Alserkal Avenue
This fashionable modern arts and culture hub was founded in 2007 in the district of Al Goze by businessman Adbelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal. Thanks to smart investments and development the founders managed to attract the best of art galleries, design studios, showrooms, cafes and other creative small businesses. The district hosts about 70 different organizations now, and there is even a private museum among them. Another resident, Nightjar Coffee Roasters, is considered to be the best coffee shop in the emirate. It is also worth paying a visit to Cinema Akil, founded by art activist Butheina Kazim, where mainly arthouse and modern independent films from the Middle East are screened.
The district is also home to Concrete space, designed by Dutch Pritzker Prize winning architect Rem Koolhaas. This building of over a thousand square meters with highest ceilings, movable soundproof walls and top-grade lighting hosts most diverse art and cultural events.
Beach clubs
Perhaps the main specialty offered by Dubai is warm weather and the sea coast that are available when there is a lack of warmth and sunlight in the Northern hemisphere. Having studied thoroughly the best practices of Mykonos and Ibiza, the emirate’s businessmen started recreating a similar atmosphere of common unity, happiness and relaxation on their sand. As a result, Dubai can boast at least a dozen cool beach clubs with comfortable sunbeds, cocktails, exquisite snacks, carefully selected music – right by the water. You can choose the one that suits you best in terms of location, but if you are not tied to a particular place, here are a few most exciting and trendy beach clubs.
First, there are lively parties at Beach by FIVE, which belongs to FIVE Palm Jumeirah hotel. Then there is Nikki Beach Club from the global chain owned by Jack Penrod. All over the world Nikki beach clubs are famous for their amazing DJs and luxurious service. The third one is Summersalt near the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel. And the fourth one is from another chain – this time from Mykonos – Nammos Dubai at Four Seasons Resort on Jumeirah beach.
All four have comfortable sunbeds, private cabins, sophisticated bars and top-grade restaurants, so you can easily spend the whole day here – from morning till sunset.
Opera house
In Dubai they are fond of ultramodern things, so it is no wonder that Opera Dubai exceeds all the boldest expectations. The theatre whose shape reminds one of a dhow, a traditional Middle Eastern vessel, was built at the foot of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper. It was designed by Atkins company and its chief Danish architect Janus Rostock. It was commissioned by Emaar Properties, one of the major developers in the Arab world, and opened its doors in 2016. It can be used as a theatre, a concert hall with 2,000 seats and even as a banquet hall or a venue for really large-scale events: exhibitions, fashion shows, conferences, presentations, etc.
Yoga in the garden and elsewhere
In any megacity – and Dubai is undoubtedly one of them – both local residents and visitors lack the peace of mind, so yoga studios are in great demand.
SEVA Experience not far from La Mer beach and the Jumeirah Mosque offers meditation and various alternative classes in a traditional, renovated villa. Their vegan café, which is the best in the region, offers only healthy food that is GMO, gluten, soya, cane sugar and trans fats free. No plastic is used in their kitchen. On the menu there are smoothies of 10 kinds of healing mushrooms, cocoa and alkaline water, an egg-free omelette, a cake with blue spirulina and so on. Another option is Talise Spa centre at Jumeirah Al Qasr hotel designed in “Arabian Nights” style. For maximum privacy spa treatments are offered in special villas, while you can practise yoga with a personal coach right on the beach.
Concept Store
Shopping can be different. We are not going to speak of Dubai Mall with an area of over a square kilometer here, but rather focus on smaller and more interesting concept stores that can boast a carefully selected number of goods and products. One of them is Comptoir 102. From the outside it looks more like a Californian Moorish style private house than a store. But that is what creates its special atmosphere and a community of enthusiasts around it.
It was opened by a true Parisian Emma Sawko. You can buy home decor, fashionable clothes, books and accessories here, as well as have a snack at an organic café, which got a “What’s On” award in the category of healthy food. Another concept store called Ripe specializes in organic products and organizes farmer’s markets that are popular at weekends. The fashion scene looks brisk, too: check out modern designers’ collections at Attuale, Vao, Human and Beings and THAT.
Desert
Another treasure of Dubai is endless sands and dunes that are a quarter kilometer high. Rub’ al Khali means ‘an empty quarter of the world’ in Arabic. It is better to conquer it by jeeps. Some of the proven operators are Arabian Adventures, Lama Tours, Platinum Heritage and Alpha Tours.
