Dubai Frame

The Dubai Frame stands in Zabeel Park, between the older districts of Deira and Bur Dubai to the north and the towers of Sheikh Zayed Road and Downtown Dubai to the south. Construction began in 2013, and it opened to the public on 1 January 2018. During planning it was known as Al Berwaz Tower.

The idea came from the architect Fernando Donis, whose design won a 2009 architecture competition sponsored by ThyssenKrupp Elevator. The final project was completed by Hyder Consulting.

The structure is about 150 metres high and roughly 95 metres wide, shaped like a giant picture frame standing on end. Its two towers are clad in a gold-coloured facade with a pattern based on the Expo 2020 logo, and they are joined at the top by a bridge. Lifts carry visitors up to the sky deck in the top span, where parts of the floor are glass, so people can look straight down to the park. From one side the view frames old Dubai, and from the other the skyline of the modern city.

At ground level, a gallery tells the story of Dubai's growth from a fishing and trading settlement, and on the way out a video experience imagines the city several decades into the future.

Tickets cost AED 50 for adults and AED 20 for children aged 3 to 12; children under 3 and people of determination with two companions enter free. They are sold online and at the counter, and the site handles a limited number of visitors per hour, so queues can form at sunset. Late afternoon gives views in daylight and after dark. The Frame is reached through Zabeel Park Gate 4, where large bags and strollers must be left at the counter, and the nearest metro stations on the Red and Green lines are a taxi ride away.

What are the opening hours? The Dubai Frame opens daily from 8 am to 9 pm, with changed hours during Ramadan and on public holidays. Besides the sky deck, the site has the Dubai Frame garden at its base, a souvenir shop and a cafe called Taste, and a breakfast served on the bridge can be booked separately.