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Community in Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Photo: Gryffindor, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Within Jumeirah you'll find most of the tourist attractions that modern Dubai has to offer. Nonetheless the majority of its territory consists of residential and commercial areas. This article also covers the Palm and World Islands off the coast of Dubai.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
Tower of the Arabs
This huge sail-shaped hotel completed in 1999 is a symbol of Dubai and its ascent in the world. The self-proclaimed world's first seven-star hotel (actually a five-star deluxe hotel) was the first icon of Dubai and still stands out on the skyline from its location on an artificial island 280 m from the beach. Entry to the hotel is restricted to hotel guests, those with a restaurant reservation (minimum spend 200AED) or a guided tour (starting from 250AED for a 60-90min tour). A smart casual dress code applies but is not strictly enforced. Make restaurant reservations in advance.
Khalifa Tower
At 828 m and 160 floors this is the world's tallest structure by a long shot, over 300 m taller than the previous contender in Taipei. The observation deck at the 124th floor is the second highest in the world after the Shanghai World Financial centre. Dominating the Dubai skyline, the tower houses a hotel and a Las Vegas-inspired fountain system. The visitors' entrance is at the lower ground floor of Dubai Mall. Although the tour is called At the Top, it isn't! At 452 m it's just over halfway up the tower itself. Console yourself with the knowledge that most of the rest of the tower consists of service areas and the view below looks suitably ant-like.
At 270m (900 ft) in length and sporting a jet that shoots water up to 150m (500 ft), it is the world's largest dancing fountain and one with a very enticing display - a definite must-see. It's most easily accessed via the Dubai Mall. There are private entranceways from the Burj Khalifa if you're staying there.
The Dubai Marina is to be the popular nightlife area of Dubai in the future. This multi-billion-dollar development is designed for tourists and water sport. The bars and cafés along the marina are popular gathering points for families and younger people. Most restaurants offer shisha and oriental food but food chains are fast entering too. The "Marina Walk" along the yachts is especially popular on Fridays and Saturdays. Yacht agencies offer services to explore the coastal region and Palm Islands.
Dubai is known for its great beaches and this one is the best. It's the most popular and busiest beach of the country. Expect to see swimmers in bikinis and ladies in abaya cloaks; this beach truly encapsulates the Westernisation of Dubai culture.
The largest mosque in the city, and a wonderful example of Islamic architecture. It was built in the medieval Fatimid tradition with the interior decorated with elaborate Arabic calligraphy. It is one of few mosques in the city open for visits by non-Muslims; the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding conducts special tours for non-Muslims to help promote understanding of Islam. Guided tours are available on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday beginning at 10:00, followed by a question-and-answer session. The mosque is an especially great place to visit in the evening when it's dramatically illuminated by floodlights.
A restored traditional Emirati-style two story building used as a summer residence by Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, one of the founders of UAE, and father of the present ruler of Dubai.
The Palm islands are the best symbols of the boom and bust construction cycles in Dubai. The "oldest" Palm called Palm Jumeirah is completed and is host to the gigantic Atlantis Hotel on its top. Several marinas, hotels and condo are along the palm leaves. Palm Jumeirah has the densest collection of beach clubs in the city, which are popular with locals and tourists alike. Some beach clubs are part of hotels, while others are standalone restaurants. West Beach falls in the latter category and is dog-friendly.
The development of the other two Palms will depend on the financial situation of the construction business but someday Dubai will have the three largest artificial islands in the world on its coastline.
A beautiful planned park and one of the oldest parks in Dubai. It is a favourite for sports enthusiasts, and many visitors enjoy playing tennis, volleyball, and soccer. Children love playing games in the video arcade, or riding the Ferris wheel and bumper cars. The park even has a maze to wander through. Barbeques and picnic areas are available for those who want to make a day of it. It has lakes where you can take a boat ride and a hill that offers panoramic views of this beautiful lush green park and the gigantic Dubai skyline. But as of 2017, infrastructure are old disused and it have construction work.
Union House
Museum about the construction of the Union of the Emirates, after the withdrawal of British forces. Open in 2017, it features exhibits about the seven fathers, and the constitution. The Union House, where the treaty was signed, can be visited as well as the Guest Palace. It also hosts temporary exhibitions (e.g., philatelic in May 2017).
Giant aquarium, 51 m long and 11 m high. The visit includes a crossing inside the walk-through water tunnel, behind the scenes, and several other experiences. The Underwater Zoo has 140 fish species, desert animals, penguins and also hosts "King Krok". Animal feeding hours are indicated in the zoo, and it's also possible to participate during feeding.
Branded as a "technology museum" many visitors consider it more of an expensive art exhibition. The building is outstanding though and looks particularly impressive in the dark.
