Discover Dubai's story

Emiratis are justifiably proud of their heritage. Local culture is still evident, from the call to prayer that rings across the city to the falconry and camel racing industries and the traditional souks.

Visit Al Fahidi district, home to traditional wind tower houses and the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding where you can learn about local customs, before touring the galleries of Al Quoz to see the city's emerging artists tell their stories in innovative, creative ways.

About town

From sport to art, music and food, there's always an event on in Dubai. If your idea of sport involves a little retail therapy, then start your year with the Dubai Shopping Festival, with bargains and entertainment for the whole family.

The internationally renowned Dubai Rugby Sevens and the lavish Dubai World Cup Carnival are staple sporting events, while Dubai Art Season, Dubai International Film Festival and Dubai Jazz Festival round off the major arts offerings. Epicureans should not miss the Dubai Food Festival, while fitness enthusiasts can partake in the annual Dubai Marathon or Cycle Challenge.

An adrenaline rush

Hurling oneself out of a plane at 13,000 feet is par for the course in Dubai, as is sand boarding down a 300 foot dune; galloping across the desert on an Arabian thoroughbred; and teeing off on a floodlit golf course at midnight. Whatever adventure you seek, Dubai delivers.

Beach bliss

Dubai's glorious sandy beaches, warm Arabian Gulf waters and year round sunshine are the perfect ingredients for anyone who loves to be near the water.

Breathe in the fresh coastal air with a walk along the track that runs from Kite Beach to Sunset Beach, with postcard perfect views of the Burj Al Arab. And there is plenty of aquatic action to be had at Dubai's two fantastic water parks: Aquaventure and Wild Wadi Water Park.

Best breakfasts to fuel up for a day of sightseeing

With over 5,400 eateries, restaurants - foodie and everyone else - are spoiled for choice. Good locations & tastier food make great dining experiences in Dubai.

• Qwaider Al Nabulsi: Start your morning the way hundreds of local commuters do with a visit to the diner for a kunafa, the Emirati version of a cheese danish. Pair it with the ubiquitous iced lemon mint drink, perfect for both cutting through the sugary breakfast roll and quenching early morning thirst.
• Eggspectations: Enjoy creative takes on the classic egg delicacies s by the beach with flatbreads, crepes and decadent variations on French toast.
• Baker & Spice: International dishes, often given a Middle Eastern twist, feast on freshly baked breads and pastries made in-house, homemade jams, and their legendary shakshouka (a Middle Eastern spiced scrambled egg dish).
• The Farm: Set in the lush green surrounds of Al Barari, experience the farm-to-table feel with homemade breads along with fresh & organic delicious cuisine.
• Try these for classic breakfasts, best coffee or authentic Emirati breakfasts: Pantry Café, Comptoir 102, Clinton Street Baking Company, Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding, Tom & Serg.

Eat like an Emirati

• Meylas Food Truck: Hunt down the Meylas food truck (locations listed on instagram @meylas), featuring nextgen foodies prepping the traditional recipes handed down by their mothers and grandmothers.
• Sharwarma: This is one dish that best represents Emirati food. Head to the corniche at Al Mamzar, and duck into the little nameless café opposite the corniche park.
• Deira's traditional tent rooms: Enjoy family-style feasts in traditional tent rooms with dishes like shorbat adas (lentil soup), chicken machboos (chicken cooked with rice in a blend of roasted spices or besar) and laban (thickened drinking yoghurt).
• Emirati Pastries: Find your doze of sugar rush at Al Muraqqabat Street for cookies and Al Samadi Sweets for pastries. Try the local favourites, ma'amoul (spiced date cookie) and bukaj (the cashew nut-stuffed baklava pouch).
• Zaroob: Open 24 hours with hip and arty crowd around, this Emirati-owned eatery aims to recapture the Levant era with their huge menu of fresh meze, grills and man'oushe (flatbread bakes and wraps).

High End Dining

• La Petite Maison: Favourites from this upscale French fare are salt-baked, line-caught sea bass with artichokes and tomatoes, and decadent French toast with spiced ice-cream. Spot visiting celebrities, ubiquitous fashion bloggers, and some of the city's highest rollers.
• Clé Dubai: Middle East meets Michelin with low-slung lounges, three mezze options or a la cart, with contemporary sensibility, making for a satisfying fine-dining experience.
• Qbara: The city's extravagant Arabic fine dining restaurant, Qbara is much more than a meal. Highlights include the lobster kibbeh with avocado labneh, and an equally rich plate of herb marinated roasted bone marrow with botarga and hot Arabic bread.

Dubai's Spice Temples

Those who love a meal spiced to the nines will love Mint Leaf of London, Spice Emporium, Amala and Hakkasan.

