Flight time
7h 00m
Best season
November–March
Budget
Mid-range to splurge
Best for
Architecture, desert, luxury, winter sun
Overview
Why Dubai for a city break?
Dubai is the most audacious city-building project in human history — a place that was a small pearl-fishing village in 1960 and is now a metropolis of 3.5 million people with the world's tallest building, the world's largest shopping mall, an indoor ski slope in the desert and islands shaped like a palm tree visible from space. You can find it vulgar; you can find it astonishing; most visitors end up finding it both simultaneously. What's undeniable is that the older Deira and Bur Dubai districts — where the gold souk, the spice souk and the traditional creek trading culture survive almost unchanged — give it a genuine historical dimension that the Marina and Downtown districts lack.
From most UK airports it's seven hours — Emirates, flydubai, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic fly from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and numerous regional airports. Dubai International Airport is 20 minutes from Downtown by Metro (€2.50). Go between November and March: the temperatures are perfect (25–30°C), the outdoor life is magnificent and the Expo legacy sites are accessible. April and October are transitional; May to September are genuinely very hot (40°C+) and the outdoor experience suffers significantly.
Where to stay & explore
Dubai's best neighbourhoods
Downtown Dubai & Business Bay
The modern showpiece — the Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Fountain, the Dubai Mall and the most concentrated luxury hotel and restaurant strip in the city.
Deira & Bur Dubai (Old Dubai)
The original Dubai on either side of the Creek — the gold souk, the spice souk, the textile souk, the abra water taxis and the most authentic version of the city.
Al Quoz & Alserkal Avenue
Dubai's creative district — a cluster of galleries, studios and independent restaurants in converted warehouses, the most culturally interesting neighbourhood in the city.
Things to do
What to see in Dubai
1
Burj Khalifa (At the Top)
The world's tallest building at 828 metres — the At the Top observation decks at levels 124 and 125 (452m) and the premium Sky level at 148 (555m) give panoramic views over the Dubai skyline, the desert and the Gulf. Book the standard deck online well in advance (particularly for the sunset slot); the Sky level requires a separate premium booking. The Dubai Fountain on the artificial lake below performs every 30 minutes from 6pm — the largest choreographed fountain in the world.
2
Old Dubai: the Creek, Gold Souk & Spice Souk
The most authentic part of Dubai — the Dubai Creek divides Deira (north) from Bur Dubai (south), connected by abra water taxis (AED 1, the finest 5-minute journey in the city). The Gold Souk (Deira) is the world's largest gold market — over 300 retailers in covered arcades, prices set by the daily gold rate (negotiable). The Spice Souk nearby sells frankincense, saffron, dried limes and spices from across the Arab world. The Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood (Bur Dubai) — traditional wind-tower houses around the Dubai Museum — is the most complete example of traditional Gulf architecture in the city.
3
Desert safari
The Arabian desert begins immediately outside the city — an evening desert safari (30km into the Hajar foothills, dune bashing by 4WD, camel riding, sandboarding, Bedouin camp with dinner under the stars) is the most distinctive Dubai experience available. Numerous operators run from the city; the better ones limit group sizes. Book a private or small-group option rather than the large coach operations for the most memorable experience. Allow 6 hours; departures from hotels from 3pm.
4
Dubai Frame & the Museum of the Future
The Dubai Frame — a 150-metre picture frame straddling old and new Dubai, with a glass-bottomed sky bridge — is simultaneously the best viewpoint in the city and one of its most witty pieces of architecture: old Dubai in one direction, new Dubai in the other. The Museum of the Future (2022, a torus-shaped building clad in Arabic calligraphy) covers speculative futures across several themed floors with extraordinary production values. Both require advance booking.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Dubai
Nobu Dubai
Japanese-Peruvian / Atlantis
The finest version of Nobu's Japanese-Peruvian fusion in the Middle East — the black cod miso and the new-style sashimi are as good here as anywhere in the world. At the Atlantis Palm resort; the setting is extraordinary even if the Palm itself is not to all tastes. Book ahead.
Arabian Tea House
Traditional Emirati / Al Fahidi
The most authentic traditional Emirati restaurant in Dubai — in the Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, serving the classics of Emirati home cooking: harees (slow-cooked wheat and meat porridge), machboos (spiced rice with lamb or chicken), luqaimat (sweet dumplings with date syrup), and the finest karak chai (spiced milk tea) in the city. The courtyard setting is the most atmospheric in old Dubai.
Ravi Restaurant
Pakistani / Satwa
Dubai's most beloved cheap restaurant — a no-frills Pakistani eatery in the Satwa neighbourhood that has been feeding Dubai's South Asian workforce since 1978 and that remains one of the finest curry experiences in the city. The nihari (slow-cooked beef shin), the daal and the fresh roti are extraordinary. Under AED 50 (£10) for a full meal. No booking; always busy.
Itinerary
3 days in Dubai — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
Old Dubai, the Creek, gold souk, Burj Khalifa at sunset
Metro from the airport to Union station (Red Line, 20 minutes, AED 8.50). Walk to the Creek and take an abra water taxi to Bur Dubai (AED 1). Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood — the wind-tower houses, the Dubai Museum, the XVA Gallery in a restored courtyard house. Walk north along the creek to the Textile Souk, then abra back to Deira. Gold Souk in the morning (before noon when it's less busy). Spice Souk alongside. Metro to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station. The Dubai Mall is the world's largest by area — the Dubai Aquarium (sharks, rays, visible from outside for free), the indoor ice rink, the 1,200 stores. Burj Khalifa At the Top at sunset (booked well ahead). The Dubai Fountain performance from the lakeside promenade at 6pm and 6.30pm. Arabian Tea House for dinner — abra back to old Dubai.
Day 2
Desert safari, evening Bedouin camp
Morning free — the Dubai Frame (book online, 10am opening) and the Museum of the Future (Zabeel Park area, Metro to World Trade Centre). Both are designed as half-day experiences. The Alserkal Avenue galleries in Al Quoz if contemporary art appeals — the cluster of galleries (Carbon 12, The Third Line, Leila Heller) in the converted warehouse district is the most culturally serious part of Dubai. Light lunch before the desert safari pick-up at 3pm. Dune bashing, sandboarding, camel riding as the sun sets over the Hajar foothills. Bedouin camp dinner — shisha, Arabic coffee, the stars. Return to the city by 10pm.
Day 3
Jumeirah Mosque, beach, Dubai Marina walk
The Jumeirah Mosque — the most beautiful mosque in Dubai and one of the few open to non-Muslim visitors (guided tours at 10am and 2pm daily except Friday, AED 35, dress code provided). Walk south along the Jumeirah Beach Road — the finest stretch of public beach in Dubai (Jumeirah Public Beach, free). The Dubai Marina in the afternoon — the artificial marina canal lined with skyscrapers, the marina walk and the yacht clubs. The Marina has the most pleasant pedestrian streetscape in new Dubai. Dinner at Ravi Restaurant in Satwa for the finest cheap curry in the city before the Metro to the airport.
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