Exclusive Editor’s Tips:

Tuck into a fountain-side feast
Some of the priciest—and most overrated—restaurants in Dubai are those that promise a prime vantage point over the fountains at the base of the Burj Khalifa, where a dazzling illuminated show brings the plumes of water to life every half hour in the evenings. But there’s no need to resign yourself to a mediocre meal in pursuit of a good view. The city’s Time Out Market has assembled Dubai’s most beloved bites—the chicken katsu sando at Reif’s, Mattar’s brisket grilled cheese, behemoth slices of “Kelvin cake” at Little Juns, and Masti’s burrata butter chicken among them—on the third floor of Downtown Dubai’s Souk Al Bahar, with a balcony that promises the best view of the gyrating fountains below.

Glimpse the future
The Museum of the Future opened to much fanfare in early 2022, and tickets can still book out weeks in advance. But the best thing about this distinctive torus-shaped building is, frankly, the exterior, with its oval silhouette clad in Emirati artist Matar Bin Lahej’s calligraphy of poems by Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. In order to maximize your time, give the lines a miss and instead take in the striking façade from a sky-high perch at Monkey Bar, a lush rooftop aerie crowning the nearby 25Hours hotel. Settle into a domed rattan couch with playful drinks like a banana Old Fashioned or an espresso martini with pineapple rum, and take in a view of the Future from above.

Spend an evening amid the dunes
For all its man-made wonders, Dubai is still a city that rose from the desert—and the dunes are mere minutes from the skyscrapers. While there is no shortage of packaged tour options that take visitors dune bashing, we’re partial to the more sophisticated sunset experience at Nara Camp, 45 minutes from the port. Take a camel out for a spin, try your hand at archery and sandboarding, have a few puffs of a shisha, and watch a thrilling fire show before settling in for a three-course dinner with global flair—gazpacho on papad toast; baba ganoush with sumac-crusted croutons; grilled prawns with lemon, olives, and coriander; and black Angus tagliata with chimichurri.