Sizzling Steakhouses

From sky-high settings to beachside steakhouses; Latin American flavours to the best of British, this is a carnivore's guide in Dubai. Try out Gaucho, Prime68, Ruth's Chris Steak House, MJ's Steakhouse, La Parrilla, and The Rib Room.

Few of the latest happening entrants on the city's menu

A foodie's paradise indeed, Dubai's new entrants like Cielo Tapas Bar & Sky Lounge, Table 9, Sapori di Bice, GQ Bar, Fumé, La Porte Des Indes, Sass Café are a must try.

Skydive Dubai

It's well known that Dubai with its wealth of spas, luxurious hotels and high end restaurants is a haven for those in search of relaxation, but a side of the city that doesn't get much coverage is its substantial offering for adrenaline junkies. From skydiving to dune bashing, there's no shortage of thrills among the luxury.

By its very nature, skydiving is a spectacular activity. After all, how could jumping out of a plane at 13,000 ft not be? However, the factor that can really elevate a skydive from exhilarating to completely unforgettable is the view. It just so happens that the jump zone at Skydive Dubai offers one of the most incredible views in the world - The Palm Jumeirah. Inexperienced or even first time skydivers can jump tandem, safe in the knowledge that they are attached to an expert. Just hold on tight and enjoy that unforgettable view.

Desert Safari with Arabian Nights Tours

Dubai's rugged desert terrain means there are plenty of thrills to be found on terra firma as well as in the air. Dune bashing, driving up and down the soft sand dunes in high powered FWD cars is one such thrill. With the cars often sliding down the dunes sideways, it's guaranteed edge of the seat excitement.

For those who aren't experienced dune drivers, the best way to go dune bashing is by booking into a desert safari. Dozens of operators offer this type of trip, with a typical desert safari consisting of dune bashing on the way out to a desert base camp, where barbecue is served and traditional dancers entertain.

Aquaventure, Atlantis The Palm

It might not be quite as extreme as high speed desert driving or jumping out of a plane, but Atlantis The Palm's water park Aquaventure has a few attractions that will give even the most hardy thrill-seeker a run for their money. Laid out into two main towers (Poseidon and Neptune) surrounded by a lazy river that transports riders between slides, Aquaventure boasts some of the most adrenaline pumping rides of any water park in the world.

Recent installations in the Tower of Poseidon have added more fear factor: the terrifying Poseidon's Revenge is perhaps the most daunting, with riders enclosed in a transparent vertical tube before a trapdoor opens, sending them plummeting towards the ground. One of the park's original slides, The Leap of Faith, is a wide open, near vertical drop that only the bravest of riders dare undertake.

Embark on an authentic desert safari

Desert safaris are hugely popular, and most tour operators include dune bashing in their experience, followed by a barbecue dinner in a desert camp with traditional majlis style seating, music and dance performances, henna tattoos and camel rides. Transfers from the city are in a vintage Land Rover, the setting is the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve(a protected wildlife site), and the Bedouin camp is traditional yet luxurious. Learn to cook a local dish, and sample classic Arabic cuisine.

Overnight safari experiences are available, too. Stay the night at a desert resort. If an evening among the dunes isn't enough, extend your experience with an overnight stay at one of the many luxe resorts in the heart of Dubai's peaceful desert. The Arabian Dreams overnight safari with Arabian Adventures will take you to the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve area where only limited vehicles are permitted. There, you can enjoy a delicious barbecue dinner and a night of 'glamping' (upscale, glamorous camping) in the desert. A hot breakfast and drive to see the local wildlife at dawn is the perfect way to finish off your stay.

Date night in Dubai, The most romantic tables for two

Dubai is the perfect city for romantics to dine. Book a table at any of these romantic restaurants for a night to set the heart index to high.

This seaside restaurant is exactly as the name suggests, located on the tip of Al Qasr's jetty and graced with both impeccable service & billion dollar views. Book for around 6pm to enjoy front row seats to the sun setting into the Arabian Gulf. Selected by three Michelin starred French chef Laurent Gras, the menu focuses on delicate ceviche, oysters & an impressive whole catch of the day for two.

Imagine being encircled by Dubai's world famous dancing fountains in Burj Lake while enjoying dinner by candlelight. It may sound a little Disney esque, but this fine dining Thai restaurant cannot be faulted in the serious romance stakes. With a location this brilliant, the menu needs to be completely delicious to capture your attention, and Thiptara does just that, with a perfect pomelo and prawn salad, and a Thai green curry with the right mix of sour & sweet.

An iconic restaurant for Dubai's equally iconic Burj Al Arab, Al Mahara whisks guests under the sea for an experience that's about as close as it comes to dining underwater. A floor to ceiling aquarium takes centre-stage, arching over the tables with its schools of hypnotically swirling fish, plus a few sharks. Splash out when ordering from the A-list menu (obviously fish is highly recommended) for a truly memorable date. Be sure to book ahead, as this once in a lifetime venue is in hot demand with locals & hotel guests alike.

