, incense, rugs and artifacts are also sold in the Spice Souk. A majority of the trading occurs through haggling. The quantity of trade as well as the number of stores trading spices in the Spice Souk have hanged in recent years due to the growth of larger stores and supermarkets.^[8]

Zoo in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai Zoo was a 1.5-kilometre zoo located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was originally built in 1967 by a Dubai resident when Sheikh Rashid bin Maktoum, the late Ruler of Dubai, permitted Otto J. Bulart to build a zoo on a two hectare plot in Jumeirah. It is still the oldest zoo in the Arabian Peninsula. It was considered a Dubai landmark in the late 1960s as it indicated the "town's end".

In 1971 the management of the Dubai Zoo was taken over by the Dubai Municipality. During the first couple of years of its existence, the Dubai Zoo housed only a few animals like the big cats, monkeys and hoofed-animals. There was also a small aquarium with some fishes and reptiles. From May 1986 to May 1989, a part of the zoo was redesigned and rebuilt. From June 1989 to the present there has been constant re-designing and renovation. Dubai zoo is the first Arabian zoo to breed the rare chimpanzee and the Arabian or Gordon's wildcat (Felis silvestris gordoni).

In recent years, the Dubai Zoo has come under fire for the conditions in which its animals are housed. Animal rights activists and even hotels and tourist websites encourage the boycotting of the facility. Cages in which the animals are trapped were reportedly so small that the animals can barely move. The zoo has closed since November 2017 and all animals were relocated to the new Dubai Safari Park. They no longer live in cages and have an open habitat with a lot more space to move around.^[9]

Outdoor water park with rides and slides. The Wild Wadi Water Park is an outdoor water park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Situated in the area of Jumeirah, next to the Burj Al Arab and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the water park is operated by Jumeirah International, a Dubai-based hotelier.

Wild Wadi has a heated/cooled wave pool, multiple water slides and two artificial surfing machines. The park once had the largest water slide outside of North America, but it has since been removed to make space for two other rides. Another feature of the park is an 18 m (59 ft) waterfall that goes off every ten minutes. The water park also has two gift shops, three restaurants and two snack stands.

It was featured in The Amazing Race 5 and The Amazing Race Asia 1, in which teams had to slide down a 21 m (69 ft) drop. It was later featured in The Amazing Race Australia 2, but instead, the teams had to ride the Surf Machine and use boogie boards to surf their way to the end where they got their next clue.^[10]

Queen Elizabeth 2 is a retired British ocean liner converted into a floating hotel. Originally built for the Cunard Line, Queen Elizabeth 2 was operated by Cunard as both a transatlantic liner and a cruise ship from 1969 to 2008. She was then laid up until converted and since 18 April 2018 has been operating as a floating hotel in Dubai.

Queen Elizabeth 2 was designed for the transatlantic service from her home port of Southampton, UK to New York, United States and was named after the earlier Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth. She served as the flagship of the line from 1969 until succeeded by the Queen Mary 2 in 2004. Queen Elizabeth 2 was designed in Cunard's offices in Liverpool and Southampton and built in Clydebank, Scotland. She was considered the last of the transatlantic ocean liners until 'Project Genesis" was announced by Cunard Line in 1995 after the business purchase of Cunard by Mickey Arison; chairman of Carnival and Carnival UK. Project Genesis was intended to create new life in the ocean liner saga, and in 1998, Cunard revealed the name: Queen Mary 2.

Queen Elizabeth 2 was also the last oil-fired passenger steamship to cross the Atlantic in scheduled liner service until she was refitted with a modern diesel powerplant in 1986–87. She undertook regular world cruises during almost 40 years of service, and later operated predominantly as a cruise ship, sailing out of Southampton, England. Queen Elizabeth 2 had no running mate and never ran a year-round weekly transatlantic express service to New York. She did, however, continue the Cunard tradition of regular scheduled transatlantic crossings every year of her service life.

Queen Elizabeth 2 was retired from active Cunard service on 27 November 2008. She had been acquired by the private equity arm of Dubai World, which planned to begin conversion of the vessel to a 500-room floating hotel moored at the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai. The 2008 financial crisis intervened, however, and the ship was laid up at Dubai Drydocks and later Mina Rashid. Subsequent conversion plans were announced in 2012 and then again by the Oceanic Group in 2013, but both plans stalled. In November 2015, Cruise Arabia & Africa quoted DP World chairman Ahmed Sultan Bin Sulayem as saying that QE2 would not be scrapped and a Dubai-based construction company announced in March 2017 that it had been contracted to refurbish the ship. The restored QE2 opened to visitors on 18 April 2018, with a soft opening. The grand opening was set for October 2018.^[11]

