Downtown Dubai

Downtown Dubai is the glittering centrepiece of the modern city, a master-planned district built by the developer Emaar around the world's tallest building. Marketed as "the centre of now," it packs record-breaking architecture, retail and entertainment into a compact grid beside Sheikh Zayed Road, and it draws more visitors than almost anywhere else in the emirate.

Everything here orbits the Burj Khalifa. The 828-metre tower anchors a skyline of sleek residential and hotel blocks, while at its base spreads the vast Dubai Mall, one of the largest shopping and leisure complexes on earth, complete with an aquarium, an ice rink and hundreds of stores. The district was conceived as a self-contained downtown for a city that had grown outward for decades without a true centre.

Its social heart is the Burj Lake and the Dubai Fountain, where choreographed jets of water dance to music each evening against the illuminated tower. The palm-lined Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard curves around the base, lined with cafés and open-air restaurants whose terraces fill after sunset when the desert heat finally eases and residents come out to stroll.

For visitors, Downtown is the natural first stop in Dubai. A dedicated Metro station and air-conditioned walkways connect the mall, the tower and the neighbouring Dubai Opera and Museum of the Future district. Reserve tickets ahead for the At the Top observation decks to avoid the queues, and time an evening walk to catch the fountain shows, which run at regular intervals from early evening until late. Expect polished, high-end surroundings, generous step-free access throughout, and prices that match the glossy setting. Souk Al Bahar, a smaller Arabesque mall beside the lake, offers a quieter alternative with terraces facing the fountain.