Sky Table

The name says it all. Sky Table offers perhaps one of the best bird's eye views to night time diners, with a 180 degree view of the illuminated Burj Khalifa, the fountains and the bright lights of Downtown Dubai below.

The Sky Table shares a kitchen with the Sofitel's signature kitchen, The Red Grill, serving rustic style French with a penchant for buttery sauces. Even better, the single table seats only eight, meaning you can book the entire alcove for a private dining space. Consider this the ultimate in Dubai's romance arsenal.

Dubai's Must visit Hammams

Beauty baths for any budget. Popular since the 14th century, and also known as Turkish baths, hammams were originally a social activity to be undertaken en masse to deep clean before prayer. Seeing their potential as an exciting and effective addition to a desert dweller's beauty routine, spas and salons in Dubai have reinvented the ritual to become a super charged skin detoxing and smoothing treatment.

While they may all have in common the familiar cycle of being scrubbed, rinsed, then scrubbed again, the hammams have something special that makes the local devotees' regular return visits completely worth it.

One & Only Oriental Hammam, Jumeirah Beach Road

Those looking for the royal treatment need look no further than the One & Only Royal Mirage's stand alone hammam spa, complete with individual and group treatments, all beneath a stunning mosaic stained glass ceiling.

It may be one of the more high end options, frequented by both local and international celebrities, but that doesn't stop your therapist from getting downright vigorous in scrubbing every last inch of exposed skin.

It's a marathon session, featuring multiple trips to the steam room and a surplus of scrubs, rinses and eucalyptus scented clay treatments, plus a creamed honey face and hair mask that smells good enough to eat, but the smooth, glowing skin that follows is undoubtedly worth it.

Ski Dubai

There is so much on offer for families of any age, range and size -from a desert safari to sand boarding, riding a camel to enjoying a traditional meal. Take the family out on a desert safari to go sand boarding, ride a camel and enjoy a traditional meal.

If you prefer to stay in town, catch the record breaking fountain show that kicks off every half hour from 6pm outside The Dubai Mall and then head to a theme park such as KidZania or Sega Republic to give your kids and yourselves a well earned break.

As bizarre as it may sound, this desert city does indeed have a ski slope. Located in the Mall of the Emirates, Ski Dubai boasts a massive 22,500m2 indoor skiing area, including the first indoor black ski run in the world.

As well as the serious skiing facilities, the slope offers a range of activities for children, including toboggan slides, a dual track bobsled course, and even a chance to meet Ski Dubai's resident penguins, which come out to play at regular intervals.

Wild Wadi Water Park

Dubai's original waterpark remains ever popular with families, with enough thrills to keep the whole Family happy. Older children and adults can still get their adrenaline pumping on water slides including Jumeirah Sceirah, while younger children will love splashing about the wave pool and exploring the family play area.

KidZania

With a name like KidZania, it's no surprise that this theme park is one of Dubai's most popular hangouts for children. The Dubai Mall based venue is an interactive entertainment centre where kids can act out one of more than 80 role playing experiences from chef, to fire fighter, to pilot in a real city environment, offering an education and entertaining experience.

Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo

The next child centric attraction isn't far from KidZania. Down a few escalators in The Dubai Mall lies the impressive Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo. Home to beautiful creatures including sharks, stingrays and a colossal king crocodile, it's hard to believe such an extensive menagerie is contained inside a shopping mall.

For those who want to get a bit closer to the action, the aquarium gives divers the chance to come face to face with fearsome sand tiger sharks. If that's one step too far, cage snorkelling can also be arranged.

Candylicious

You'll be forgiven for thinking that you've stepped into Willy Wonka's chocolate factory when you discover one of the largest candy stores in the world at The Dubai Mall. Candylicious comprises 10,000sq ft of sweet delight with over 5,000 types of confectionary and chocolate. This venture into the land of sweets, truly defines sugar rush!

iFly Dubai

Ever wondered what it felt like to be a bird? Well wonder no more and visit iFly Dubai, the world's first-ever double and vertical wind tunnel at Mirdif City Centre mall. Step inside the tunnel and let the blast of air propel you upwards. With your arms splade, you'll be flying in no time. You don't need to be a pro skydiver to have a go - from newbies to experts, from the age of three to 103, everyone's welcome.

Hot air balloon

Glide in a hot air balloon The children will forgive you for the early morning start when they are soaring above the sand dunes in a hot air balloon. Keep an eye out for wandering camels and prancing gazelles as you enjoy a magic carpet ride over the ocean of desert below in what is an exhilarating and unforgettable adventure. Children must be over six-years-old.

