Dubai Mall
Dubai Mall is the city's premier mall and provides entry to the Burj Khalifa, as well as the Dubai Aquarium.
There is also an ice-skating rink, gaming zone, and cinema complex if you're looking for more entertainment options.
The shopping and eating is endless, and there are nearly always special events such as live music and fashion shows within the mall.
The most famous of these are the annual Dubai Shopping Festival in January and February and the Dubai Summer Surprises Festival in July and August.
Dubai Museum
Dubai's excellent museum is housed in the Al-Fahidi Fort, built in 1787 to defend Dubai Creek.
The fort's walls are built out of traditional coral-blocks and held together with lime.
The upper floor is supported by wooden poles, and the ceiling is constructed from palm fronds, mud, and plaster.
In its history, the fort has served as a residence for the ruling family, a seat of government, garrison,
and prison. Restored in 1971 (and again extensively in 1995), it is now the city's premier museum.
The entrance has a fascinating exhibition of old maps of the Emirates and Dubai, showing the mammoth
expansion that hit the region after the oil boom.
Dubai Miracle Garden
This is the zaniest garden ever. Not content with constructing the world's largest buildings and malls,
Dubai has created the world's largest flower garden, spanning 2,000 square meters and home to a reputed 100 million flowers.
Everything that can be covered with flowers has been, from twee English-style cottages to windmills and trucks. There's even a
flower version of the Burj Khalifa. Stroll the walkways and enjoy the riot of color and the wacky flower displays.
Burj al-Arab
The Burj Al-Arab is the world's tallest hotel, standing 321 meters high on its own artificial island on the Dubai coastline.
Designed to resemble a billowing dhow sail, the exterior of the building is lit up by a choreographed, colored lighting show at night.
Decadent in every way possible, the Burj Al-Arab is one of the most expensive hotels in the world, with the most luxurious suites costing more than $15,000 for one night.
Dubai Frame
Sitting slap-bang between Dubai's older neighborhoods clustered around the creek and the city's modern sprawl,
this ginormous 150-meter-high picture frame is one of Dubai's latest sights. Inside, a series of galleries
whisk you through the city's history and explore Emirati heritage before you travel up to the Sky Deck, where
there are fantastic panoramas of both old and new Dubai to be snapped on the viewing platforms.