3 Best Sights in Dubai Marina, Dubai

The largest single-building project on the seaward side of Dubai Marina the biggest single-phase construction project in the world, this residence offers 6,500 apartments in 36 high-rise blocks. At the base of the rather dour-looking towers, lies The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence, a 770,000 square foot outdoor mall that holds such community facilities as gyms, restaurants, and spas. Friday afternoon to evening often provides a study in Dubai automobiles, as traffic jams of parading Ferraris and Lamborghinis get stuck trying to make their way down the single lane to the strings of five-star hotels. The Beach is another mall area with some very pretty restaurants and a cinema complex. In front of both is the public beach, bounded by the private sands occupied by hotels. There is an excellent water play park here, with a wet play area for toddlers and giant inflatables offshore for older kids.

The landward side of Dubai Marina has a 7-mile-long waterside promenade that brings outdoor living to the area. European-style boutiques, cafés, and restaurants—great for daytime browsing—become a see-and-be-seen atmosphere at dusk. Think the passeggiata in Italy or the paseo in Spain. The Dubai Marina community holds regular events such as weekly craft markets on Friday and Saturday morning throughout the winter (October–April).

Dubai's first foray into large-scale coastline extension, Palm Jumeirah caught the world's attention when plans were announced in 2001. The development was Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum's solution to the area's shortage of beachfront and was created by taking land from the seabed to build new communities. Shaped as a date palm tree, the 1.2 mile-long trunk protrudes from the mainland and its 17 palm fronds sit in a shallow lagoon surrounded by a protective outer crescent. Palm Jumeirah is a self-contained residential district that combines private villas and apartments with luxury hotels, shopping, and entertainment districts. As a visitor you can't access the residential areas, but the monorail can take you down the trunk and drop you at Atlantis hotel. From here you can see the sun set over the Arabian Gulf from the boardwalk on the outer crescent. There are food trucks there in nice weather if you want to stroll and make an evening of it, or you might want to dine in one of the many hotel restaurants.