The glass bridge
A floor panel that clears beneath your feet at a hundred and fifty metres.
Sachimo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Richard N Horne — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Saaremees — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rennboot — CC BY 3.0
An enormous gilded picture frame standing in Zabeel Park, a hundred and fifty metres high and ninety-five wide, whose whole idea is its position: it stands between old Dubai and new Dubai and frames one on each side. From the top floor you look north to Deira, Bur Dubai and the creek — the Dubai that was. Turn south and you see the Burj Khalifa, Sheikh Zayed Road and the towers of the centre — the Dubai that became. That contrast is the building's only real point, and it delivers it. The glass bridge at the top is what people come for: a transparent panel in the floor that clouds over and then clears beneath your feet at a hundred and fifty metres. It works particularly well on children. Downstairs is a short exhibition on Dubai's past and upstairs another on its future; neither deserves much time. An hour covers it, and the ticket costs far less than the top of the Burj Khalifa. If you have time for only one high view in Dubai the Frame is not the first choice, but it is the best value for money. The best hour is about one before sunset, so you see both sides in daylight and then lit.
A floor panel that clears beneath your feet at a hundred and fifty metres.
Deira, Bur Dubai and the creek — the city before oil and towers.
The Burj Khalifa, Sheikh Zayed Road and the centre's towers in one line.
Zabeel Park, Dubai
The Burj is far higher, its view far wider and its ticket several times the price; it is the choice if height itself is the point. The Frame is cheaper, shorter and a cleverer idea, and its view of old Dubai is better because it stands closer to it. One visit and an open budget, take the Burj; weighing the price, take the Frame.
Yes, among the better options in Dubai for them: the visit is short, the lift quick, the glass bridge entertaining, and the park around it has play areas. The two exhibitions are short enough not to bore them.
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