The Dubai Mall

The Dubai Mall stands in Downtown Dubai at the foot of Burj Khalifa, beside the lake of the Dubai Fountain. It was developed by Emaar Properties and opened on 4 November 2008. The complex covers about 1.2 million square metres in total, with around 350,000 square metres of shops and leisure space.

It is one of the largest shopping centres in the world by total area and one of the most visited places on Earth, with a record of about 105 million visitors in 2023. The mall is also the entrance to the At the Top observation decks of Burj Khalifa.

More than 1,200 stores are spread across its levels, from high street chains to luxury brands on Fashion Avenue, along with a gold souk, a large department store section, a supermarket and hundreds of restaurants and cafes. The Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo has one of the largest acrylic viewing panels in the world, 32.88 metres wide and 8.3 metres high, which can be seen for free from the mall floor.

Other attractions include an Olympic sized ice rink, used for public skating and ice hockey, a large cinema, a children's play centre and an indoor waterfall with sculptures of divers. Outside, the lake promenade is the best place to watch the free Dubai Fountain shows in the evening.

Entry to the mall is free, while attractions such as the aquarium tunnel, the ice rink and the cinema charge separately. Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall metro station on the Red Line is connected by a covered footbridge about 820 metres long. Weekday mornings are the quietest time.

KidZania, Play DXB and other family attractions

The Dubai Mall has three big indoor attractions for families. KidZania is a 7,000-square-metre, child-sized city where children aged 4 to 16 try more than 70 real-life jobs. Play DXB, formerly VR Park Dubai, covers 76,000 square feet with 15 rides and games. The aquarium shows more than 300 marine species, sharks and rays among them.

Dubai Dino, a Diplodocus fossil more than 24 metres long and over 7 metres tall, stands in the atrium and makes a free stop for children who are tired of shopping. The Olympic-sized ice rink also hosts Emirates Ice Hockey League games.