Dubai is the city where the observational desks and towers provide a really important insight into the contemporary development of the city! The modern freshly built buildings fighting the sand and winds from the desert show how much can be achieved in the modern world. Let’s explore the most significant observation spots of the most important city of UAE from the oldest to the newest – and many thanks to the Visit Dubai tourist board for organising a few experiences for us.
Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa is undoubtedly the most well known observational tower of Dubai. Located alongside Dubai Mall and Dubai fountains, this 830m height building is clearly visible even from the plane!
‘At the Top’ observational desk has a few levels of access. With the standard one you get access to the 124th floor at 452 m featuring a telescope, digital floor insert and AR set. We got access to the 148 floor with the SKY tickets and there is also another super VIP experience where you can have dinner on the higher levels of the building.
This time we conquered Burj Khalifa for the second time but now we were with little George and were visiting in the evening, not during the day. Which experience do you like the most: nocturnal or sunny?
Dubai Frame
Dubai Frame is an absolutely astonishing building not to mention the views from it! It’s 150 meters tall and the hollow centre is 93 meters high with the observational desk on the very top. It’s located in the Zabeel Park, and we were lucky to watch some dancing fountains on the ground too. Did you notice the Expo 2020 logo (multiple circles of different sizes) covering it?
Dubai Frame opened to the public in 2018, and the general idea behind the building is to ‘frame the city’ (which was produced by Mexican architect Fernando Donis for the architectural competition) and to divide old and new Dubai. On one side of it you can see the skyscrapers including the silhouette of Burj Khalifa and on the other side there are the historical areas and more residential buildings. You can also enjoy (or find it scary) the motion-activated glass floor that turns from opaque to transparent as you walk on it.
Dubai Frame is a home to the museums of Old Dubai and of the future of Dubai as well as the souvenir shop. The cherry on top (sorry for the pun) was the stand of Yamanote Atelier, a Japanese bakery selling the most delicious donuts and Totoro buns!
View at The Palm
The View at The Palm was the closest attraction to our hotel – it took just a short ride on monorail to get to the Nakheel mall, and from there you can easily get to the roof of the shopping centre (where the Starbucks and the aquarium reside) and then to the very top of the Palm Tower. The observational desk opened just recently, in April 2021.
At the beginning of the tour the visitors participate in the interactive ‘building of the palm Jumeirah’ altogether, then watch a short film and learn about the history of the man-made island construction. For instance, did you know that originally it was meant to be sun-shaped, not palm-shaped and that it’s clearly visible from space?
After that you proceed to the glass platform where you can get a 360 degrees view of the Palm Jumeirah and the Dubai skyline from 240 meter above! Wow, just look at the photos!
Ain Dubai
Ain Dubai is a super fresh addition to the Dubai skyline – it opened about a month before we got there! It’s located on Bluewaters Island, a futuristic and pretty island near the Dubai Marina area.
At the moment, it’s the world’s largest and tallest observation wheel – it’s 250 m tall! There are 48 air-conditioned capsules with different experiences (you can just go there for a view or for instance have some gastronomical experience as well).
The views from Ain Dubai are spectacular especially at sunset: you can observe the Dubai Marina, Palm Juhmeira (our hotel Atlantis The Palm was also visible from it), Burj Al Arab, and the Bluewater island itself with the recently opened Caesar’s Palace hotel.
Hope you enjoyed my blog,
Yours,
Anna
xxx