Magic Planet

Whether you're looking for fun that's downright adrenaline-fueled or for recreation that's a bit more relaxing, there's something for every member of the family at Magic Planet, located at Deira City Centre, Mirdif City Centre, and at Mall of the Emirates - where it's the largest indoor family entertainment centre in Dubai.

SEGA Republic

One of the biggest and most thrilling indoor theme parks, the double-story SEGA Republic at The Dubai Mall is a must do for everyone.

Dubai Ice Rink

It's always a winter wonderland at Dubai Ice Rink. Located in The Dubai Mall, the Olympic-sized rink provides larger than life fun on the ice for everyone. The rink offers Learn to Skate programmes & Disco Dance parties for both the young and the young-at-heart.

The Dubai Mall Ice-rink, aquarium and luxury shopping

Mall capital of the world Dubai's 95 plus shopping centres are more like mini metropolises. Start with the country themed sections of Ibn Battuta Mall before visiting the penguins at Ski Dubai at Mall of the Emirates and the stunning Aquarium at The Dubai Mall. Splurge across Dubai Festival City Mall, City Centre Mirdif, BurJuman Centre, Dubai Outlet Mall, Wafi Mall and others. For bargain buys, head to Deira Souq. Modern interpretations of the traditional marketplace can be found at Souk Al Baharand Madinat Jumeirah.

The world's largest mall, Dubai Mall has everything from clothing to shoes, souvenirs to entertainment and food, all under one massive roof. There is also an Olympic sized ice skating rink and the awesome Dubai Aquarium. Not to mention the 1000 plus retailers, which include high street favourites such as Topshop, Zara and COS, and department stores Bloomingdale's and Galeries Lafayette.

Luxury labels find their home in Fashion Avenue- a glossy section dedicated to high-end designers such as Chanel, Lanvin, Etro and Burberry, with the nearby Level Shoe District boasting 96,000 square feet of retail space and brands such as Nicholas Kirkwood, Saint Laurent Paris and Dior.

Mercato Mall-Italian village themed shopping mall

Dubai's original themed mall, Mercato Mall mimics the sights and feel of a Renaissance era Italian village for a fashionable day out with the girls.

European style archways and cobbled streets lead to open plazas. The covered central court complete with Italian countryside mural is the perfect place to sip an espresso (with a side of biscotti, of course) post shop.

Fashion dominates, with shoppers able to choose from international retailers such as Laura Ashley and Jack Wills and local boutiques including Zinzin.

There's a wealth of bakeries and confectioners to choose from, with Cakery Epicerie by Stephane Glacier a favourite with locals for a quick pick me up treat and Alison Nelson's Chocolate Bar the perfect option for a sneaky truffle and the city's creamiest hot chocolate.

Ibn Battuta -world's largest themed mall

Known for its exaggerated decor, Ibn Battuta Mall celebrates the travels of the Moroccan traveller of the same name.

Each section of mall is named after one of countries he docked at during his travels in the 12th century. Egypt, Persia and Andalusia Courts are among the destinations featured, each decorated in idiosyncratic style - think elaborate tiling, a gigantic golden elephant, a high ceiling painted to resemble blue skies, and China's lush outdoor tea gardens.

The centrepiece an Eastern style ship rolling though a fountain finishes off the mall's over the top appeal, making it a fun filled destination for adults and children alike. Interior design aside, Ibn Battuta is a treasure trove of fashion, lifestyle and sporting shops, with regular mall wide in store promotions and celebrations.

Dubai Marina Mall - International fashion and dining

Sitting on the shores of the marina, Dubai Marina Mall offers a casual family shopping experience, with its variety of international retailers and an emphasis on affordable high street fashion and beauty services in a relaxed atmosphere.

There's plenty of choice for lunch, with options including Indian, Italian, Lebanese and bistro, all with outdoor alfresco seating along the water's edge and multiple coffee shops beneath the high ceiling of the Dome at the heart of the mall.

The Pier 7 tower which is next door, offers seven exciting new dining concepts, each with breezy terrace seating.

The Beach Mall - Eclectic and homegrown stores and boutiques

Skirting the coastline, Beach Mall is both a beach and a mall - and so it ticks the boxes for the kids who want to frolic on the sands and the grown-ups who want to browse in the many eclectic and homegrown stores and boutiques along the beach.

Browse the boutiques & markets - Shop till you drop

Where malls and mainstream brands have ruled in the past, the city's independent boutique scene is on the rise and you'll find them scattered along the stretch of Jumeirah Beach Road and Al Wasl Road.

Best visited are The Beach, City Walk, local boutique S*uce, chic villa-turned-boutique O De Rose. Catch the ARTE Market held twice a month (except during July and August) and RIPE Market every Saturday until September at the Times Square Centre.