Things to do in the UAE: 28 experiences worth the trip

1 to 2 hoursTimed entry

Look down on Dubai from about 452 metres up the world's tallest building, often clearest in the morning before the haze.

1 to 2 hoursTimed entry

Walk among 82 domes, more than 1,000 columns and gold-plated chandeliers, and see the white marble at dusk.

2 to 3 hoursBook ahead

Under Jean Nouvel's dome by the sea, the sun filters through in moving spots that people call the rain of light.

An afternoon into the nightBook ahead

Drive the dunes among free-roaming Arabian oryx and gazelles, watch sunset from a high crest, then dine at a small camp.

2 hoursFree

Wander narrow lanes of sand-coloured houses topped with wind towers, then cross the Creek on a 1 dirham abra.

Half a day with the drive upTimed entry

Hang face down in a harness and fly 2.83 km down a mountain at around 120 to 150 km/h.

A full day from DubaiNo booking needed

Wade or swim about 200 metres out to a reef of clear water, reef fish and often turtles around a Snoopy-shaped rock.

1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

Well over 100 million flowers planted each season over arches, hearts and an Emirates A380 airliner covered in blooms.

2 to 3 hoursBook ahead

Ski, snowboard or sledge on an 85-metre artificial mountain kept at about −1 to 2 °C inside a Dubai mall.

1 to 2 hoursFree

Covered lanes of jewellers' windows heavy with gold, where you bargain on the making charge, not the gold.

An hour, longer for breakfastNo booking needed

Sip cardamom-spiced Arabic coffee from small handleless cups, with dates, in a courtyard house in old Dubai.

90 minutesBook ahead

Acrobats, high divers and motorbike riders perform above and into a pool stage that floods in 90 seconds.

About 2 hours with the briefingBook ahead

Drive an open-wheel single-seater with a top speed of around 275 km/h round the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix track.

A full day at Ferrari WorldBook ahead

A hydraulic launch takes you from 0 to 240 km/h in 4.9 seconds, in goggles against the blowing sand.

1 to 2 hours on the water, a day trip from DubaiNo booking needed

Paddle a reservoir of startling turquoise water between bare orange mountains, an hour from Dubai.

1 to 2 hours, a day with Al AinFree

Walk shaded lanes between mud walls in an oasis farmed for more than 4,000 years, still watered by ancient falaj channels.

2 to 3 hoursBook ahead

Stand in a presidential palace's Great Hall under a dome 37 metres across, hung with a chandelier of 350,000 crystal pieces.

15 minutes outside until it reopensFree

A lit stainless steel ring beside Sheikh Zayed Road, its windows shaped by Arabic calligraphy that glows after dark.

1 to 2 hours, half a day with the Heritage AreaFree

Modern Arab art across some 64 halls, and Orientalist paintings that show how European artists pictured the region.

Half a dayFree

A wide, free stretch of sand below a wall of towers, with food and shade a few steps away.

About 1 hourNo booking needed

Walk a glass-floored bridge about 150 metres up, with old Dubai on one side and the towers of Downtown on the other.

2 to 3 hoursFree

Camels race with small robot jockeys on their backs while owners follow in a line of SUVs, steering by radio.

An eveningBook ahead

A glass building shaped to recall a dhow, where one week brings opera or ballet and the next an Arabic music star.

An hour with dinnerFree

Fountains rise from the bay while lasers and images are projected onto curtains of water, free, after dinner by the Creek.

Half a dayFree

In man-made desert wetlands, watch a flock of 300 to 500 flamingos among more than 360 bird species, then stay for sunset.

10 minutes, or an hour on a private abraFree

Sit on the central bench of a small wooden boat and cross Dubai Creek for 1 dirham, the cheapest ride in the city.

30 minutesFree

Jets shoot water up to 150 metres high, set to music and lit at night, on the lake beneath the Burj Khalifa.

2 hours with the driveFree

Drive 12 km of wide hairpins up a lone ridge and watch the rock and desert turn orange as Al Ain lights up below.