Marakez

Dubai, the country of varieties, to list all of Dubai’s awesome things to do and attractions in one shot would be an endless task, so instead we’ve picked the best of the bunch that should be on your Dubai bucket list. It’s time to get out there and start ticking them off.

There are heaps of amazing things to do in Dubai, from brunches to theatre, beaches or shopping. Whatever things to do you’re looking for, you’re sure to find something fantastic. With world-class restaurants (click here to see our pick of the very best in the city) as well as some stunning rooftop bars, super-clubs and ladies’ nights, there are loads to keep you occupied. We tried to collect as much information about these places as we can, to show you what you can do in Dubai while you are visiting there.

1- Dubai Creek & Al Seef

This relative newcomer to Dubai’s Creekside eating and shopping scene, Al Seef sits on the Bur Dubai side of Dubai Creek. Al Seef is a region of Dubai soaks in history, with a tremendous amount of Emirati culture. This most recent fascination inclines intensely on the contemporary elements of life in Dubai but also has a nostalgic bend. From here you’ll be able to eat at one of the eateries, such as Skafos, or hop on Bateaux Dubai for the best supper on the water. There is a bounty of things to do by the waterfront from touring to shopping. Dubai Creek separates the city into two towns, with Deira to the north and Bur Dubai to the south. The river has been a powerful component within the city’s development, to begin with pulling in pioneers here to fish and pearl dive. Little villages grew up nearby the creek as far back as 4,000 a long time prior, whereas the present-day period started within the 1830s when the Bani Yas tribe settled within the area.

The Dhow Wharfage is located along Dubai Creek’s bank, north of Al-Maktoum Bridge. There are small traders from across the Gulf still using it. Some of the dhows anchored here are well over 100 years old. You can visit and watch cargo being loaded and unloaded on and off the dhows. Dhow workers often invite visitors onto the vessels for a tour. Many of the dhows here travel onwards to Kuwait, Iran, Oman, India, and down to Africa’s horn. This tiny remnant of Dubai’s traditional economy is still a bustling and fascinating place to wander around.

It’s a great place for a stroll with excellent water views. On the Bur Dubai side of the creek, rubbing up against the Bastakia neighborhood, the waterfront has been regenerated as the Al Seef district, with a waterfront promenade backed by traditional coral-block and limestone buildings, a floating market, and shops selling crafts. To travel across the creek, you can either take a trip on one of the many shows that have been restored as tourist cruise boats or take an “Abbara” (small wooden ferry) between the ferry points on the creek’s Bur Dubai and Deira banks.

Free. Open every day at 10am-midnight.

2- Burj Khalifa

The Dubai Mall

Even if you aren’t able to indulge in a spot of retail therapy, the world’s biggest mall still has plenty you can do and see. It’s home to The Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, where you can marvel at 300 sharks and countless species of fish completely free from the outside of the tank, as well as Dubai Ice Rink where you can learn to skate.

The Dubai Mall: Open daily 10am-midnight. Downtown Dubai (800 382246255).

Dubai Mall is the city’s premier mall and provides entry to the Burj Khalifa, as well as the Dubai Aquarium. There is also an ice-skating rink, gaming zone, and cinema complex if you’re looking for more entertainment options. Shopping and eating is endless, and there are nearly always special events such as live music and fashion shows within the mall. The most famous of these are the annual Dubai Shopping Festival in January and February and the Dubai Summer Surprises Festival in July and August.

Location: Doha Road, just off Sheikh Zayed Road

Official site: http://www.thedubaimall.com/

3- Dubai Museum

Have a spare Dhs3 in your pocket? Inside the walls of Al Fahidi Fort in Old Dubai is a brilliant tribute to the city’s past. The historic building is home to a wide variety of life-size dioramas that depict Emirati life from a bygone era. Soak in the heritage as you take a tour through traditional scenes of Arab households, souks, and mosques offering unique insights into life in the desert by the sea. For more things to do in Old Dubai click here.

Dubai’s excellent museum is housed in the Al-Fahidi Fort, built-in 1787 to defend Dubai Creek. The fort’s walls are built out of traditional coral-blocks and held together with lime. The upper floor is supported by wooden poles, and the ceiling is constructed from palm fronds, mud, and plaster.

In its history, the fort has served as a residence for the ruling family, a seat of government, garrison, and prison. Restored in 1971 (and again extensively in 1995), it is now the city’s premier museum. The entrance has a fascinating exhibition of old maps of the Emirates and Dubai, showing the mammoth expansion that hit the region after the oil boom.

The courtyard is home to several traditional boats and a palm-leaf house with an Emirati wind-tower. The right-hand hall features weaponry, and the left-hand hall showcases Emirati musical instruments. Below the ground floor are display halls with exhibits and dioramas covering various aspects of traditional Emirati life (including pearl fishing and Bedouin desert life), as well as artifacts from the 3,000- to 4,000-year-old graves at Al Qusais archaeological site.

Address: Al-Fahidi Street, Al-Fahidi

Dhs3 (adults). Dhs1 (kids under six). Open Sat-Thu 8.30am-8.30pm, Fri 2.30pm-8.30pm, Fri 2.30pm-8.30pm. Al Fahidi Historical District, Bur Dubai (04 353 1862).

4- Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum House

Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum was the Ruler of Dubai from 1921 to 1958 and grandfather to the current ruler. His former residence has been rebuilt and restored as a museum that is a fine example of Arabian architecture.

The original house was built in 1896 by Sheikh Saeed’s father, so he could observe shipping activity from the balconies. It was demolished, but the current house was rebuilt next to the original site, staying true to the original model by incorporating carved teak doors, wooden lattice screens across the windows, and gypsum ventilation screens with floral and geometric designs. Thirty rooms are built around a central courtyard with wind-tower details on top.

Inside are the exhibits of the Dubai Museum of Historical Photographs and Documents, with many wonderful old photographs of Dubai from the period between 1948 and 1953. The marine wing of the museum has photos of fishing, pearling, and boat building. Throughout the building, there are many letters, maps, coins, and stamps on display showing the development of the Emirate.

Nearby is the Sheikh Obaid bin Thani House, restored with displays of traditional interiors.

Address: Al Khaleej Road, Bur Dubai

5- Jumeirah Mosque

Jumeirah Mosque is considered by many to be the most beautiful of Dubai’s mosques. An exact copy of Cairo’s Al-Azhar Mosque, which is eight times its size, the Jumeirah Mosque is a fine example of Islamic architecture. This stone structure is built in the medieval Fatimid tradition, with two minarets that display the subtle details in the stonework. It is particularly attractive in the evening when lit with floodlights.

The Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Cultural Understanding (which also runs a program of tours, lectures, Arabic classes, and cultural meals) organizes guided tours of the mosque designed to try to foster a better understanding of the Muslim faith. Tours begin at 10am daily, except Fridays.

Free. Open daily 10am-midnight. Al Seef, Dubai Creek, www.alseef.ae

Address: Jumeirah Road

6- Deira

Deira lies on the northern bank of Dubai Creek, and the winding streets here unveil the melting pot of different nationalities that have come to call Dubai home. On the shore, ancient dhows load and unload with modern banks, hotels, and office buildings as a backdrop.

For travelers, Deira is most famous for its traditional souks (markets), which bustle with shoppers at all times of the day. Deira Gold Souk is world-renowned as the largest gold bazaar in the world. The Deira Spice Souk sells every imaginable spice, with stalls overflowing with bags of frankincense, cumin, paprika, saffron, sumac, and thyme, as well as the fragrant oud wood, rose water, and incense. The fish market provides a much less touristy experience.

While in the district, culture lovers shouldn’t miss two of Deira’s finely restored architectural gems. Heritage House was built in 1890 as the home of a wealthy Iranian merchant and later became the home of Sheik Ahmed bin Dalmouk (a famous pearl merchant in Dubai). Today, it’s a great chance to see the interior of a traditional family home. The Al-Ahmadiya School, constructed in 1912, is the oldest school in Dubai and is now a museum of public education.

Location: Dubai Creek

7- Dubai Frame

This cool vantage point allows visitors to see the city’s past, present, and future in a one-hour tour with unique views of ‘old’ and ‘new’ Dubai from a 150-meter-high sky glass bridge. Also known as Berwaz Dubai, the Frame comprises two towers measuring 150 meters in height and connected by the 93-meter long bridge at the top.

Sitting slap-bang between Dubai’s older neighborhoods clustered around the creek and the city’s modern sprawl, this ginormous 150-meter-high picture frame is one of Dubai’s latest sights. Inside, a series of galleries whisk you through the city’s history and explore Emirati heritage before you travel up to the Sky Deck, where there are fantastic panoramas of both old and new Dubai to be snapped on the viewing platforms.

Afterward check out Future Dubai gallery, which imagines what a futuristic vision of the city will look like.

Address: Zabeel Park, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road

From Dhs20 (kids), Dhs50 (adults) free (kids under three, adults over 60 and people of determination). Open daily 10am-7pm. Zabeel Park, www.thedubaiframe.com

8- Aquaventure and Atlantis The Palm

Atlantis The Palm has loads of superb restaurants from Nobu to Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen and a huge aquarium called The Lost Chambers (which you can even do yoga in). Pay a visit to the Aquaventure Waterpark, swim with dolphins or feed some stingrays. If you’re feeling brave, you can even try the record-breaking Leap of Faith slide which hurtles you through a glass tunnel surrounded by sharks.

Aquaventure: From Dhs195 (adults, residents), Dhs170 (kids less than 1.2m tall, residents). Under two, free. Open daily 10am-6pm. Atlantis The Palm (04 426 0000).

9- Burj Al Arab

The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah is one of the most iconic buildings in the Middle East, if not the world. The sail-shaped structure is one of a kind and the hotel is synonymous with luxury. Head to Skyview Bar for inventive mixed drinks with a view, or visit Scape Restaurant and Lounge for a gorgeous outdoor terrace. Meanwhile Gold on 27 is a bucket list place for a swanky mixed beverage.

Burj Al Arab, Umm Suqeim (04 301 7777).

10- Global Village

More than 70 countries are represented with themed stalls, shows, presentations and attractions at what has grown to become a global-themed part-funfair, part-cultural festival, and part-market. There are more than 100 themed kiosks offering street food from around the world, while the huge main stage hosts performances every weekend.

Nov-Apr, 4pm-midnight (Sun-Thu), 4pm—1am (Fri-Sat). Global Village, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, www.globallvillage.ae