Dubai is indeed known for its futuristic appearance, which you will be exposed to in a moment, but first, we present to you the city's historic neighborhood, also known as "Al Bastakiya," which will take you back to the 1890s. At its peak, it had 60 residential units, most of which were spread over narrow alleys where Iranian immigrant merchants lived. This historic neighborhood was destroyed in the 1980s and was restored in a project that began in 2005. Today, you can wander through it and enjoy galleries, cafes, and various museums such as the Dubai Museum, considered one of the most important of its kind in the country. Additionally, history enthusiasts among you will surely enjoy visiting Al Fahidi Fort, which was built back in 1787 – making it the oldest building in Dubai. In the museum located within it, opened to the public in 1971, you can learn about the city's residents' lives through galleries and important historical artifacts.
Now let's move on to one of the attractions most identified with this Emirati city – the giant and magnificent Dubai Frame, described by the Guardian newspaper as "the world's largest picture frame." You can find this impressive architectural sculpture in Zabeel Park, where it has stood since 2018. This unique frame, designed by Fernando Donis, was chosen from about 1,000 proposals submitted to a design competition organized by the Dubai government to promote an innovative perception of the place. According to the designer, the creative idea came from a desire to frame all the items in this city – with a giant frame 150 meters tall, made of glass, steel, aluminum, and concrete. It is positioned so that from one side, you can see its modern side, and from the other – its ancient areas, thus uniting Dubai's past and future.
Whether you're a botany enthusiast or not – you must include in your trip to Dubai the world's largest flower garden. This beautiful park, which miraculously grows and flourishes in the heart of the desert, was opened to the public on a symbolic date – Valentine's Day in 2013, already making it a fantastic attraction for couples. It covers an area of 780,000 square meters and contains over 50 million flowers, around 250 million plants, and a variety of amazing displays such as flower beds, heart-shaped arches, and decorated castles. In addition, it has rotating exhibitions and an indoor butterfly garden featuring about 15,000 butterflies from 26 species. Also, your children will likely enjoy this cool park, especially the Disney-themed areas – with special flower structures in the shapes of beloved characters like Minnie and Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and more friends. However, it's essential to know that the park is closed during the summer months due to the intense heat in the region during this season.
Jumeirah is a beachfront strip in Dubai, so if you're looking to spend a day at the beach – this is the place for you. In addition to its beautiful beaches, you can also find this site, considered one of the most beautiful and photographed mosques in the country. Construction of this site, a gift from Dubai's former leader, began in 1976 and was completed three years later. The mosque is designed in a traditional architectural style that originated in Syria and Egypt. The building hosts an activity called "Open Doors, Open Minds," intended to promote cultural understanding even among non-Muslim visitors – meaning people from around the world can visit it as part of guided tours.
No trip abroad is complete without adding a shopping center to your itinerary – and this place is undoubtedly perfect for that! Meet the fifth-largest mall in the world, spanning an area of 1.1 million square meters and currently undergoing expansion. What can you do in this gigantic and impressive complex? Well, Dubai offers you an extraordinary mall with about 1,200 stores, an indoor gold market, and food stalls – but that's not all. It also features an ice-skating rink, an artificial waterfall, a large aquarium, and an amusement park. Additionally, it hosts performances, festivals, and fashion shows, meaning it's never boring. The mall's construction cost is estimated at about $20 billion, taking over four years to complete, with its opening in 2008. It's definitely a great place to visit with the whole family, especially if you're interested in visiting the adjacent Burj Khalifa building, which we will present to you later.
This cool park is perfect for your children, and also for those of you who feel young at heart. This indoor site, which opened to the public in 2016, is Dubai's first themed park and is divided into five zones – Cartoon Network, the cinematic world of Marvel, two dinosaur-themed zones, and a special cinema. In other words, if your kids love Bob the Builder, Spider-Man, and play with Barbie dolls all day – this is the place for them! The entire park covers an area of about 140,000 square meters, which includes roller coasters like the thrilling one in the video below, and plenty of family attractions.
Want to tour the United States, distant Asia, Europe, or even Arab countries? No problem, because near the IMG Worlds of Adventure park, you'll find a special site that answers precisely that! In this tourism, leisure, shopping, and entertainment complex, considered the first and largest of its kind in the world, Dubai allows you to visit 90 countries worldwide in one day. In its early days back in 1997, it included several kiosks in a different area of Dubai, and today it spans 1.6 million square meters at its current location. As already mentioned, it is divided into zones, each featuring events, carnivals, exhibits, and food and shopping stalls dedicated to a specific region of the world. This is undoubtedly the place where you and your family can explore the world!
8. Desert Safari in Dubai
If you'd like to take a break from Dubai's amazing urban scenery in favor of the nearby desert, there are plenty of travel agencies happy to assist! Today, you can find many tour packages that offer various options depending on your abilities and desires, providing excursions departing from Dubai itself in the morning, afternoon, or evening. As part of these, you can enjoy activities like camel riding, traditional meals, belly dance performances, and dune skiing. These tours are mainly conducted in 4x4 off-road vehicles, and you can also stay overnight in an organized camp. It’s worth noting that these tours are guided – to help you navigate the vast desert, and it's undoubtedly a great opportunity for a real adventure during your trip to Dubai!
Have you always dreamed of visiting Legoland but didn't want to fly to distant countries? Dubai offers a great solution – the first Legoland park to open in the Middle East. This special park, perfect for children aged 2-12, opened in 2016 and includes a hotel and two unique zones – a Lego park and a water park. This complex features 15,000 miniature models of sites and buildings from around the world, about 60 attractions, water slides, performances, and Lego assembly activities. The Legoland park itself has six zones – Factory, Lego City, Imagination, Kingdoms, Adventure, and Miniland, each with its own special attractions. So, if you've always been fascinated by Lego wonders and dreamed of riding dragons or driving giant Lego cars – this is the place for you!
Of course, it's impossible to ignore the stunning skyscrapers that adorn Dubai and make it so futuristic. One of them, considered particularly famous and the tallest building in the world, is the Burj Khalifa, rising to a height of 828 meters and 163 floors – making it the tallest structure in the world as of 2020. This building, whose construction cost is estimated at $1.5 billion, is at the heart of a mixed-use project combining commercial, residential, and entertainment areas, including Dubai Mall, which we presented earlier. The Burj Khalifa is designed in a spiral structure that helps it withstand strong winds and facilitates infrastructure planning for the upper floors, meaning you can feel safe standing on its top floors. If you wondered what's inside this towering structure – it includes a hotel, apartments, offices, and an outdoor pool on the 76th floor. Surrounding the building is a park with decorative pools and fountains, including the Dubai Fountain, considered one of the largest in the world. In the video below, you can see how amazing it is, and we are sure it will make you want to visit this magnificent city...