Building complex. The Emirates Towers is a building complex in Dubai that contains the Emirates Office Tower and Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel, which are connected by a 9,000 m2 two-story retail complex known as "The Boulevard". The building is owned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The two towers, which rise to 354.6 m tall to the tip and 241.4 m high of occupied space, respectively, stand as the 51st tallest buildings in the world and 11th tallest in Dubai. The Emirates Towers complex is located on the Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is a symbol of the city of Dubai. The Emirates Office Tower was constructed by the construction wing of Al Ghurair Investment group and the Emirates Hotel Tower was built by Ssangyong and BESIX subsidiary Six Construct. The hotel has 400 rooms.^[12]

House museum with historic artifacts. Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House is a historic building and former residential quarters of Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, former ruler of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The building is located along the Dubai Creek in the locality of Al Shindagha area. It was established around 1896 as the seat of the Al Maktoum family. The building is now a museum that contains artifacts and images of the old town of Dubai. The displays are distributed onto 9 wings, as follows: The History of Saeed Al Maktoum House, Al Maktoum Family, Old Dubai, Marine Life, Views from Dubai, Social Life in Dubai, Coins and Stamps, Historic Documents and Maps. The total area of building is 3,600 square meters.

The building remain the residency of Sheikh Saeed Al Makhtoum since his death in 1958. The site is also birthplace of his sons and grandsons.^[14]

Mosque in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Jumeirah Mosque is a mosque in Dubai, Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Construction began in 1976; the mosque is built in traditional Fatimid style which originated from Syria and Egypt. Opened in 1979, the Jumeirah Mosque visit has been a key activity under the 'Open Doors. Open Minds.' programs of the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding.

The Jumeirah Grand Mosque was a gift from the Late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the former Ruler of Dubai and father of the current Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It is said that it is the most photographed mosque in all of Dubai. Organized tours are available for non-Muslims. It is open for all to visit whether you're a Muslim or not.^[15]

Gold dealer in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai Gold Souk or Gold Souk, is a traditional market in Dubai, UAE. The souk is located in Dubai's commercial business district in Deira, in the locality of Al Dhagaya. The souk consists of over 380 retailers, most of whom are jewelry traders. Some of the shops are as old as four decades, while some are as new as a year. The major items of mall includes Gold, Platinum, Diamonds and sometimes also deals in silver.

Dubai Gold Souk is bordered to the north by the Dubai Fish and Vegetable Market and the Deira Corniche near Baniyas Square at Sikkat al-Khali Street which is in close proximity to the Deira Bus Stand. On the other side of the Dubai Creek lies Dubai Textile Souk.

Dubai Gold Souk will be soon renovated. The Dubai Municipality plans to make Dubai Gold Souk an upbeat tourist destination.^[16]

Indoor venue with dolphin and seal shows. Dubai Dolphinarium is the first fully air-conditioned indoor dolphinarium in the Middle East, providing habitat to dolphins and seals, allowing the public to watch and interact with them through live shows and photo sessions. It is located in the creek side park at Bur Dubai near the Children's City. Dubai Dolphinarium was opened on May 21, 2008 by Dubai Municipality, and is sponsored and supported by Dubai government to provide the general public with entertainment and also educate them regarding dolphins, seals and other marine organisms. It was also reflected that interacting with such friendly mammals like dolphins will motivate young generation to protect marine life and the environment.^[18]

Pontoon bridge in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Floating Bridge is a pontoon bridge located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The bridge was built between Al Garhoud and Al Maktoum Bridges mainly to reduce traffic in Al Maktoum Bridge. The bridge connects across the intersection near Deira City Centre and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, and ends at the intersection to the Riyadh Street, between Dubai Courts and the Creek Park. The bridge opened on 16 July 2007 where the project cost 155 million dirhams to build and has the capacity of 6,000 vehicles an hour. The bridge also serve as an alternative route for Al Maktoum Bridge where Salik was recently implemented. The Floating Bridge is the fifth crossing on the Dubai Creek while the others are Al Shindagha Tunnel, Al Maktoum Bridge, Al Garhoud Bridge and Business Bay Crossing.^[20]

Al Souk Al Kabir, also referred to as Souk Al Kabir or Meena Bazaar, is a community in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Al Souk Al Kabir is located in the area of Bur Dubai and is one of the oldest residential areas in the city with a predominantly South Asian population, restaurants and shops. The locality, referred to as Meena Bazaar by the local Pakistani and Indian community, also encompasses the historic Al Bastakiya district of Dubai.

Al Souk Al Kabir, literally meaning The Big Market, saw an influx of traders from India in the early 20th century who eventually settled in the area.

Important landmarks in Al Souk Al Kabir include the Al Bastakiya district, Al Fahidi Fort, Dubai Museum, Bank of Baroda and the Hindu temple of Dubai.^[25]

Market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Dubai Textile Souk is a traditional souq of textile products in Dubai's historic Bur Dubai neighbourhood, along the Dubai Creek. It is located in the United Arab Emirates. Opposite to the textile souk on the other side of the Dubai Creek lie the Dubai Spice Souk and Dubai Gold Souk in Deira, accessible via the creek by special abra boats. It is open 10am to 10 pm Saturday to Thursday with some vendors taking a lunch break from 1-4pm and Friday is 4 pm to 10pm only. The souks of Dubai have a rich history of trade within the Persian Gulf region and have developed over time as Dubai urbanised rapidly.

