Downtown Dubai

Downtown Dubai is one of the city’s most beautiful and intriguing districts. It has sprung up virtually out of nowhere in recent years, and has quickly become one of Dubai’s top tourist destinations thanks to the presence of numerous attractions, first and foremost the Dubai Mall, the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountain.

Downtown Dubai is technically a mixed-use complex, realised and designed by Emaar, one of the most important construction companies in the entire Middle East (responsible, among other things, for the Dubai Marina district), it covers an area of two square kilometres; it is located along Sheikh Zayed Road, north of the Business Bay district, and is served by the number 25 Burj Khalifa – Dubai Mall metro station.

Things to do in Downtown Dubai

The most important building in the district is undoubtedly the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper at 828 metres high. Its construction began in 2004 and ended on 4 January 2010. Not far away is the Dubai Mall, the world’s tallest shopping mall, which includes more than 1,200 shops, an Olympic skating rink, an aquarium and various other attractions.

Downtown Dubai is built on the banks of a deep blue artificial lake called Burj Khalifa Lake. Its waters are the setting for the Dubai Fountain, a complex of fountains illuminated by 6600 lights and 50 coloured projectors, 275 metres long and capable of shooting jets of water up to 150 metres high.

The fountains are switched on every night at regular intervals of 30 minutes, accompanied by classical music, contemporary Arabic music and world hits.

Like an island in the middle of the Burj Khalifa Lake, connected to the mainland (i.e. to the Dubai Mall’s outdoor promenade) by a bridge, stands the Souk Al Bahar, a very characteristically built shopping mall, where one can find a variety of shops selling traditional handicrafts and souvenirs of all kinds.

Souk Al Bahar is a destination exclusively for tourists, but it is worth spending a couple of hours there to observe the beautiful shops inside; from here you also have a splendid viewpoint of the Dubai Fountain.

At the opposite end of the lake, almost facing the Burj Khalifa, stands The Address Downtown Dubai. It is a 306-metre high skyscraper built at the end of 2008, comprising a luxury hotel and private flats on a total of 63 floors, as well as a splendid Sky Views from which to admire the city.

The Boulevard

The Burj Khalifa Lake is circumscribed by an entirely pedestrianised path, along which all the attractions described above can be admired at close quarters. But of course Downtown Dubai is a real neighbourhood, and its main artery is the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard (known simply as the Boulevard), which for its entire length is a succession of restaurants, many of them with a view, and hotels such as the aforementioned The Address Downtown Dubai, but also the Vida Downtown Dubai and the Al Manzil.

Almost all the restaurants and cafés along the Boulevard belong to well-known local and international chains, while others are top-notch or even starred, such as the Armenian restaurant Mayrig, the trendy bar The Pavilion, or Omnia By Silvena, which serves Middle Eastern cuisine revisited by chef Silvena Rowe.

The Boulevard has a wide pavement and is ideal for a nice stroll. It is lined with palm trees and flower beds, draws a semicircle around Downtown Dubai and is very pleasant to walk along its entire length.

It is much used by runners for a nice healthy run, especially in the morning, and it is incredibly clean: there is not a trace of dirt, the pavements are clean and manicured to perfection and the whole thing still shines as if it had just been inaugurated.