One should definitely visit Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve – the largest in the UAE. It is home to 120 bird species, 43 kinds of mammals and reptiles, including oryxes, Arabian red foxes, caracals, gazelles and falcons. As an alternative one can also visit Al Qudra lake within a 30-minute drive from the city, where it is easy to get even by taxi. There are flamingoes, geese, ducks and a hundred other bird species living on these manmade lakes.
Marinas
Dubai Harbour
The main marina of the region is managed by a major Turkish operator D-Marin. It was officially opened in September 2020. The largest and most sophisticated marina in the Middle East will eventually be capable of accommodating up to 1,100 yachts up to 160 meters long.
Business Bay
D-Marin operates three other smaller marinas, too: Business Bay, Al Seef and Jaddaf Waterfront. Each of them accommodates about 50-70 boats. They all boast a really convenient location: the first one is near the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall, the second is in the historic district of Deira, not far from the Gold Souk, and the third one is next to the luxurious Palazzo Versace hotel.
Bulgari Yacht Club
Bulgari resort has a marina of their own, too, in the district of Jumeirah. It is the first yacht port for this Italian chain of premium hotels, designed by Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel studio. The marina accommodates 46 boats that are 10 to 40 meters long.
Restaurants
3fils
This top-notch pan-Asian restaurant is managed by a chef from Singapore, Akmal Anuar. The ingredients are delivered right from Japan. Among the hits of the menu are snapper ceviche, crispy eel, wagyu nigiri with caviar and Ghanaian chocolate dessert. There are just 25 seats here, so you’d better book well in advance.
La Petite Maison
This French restaurant with locations in London, Miami and Hong-Kong features a classical collection of tapenade, oysters and Nicoise for starters, and mushroom risotto, duck legs and grilled lobster for the main course. It might well be the main ambassador of the three-color cuisine in Dubai.
Mekong
There is a wide choice of Asian cuisine restaurants in Dubai: from different regions of India to Singapore, Japan and Laos. A perfect representative of Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine is Mekong at the Anantara Palm Dubai Resort. Their signature dishes are dim sums, homemade noodles, spring rolls and spicy soups of coconut milk.
Maisan 15
It is not just a restaurant, but also an art gallery, a shop and a library, founded by a Dubai-based artist Rami Farooq. Inside you get a feeling that you’ve been invited to a modern art studio with classic vinyls. They cook mainly oriental dishes, but with some special twist. For example, you might want to try hummus with zaalouq – Moroccan salad of baked aubergines and tomatoes, or croque-maisan with scrambled eggs and young cheese on hot flatbread.
Folly by Nick & Scott
One of the best European cuisine restaurants in Dubai is located in Souk Madinat Jumeirah market. Nick Alvis and Scott Price, who have worked with the great Gordon Rumsay for 15 years, are gorgeous at making Devon crab, quail and lamb. Monkfish cheeks with lemon aioli are worthy of special praise. Another advantage of Folly is the stunning view of the city at sunset.
Mythos
According to TimeOut, this is the best Greek tavern in Dubai. Both the cuisine and the atmosphere are maximum authentic – as if you were somewhere on Paros, Folegandros or not far from Athens. The menu features classic tzatziki, fried cheese from Naxos, chicken gyros, leek pie and all kinds of grilled octopus and squid.
Hotels
Nikki Beach
It took this chain ambassador just a few months to become the most in-demand hotel in Dubai. It is located on the manmade island of Pearl Jumeirah, and all its rooms, residences and villas are spacious and light, some with private pools. The hotel boasts a large beach with immediate access to the sea.
One&Only The Palm
One&Only luxurious chain resort is built on the Palm Jumeirah in Southern Spanish style. The beach and most of the rooms boast spectacular views of the Arabian Gulf and the skyscrapers of Dubai. The hotel is also home to the only Guerlain spa centre in the UAE. The restaurant of the hotel offers modern French cuisine from the legendary chef Yannick Alléno, whose restaurants all around the world have been awarded eight Micheline stars.
XVA Hotel
This is a boutique hotel for 14 rooms only in the heart of the historic neighborhood of Al Fahidi on the bank of the Dubai Creek canal. You can only get there on foot, because it is simply not possible to drive up to it. All the rooms were designed by local artists, including the founder of the hotel Mona Hauser.
Nara Private Escape
Noteworthy glamping like Nara Private Escape is available for those wishing to stay the night in the desert, too. You can come here in the evening to enjoy the sunset, have dinner under the stars and spend the night of peace and quiet in one of the spacious tents. In the morning you can see the sunrise, have breakfast and return to Dubai.
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