The Dubai Fountain
Water, light and music every half hour in the evening, entirely free.
Marek Ślusarczyk (Tupungato) Photo portfolio — CC BY 3.0 · Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France — CC BY 2.0 · Aliosha Bielenberg from Providence, United States — CC BY 2.0 · giggel — CC BY 3.0
The largest shopping centre in the world by total area, and the most visited building on earth — more than a hundred million visitors a year, more than any tourist monument anywhere. Shopping is the least of the reasons to come. What makes it a destination is everything that is not a shop: the Dubai Aquarium, whose vast glass wall is visible free from the walkway and whose tunnel is ticketed; an Olympic-sized ice rink; a waterfall running down three floors; and Souk Al Bahar's old-Arabian timber design. It also holds the entrance to At the Top, the Burj Khalifa observation deck, which alone brings many people through the doors. The Dubai Fountain sits in the lake just outside and runs every half hour through the evening — five minutes of water, light and music, entirely free and among the best things in the city at no cost. The best places to watch are the lake promenade or the bridge by Souk Al Bahar. The scale is disorienting: anyone who walks in without a plan loses an hour looking for one place. Fix your destination and follow the direction boards. Peak times are Thursday and Friday evenings, and the crowding then is genuinely heavy.
Water, light and music every half hour in the evening, entirely free.
A huge glass wall free from the walkway, with the tunnel ticketed.
At the Top is entered from inside the mall, on a pre-booked ticket.
Downtown Dubai, at the Burj Khalifa
The lake promenade directly in front of the mall is closest and most crowded. The Souk Al Bahar bridge gives a higher, wider angle that takes in the fountain and the tower together. Arrive ten minutes early in the evening — the front row fills.
Three hours covers the non-shopping attractions and the fountain. Add the aquarium and the tower deck and it becomes a full day. For shopping alone there is no limit.
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