Dubai Mall

Dubai Mall is best understood as an indoor district: 1,200+ stores wrapped around a full-size aquarium, an Olympic ice rink, a dinosaur skeleton, an indoor souk and the entrance to Burj Khalifa. Even shopping-averse visitors end up spending half a day here because so many of Downtown's actual attractions sit inside it.

The aquarium's 10-million-litre main tank is visible free from the concourse — the paid ticket adds the walk-through tunnel and the Underwater Zoo above it, worthwhile with children.

The mall is genuinely enormous — over a kilometre end to end. Decide your anchors before arriving (aquarium, Fashion Avenue, the Chinatown wing, the waterfront promenade) and navigate by them. The Metro Link bridge from Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station is an air-conditioned 10-minute walk; taxis drop closer.

For the Fountain show, skip the crush directly outside the mall doors — the bridge to Souk Al Bahar and the waterfront terraces on the far side have the clean sight-lines.