Experience Dubai

With a long stretch of shoreline that runs parallel to Sheikh Zayed Road, Jumeirah Beach is the address of a number of the city’s landmarks, including Wild Wadi Water Park, the La Mer shopping and dining beachfront development. Culminating at Jumeirah Beach Residences (known as JBR to the locals), the district is beside The Beach, one of Dubai's favourite family-friendly pedestrian malls. Visitors will find it too easy to spend an entire day – and indeed most of the evening – at The Beach, with hundreds of restaurants, retailers, and a cinema. A few steps away, beachgoers can roll out a picnic blanket, and nearby is an imaginative children's playground.

Perhaps the city's most recognisable district, Palm Jumeirah tops the lists of most visitors’ to-do lists. High-end hotels are a drawcard, with international hotels running along The Palm's trunk, otherwise known as The Golden Mile. Even if you've chosen not to stay on The Palm, the iconic district is worth a visit for the fine-dining restaurants, luxurious spas, beautiful beach clubs and unfettered views of the Gulf’s waters.

Heading into the heart of the city, it’s hard to miss Downtown Dubai’s key bragging rights and world-famous icons: The Dubai Mall (the world's largest mall and most visited shopping and leisure venue) and Burj Khalifa (the tallest building). Record-breakers aside, visitors will find a score of family-friendly activities including the Dubai Fountain, the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, Dubai Ice Rink and Souk Al Bahar. The world-class Dubai Opera and its packed line-up of live performances is also found on Downtown’s palm-lined Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, along with Burj Park, a favourite host of the district’s hottest festivals and pop-up events.

Take a tram up two stops from JBR (for AED5), or a short taxi ride (AED20-25), to the Dubai Marina Mall that sits front and centre of the impressive Dubai Marina district. Walk through to get to the docks, where there’s al fresco seating at most of the water-facing restaurants. See how the marina's waters reflect the surrounding high rises, including the twisting, 90-degree profile of the iconic Cayan Tower. Here, most restaurants are open past midnight, and a merry-go-round and pop-up stalls are there to entertain the whole family to and from dinner. The Marina's gourmet project, Pier 7, is a destination for foodies: the tower rising from the middle of the pedestrian walk hosts seven very different, but equally delicious restaurants on each level.

The former centre of the city, collectively known as Old Dubai, encompasses all the neighbourhoods that hug either side of Dubai Creek. Deira is now best known for its gold and spice souks, and fresh food markets beside abra boat wharves. Just a short abra ride to the south side of the creek is Bur Dubai, which hosts some of the city's best unsung ethnic restaurants, with untold numbers of authentic Arabic, Moroccan and Lebanese menus waiting to be discovered. Part of Old Dubai’s rejuvenation work, Al Seef highlights the district’s important historical relevancy as the city’s cultural hub.

The bustling locale of Business Bay can be found beside Sheikh Zayed Road and the city’s latest waterside attraction, Dubai Canal – a 3.2km long waterway that winds its way from the historic waters of the Creek in Old Dubai through Business Bay and into the Arabian Gulf. Business Bay is home to five-star hotels and sleek office and residential towers. It’s also a foodie hotspot, thanks to the opening of Bleu Blanc and Basta! By celebrity chef David Myers, complementing top lounges including The Eloquent Elephant, Treehouse Dubai and Iris. Dubai's one of a kind live masterpiece, La Perle by Franco Dragone, is also staged at the nearby Habtoor City.