Traditionally, the Dubai Textile Souk was a commercial hub of the exchange in textiles, for functional use of making clothes or for special occasions. Over the years and through Dubai's rapid globalisation, its commercial importance has since faded and has become a more tourist-focused.^[28]

The Deira Corniche is a waterfront promenade in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Deira Corniche, sometimes also referred to as the Dubai Corniche lies in northeastern Dubai, in Deira. The Deira Corniche is flanked to the north by the Persian Gulf and consists of a broad pedestrian walkway that extends to the Dubai Creek.

A contract for the construction of the corniche was signed on September 23, 1975, for a price of US$ 25 million by Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the current deputy ruler of Dubai. A variety of traditional and modern retail and hospitality areas exist along the Deira Corniche. The corniche borders the localities of Al Dhagaya, Ayil Nasir and Al Hamriya Port, all of which are part of the larger Deira central business district. The Dubai Fish and Vegetable Market as well as the Dubai Gold Souk and Dubai Spice Souk are located within the proximity of the corniche. The Hyatt Regency Dubai lies on route D 90 (Al Khaleej Road), which runs parallel to the Deira Corniche.

A US$ 1.3 billion project was initiated in 2004 to restructure the area between the westend of the creek in Deira and Al Hamriya Port, which will involve new residential developments, hotels and the development of Palm Deira off the northeastern coast of Dubai.

A similar promenade also exists on the Bur Dubai side of the Creek, extending from Al Ghubaiba to Al Seef Marine Station.^[29]

Bridge in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Al Maktoum Bridge is a bridge that crosses Dubai Creek in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is one of six crossings on the creek and was the first bridge/crossing in Dubai. The others are Al Shindagha Tunnel, Floating Bridge, Al Garhoud Bridge and Business Bay Crossing. The Dubai Metro also goes under the creek.

Opened in 1963, this bridge enabled people to cross from Bur Dubai to Deira, or vice versa, without using a boat ferry called Abra or going all the way around Dubai Creek. To pay for the bridge, a toll was applied to vehicles crossing the creek going from Deira to Bur Dubai. There was no toll for people travelling in the other direction. Once the bridge was fully paid for in 1973, the toll was removed.

The bridge, and roads leading to it, underwent a widening in 2007. The bridge was widened to increase the bridge's capacity and to ease congestion. The new lanes were opened on 7 November 2007, and increased the capacity to 9,500 vehicles per hour.

The road toll (called Salik), was re-introduced on the Al Maktoum Bridge on 9 September 2008 for both directions. The toll will not be charged when the Floating Bridge is closed (from 10pm to 6am from Saturday to Thursday).^[30]

Refurbished clock tower dating from 1962. Deira Clocktower, originally referred to as the Dubai Clocktower, is a roundabout in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Clocktower is located in eastern Dubai in Deira, at the intersection of Umm Hurair Road and route D 89. Situated in the locality of Al Rigga, the Deira Clocktower, now a prominent monument in Deira, provides access to the Al Maktoum Bridge, the first land crossing constructed between Deira and Bur Dubai. The Dubai clock tower was built in 1965 and was designed by Otto Bullard and Ziki Homsi, a partner at Architecture Design Construction Office.

The Clocktower was erected as a symbol of Dubai and located in Deira because major routes into Dubai converged prior to the building of Dubai - Abu Dhabi Road.

The Deira Clock Tower can be reached by Dubai Metro. The nearest metro station is Al-Rigga on the Red Line. The area around Deira clock tower is very important commercially, and includes the offices of major international airlines operating in UAE.

The Telegraph newspaper listed Dubai Clock Tower among the 17 most beautiful clock towers around the world.^[31]

At the Top is an outdoor observation deck on the Burj Khalifa. It opened on 5 January 2010 on the 124th floor. At 452 m, it was the highest outdoor observation deck in the world when it opened.

Although it was surpassed in December 2011 by Cloud Top 488 on the Canton Tower, Guangzhou at 488 m (1,601 ft), Burj Khalifa opened the 148th floor SKY level at 555 m (1,821 ft), once again giving it the highest observation deck in the world on 15 October 2014, until the Shanghai Tower opened in June 2016 with an observation deck at a height of 561 metres. The 124th floor observation deck also features the electronic telescope, an augmented reality device developed by Gsmprjct° of Montréal, which allows visitors to view the surrounding landscape in real-time, and to view previously saved images such as those taken at different times of day or under different weather conditions. To reduce the daily rush of sightseers, management allows visitors to purchase tickets in advance for a specific date and time, at a 75% discount on tickets purchased on the spot.

On 8 February 2010, the observation deck was closed to the public for two months after power-supply problems caused an elevator to become stuck between floors, trapping a group of tourists for 45 minutes.

When the tide is low and visibility is high, people can see the shores of Iran from the top of the skyscraper.^[32]