A quiet place with some nice restaurants.
An Atlantis-themed aquarium with a lot of fish species and jellyfishes. Don't miss the giant chamber with numerous sharks and rays. Shark feeding 10:15 and 15:45, ray feeding at 09:30 and 15:15. Possibilities to dive or do the "Aqua Trek" in the Ambassador Lagoon.
A coloful and well maintained garden with more than 45 million flowers and numerous sculptures made out of flowers. Some visitors found it a bit too kitschy.
The Emirates Towers complex contains the Emirates Office Tower and Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel. The two towers, which rise to 355 m (1,165 ft) and 309 m (1,014 ft), respectively, stand as the 23rd and 47th tallest buildings in the world. The two towers are connected by a 9,000 m² (96,875 ft²) two-storey retail complex known as "The Boulevard". The Emirates Towers complex is located on the Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is a symbol of the city of Dubai. A curiosity of the design is that the towers have a similar number of floors; the taller office tower actually contains 54 floors, while the hotel tower contains 56 floors. This is because the individual floor heights of the office tower are greater than that of the hotel. The Emirates Towers complex is set in over 570,000 m² (42 acres) of gardens, with lakes, waterfalls and public seating areas. There is parking space for up to 1,800 cars.
Observation deck, 5-star hotel, luxury apartments. See the spectacular views over Palm Jumeirah.
This hotel building offers beautiful views toward Burj Khalifa from its 53rd floor observation deck. There is a 25-m glass floor walk and a ride on a glass slide included. For another dirham a walk along the edge of this building floor can be booked.
A beautiful coastal running and cycling track stretches for about 7 km from the mouth of Dubai Canal all the way to Burj Al Arab. One of the few places in Dubai where you can see native Emiratis enjoying their time alongside expats from all over the world in the evenings. There are bike rental stations along the way (mobile data and a credit card needed though).
Dubai has a snow skiing centre in the Mall of the Emirates, offering both skiing and snowboarding. The 400 m slope is quite large for an indoor area. All equipment is available for hire. Although it is inside, you do not need to bring a jacket because they supply pretty much everything except gloves and a hat which you can buy right there (gloves are included in some packs). It also propose the "Penguin Encounter" activity where you interact and play with penguins (king and gentoo).
The perfect place for the entire family to spend a day as well as being a great way to beat the heat and enjoy the day away from the bustle of the city. Located close to the hotels and resorts of Jumeriah Beach, the park has water rides, slides, and a lagoon that is hidden away. You'll enjoy waterfalls, out of the way swimming holes, and a tidal pool.
Atlantis-themed but Arabian-styled resort on the artificial island of The Palm. Has a huge water park with plenty of thrilling water slides, an aquarium and a large shopping area with plenty of places to eat and drink.
Aquaventure have a lot of water slides, including the extreme slides: Leap of feath and Poseidon's Revenge. It also includes Dolphin encounter, swimming with dolphins. The waterpark also contains the Dubai Balloon, which offers 10min balloon rides up to 300m high for AED 175 (adults) and AED 75 (children).
Tandem jumps over the Palm Jumeirah or the desert. Gyrocopter flights available as well.
Experience the next generation of cinemas and impressive effects in the Middle East. You can also book tickets via app or online.
A quiet and peaceful place with colorful lights at the night. You can rent a boat for a few hours or a day or just sit there for hours watching the skyscrapers and eating out at great restaurants.
The world's longest urban zip line.
Traditional & authentic Italian pizza baked in wood fired Italian stone oven, thin & crispy crust.
Serves breakfast, lunch and light continental and oriental meals. Good service and big portions.
Asian food.
Have a delicious contemporary European food in ice lounge at a chilling temperature of . It is first of its kind in the Middle East. From tables to even crockery in which food is served, all made of ice.
Thai, Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian themed food, and the popular house speciality must be the pepper or chili crab. You can eat at the restaurant or order home delivery to most areas of new Dubai.
A family-run Lebanese restaurant. With outdoor seating and separate shisha area.
Excellent Lebanese food.
Pakistani cuisine.
Fish, chips, sharky meals, traditional battered, baked potatoes, sandwiches, salads and soups
Italian.
Specialized in Italian food with cosy outdoor seating. Business lunch, Family friendly place. Smoking and alcohol is permitted. Try the garlic bruschetta with traditional tomato, the leafy green salad, oozy burrata cheese, tomato, sprinkled with drizzles of balsamic vinegar.
Part of the Burj Al Arab hotel, and as you would expect is also very high quality, especially seafood.
Exclusive fine dining restaurant on Level 122 of Burj Khalifa.
Continental restaurant.
Authentic Indian restaurant.
European, steak and continental cuisine. Pleasing and stunning ambiance with variations and one could enjoy the views of Burj Khalifa and the fountain shows.
Run by famed Indian TV chef Sanjeev Kapoor. Drinks served. Reservations recommended especially on Friday nights.
Authentic Thai restaurant.
Good Chinese food. No smoking
Arabic, Lebanese and Middle Eastern cuisines. Outdoor seating with perfect sense of fine dining accompanied with comfortable, Arabian-style terrace. Smoking and alcohol is permitted.
Jumeirah Beach Hotel Complex. Open air bar with great views of the Burj hotel and the Jumeirah beach hotel all helped by a cool breeze from the ocean. Various DJs but think Ibiza lounge bar and you will not be far off.
Branch of the international Asian-themed bar/restaurant. Full of crowds.
Built in three levels (each playing its own music), with lounging areas on the beach, lots of young and foreign people come here during the weekend. Very popular with expats.
Great bar/club on the beach in the Palm Jumeirah.
The longest bar in the UAE, typical English style with live football, similar to a UK Wetherspoons. Great music and DJs plus food and friendly atmosphere.
O the waterfront in one of the most tranquil areas of Dubai. A great food menu leads on to some excellent cocktails and music inside.
Bar and restaurant with great view across Palm Jumeirah (on a clear day!) Popular happy hour with the after work crowd on Thursday from 18:00-20:00.
Live local and international bands, reservations are a must.
Try the 51st Floor house cocktail, it's so deliciously strong, also there's a staggering 200 cocktails to choose from.
Beach club, a nice place for partying.
It is a lounge-like lively space that offers mid-range to high-price drinks. The huge multi-color circular space is cornered by large LCD screens and exclusive tables and the scantily clad podium dancers.
This venue is full of dance artists, mischievous performances, women performing unusual stunts and on-stage antics. It is a place where you will forget that you are in Dubai. The drinks are good and are slightly over priced but this place will make you feels liberated, little bit different and edgy.
Specialized in true cigar aficionado, cognacs and whiskies. Smoking is permitted. Dresscode is smart casuals. It is a traditional venue with modern rich dark enveloping and mahogany lined interior furnishing. The Cigar Bar will be closed during the Holy Month of Ramadan
It is the city’s most popular nightclubs with girls night out, dance floor and variety of DJ sets. This place is always over crowded and the drinks are budget friendly.
One of the many luxury hotels next to Burj Khalifa with many good fine dining restaurants and bars.
Houses the only over water villas in the UAE.
Hotel on the Palm. Connects to mainland by monorail.
Closest 5-star hotel to the World Trade Centre.
Serviced apartments and accommodation.
Resort with a private beach. The hotel is only 10 floors which is dwarfed by nearby high-rises, but the location is lively and the pool/garden area is lush.
310 elegant rooms, a choice of 3 bars, choice of 2 fine dining restaurants and 6-storey high atrium and piano lounge. Gymnasium, roof top pool, massage rooms, sauna and spa.
Next to Burj al-Arab and run by the same company.
5 km away from Jafza, and economic free zone. It has 152 apartments with scenic balcony, two restaurants with the convenience of onsite dining. They arrange variety of events from time to time.
It has 169 well-appointed luxury comfortable and spacious apartment suites with modern interior. Upon request, they offer airport transfers.
It is a non-alcoholic hotel decorated with luxurious amenities. Equipped with stream rooms, hot tubs, sauna, roof top pool, fitness center and tennis court.
Beautiful surroundings with Asian hospitality and teak-wood furniture all around and Venetian blinds. champagne lounge available. They have 321 modern rooms equipped with high-speed Internet connections.
4-star hotel.
The hotel is 44 floors and has 1004 guest rooms, 8 dining outlets and 21 meeting rooms. 10 minutes by car from Downtown Dubai.
Beachfront resort.
Beachfront resort located on the World Islands. Contains a Swimming pool, spa, Paddle court, Fitness centre, Water sports centre, Kids’ club and Games room
Complex of several European-themed hotels spanning six islands in the Europe section of the World Islands. Includes Spanish-themed Marbella resort, four French Riviera-themed hotels (complete with marketplace and discotheque), Italian-themed Portofino Hotel, British-inspired Hotel London, Artist Hotel, the Danish-style Hygge Hotel, the Sweden Beach house, and 133 floating villas
The pavilions are themed according to the voyages of the great voyager Ibn Battuta. Areas themed around six countries (China, India, Persia, Egypt, Tunisia and the Andalusia). Wide range of shops, although fewer high class brands. Has various restaurants and cafes (including three Starbucks), and a multiplex cinema including an Imax. No restaurants serve alcohol. Also has extensive, permanent exhibition of Islamic science, invention and astronomy. Attached (access via outside) is one of Dubai's few second-hand bookshops, House of Prose. Has a Carrefour hypermarket attached.
The largest mall in the world, it opened in 2008. It has over 1,200 shops of brand names from all over the world. It contains an indoor ice rink and indoor aquarium. It is right next door to the Burj Khalifah, and the visitors' entrance to the Burj Khalifa is located at the lower ground floor of the Mall. It houses the Dubai Aquarium (which you can dive tours in) and 1,200 shops for everything. The food court on the lower floor is spectacular in its variety. It's a good place to watch the water games of the Dubai fountain, which plays at night. It is breathtaking, so take time and pick your points of interest.
Part of the Emirates Tower Hotel complex. The shops here match the hotel, very high class, plus a Starbucks. Lipton café has free Wi-Fi. Restaurants and bars all serve alcohol. Quite a popular nightlife spot, with bars and nightclubs and it is considered the most expensive mall in Dubai.
It was largest shopping mall outside of North America until the Dubai Mall opened in 2008. Over 200 shops, cinemas, plus the Ski Centre. Has many international high street chains as well as luxury brand stores, including Harvey Nichols. Many restaurants and cafés, though cafés tend to be much more crowded than at other malls. It's attached to a Kempinski hotel, which has restaurants licensed to serve alcohol that are accessible from the mall. Very large Carrefour hypermarket attached, next to the Kempinski Hotel. Arabian/Middle Eastern souvenir shops upstairs. It's known for Ski Dubai and it other spectacular attractions. There are all High Street shops around and is very popular with families.
Mercato (Italian for market) is the only Renaissance-themed shopping mall in the Middle East. It captures Italian, French and Spanish flavors and artistic characteristics, playing host to regular fairs and festivals from each country. Mercato provides a unique shopping experience, the best in international entertainment and popular brand names like Virgin Megastore, Top Shop, Mango and Hugo Boss; Mercato is simply The Good Life. It houses a big Spinneys Supermarket, a 7-screen Grand Cinema, a Starbucks, and mouth watering restaurants such as Bella Donna who have a balcony overlooking the sea that cannot be missed.
Includes 75 shops, numerous bars, restaurants and cafés, a nightclub, theatre. More expensive and targeted directly at tourists than other, general malls where residents go. Most bars and restaurants are licensed for alcohol. Nice to wander through as it has been designed to resemble a "traditional" souq, but with the modern comforts of air conditioning. Lots of souvenir-type shops.Dubai - Souk Madinat Jumeirah - panoramio.jpg
With a bright, open and spacious atmosphere, it is a place to shop, relax and casually dine at a wide selection of eateries like Sumo Sushi, Cafe Ceramique, La Cafette by Carpe Diem and Simply Healthy. It also houses an extensive range of ladies' beauty outlets like the Nail Station, Paris Gallery, Kaya Skin Care Clinic, Wax Lounge and SOS Salon.
A small community much resembling a town, its streets are rowed by textile shops notably opposite the Satwa Mosque ending to the opposite of Satwa clinic. Most of the people flock to Satwa for their textiles, you might sometimes catch offers and discounts but if you don't do so try bargaining the price, this is what most locals do, even if you're a tourist convince the salesman to give you a discount, bargain till you get the lowest price available. Not only is Satwa a hub for textile shops; some tailoring shops on the corners are also found if you want a dress made as soon as possible after purchasing the raw materials. Raw silk might also be available in some shops. Because of the row of textile shops, it might be Dubai's version of Little India and Little Manila as many Indians reside in this district as well as Filipinos.
Another mall, with cinema, food court, etc.
Contains retail space of about 1 million sq. ft. and total area of 1.44 million sq. ft. It has wide varieties brands and diverse categories related to beauty, lifestyle, luxury, home decor, furnishing, shoe, sports, electronics, etc. Not just a mall but it also housed spas, saloons, markets, fitness center, cafes, etc. Its two basement parking facility (approx 470,000 sq. ft.) can accommodate approx 1,700 vehicles.
A unique mall with exclusive shopping experiences across Dubai. It is different than the rest of the malls in Dubai.
You can shop Emirates merchandise from the Emirates Official Store that offers offers travel accessories, toys, caps, bags, executive items, collectible lapel pins, numerous aircraft models and other aviation collectables.
By public transport
Buses, the metro, the tram and the Palm Monorail are the easiest modes of getting around and can all be used with the Nol Card.
By bicycle
The cycling infrastructure is surprisingly good in Jumeirah. Many major roads have a separate bike lane.
On foot
Feasible, but the distances in between sights tend to be large.
By car
Traffic can be intense and thus it is advisable to use public transportation.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
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