United Arab Emirates Travel Guide

LEGO Water Park sits within Dubai Parks and Resorts in Jebel Ali, south Dubai, the Middle East's first LEGO-themed water park built especially for families and children. The park carries LEGO's bright colours and cartoon forms throughout: a lazy 'Build-a-Raft' river where you float on your own LEGO brick raft, a range of gentle and thrilling water slides, a splash castle and wave pool that recreate the LEGO world in water. A signature highlight is the water feature modelling Dubai landmarks built from real LEGO bricks at scale, plus a shallow splash zone designed for the youngest visitors. In the hot afternoon the fountains and sprays bring welcome cool, making it a top family escape from the heat; after dark the lights turn the park into a dreamy brick kingdom.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is a world-class museum on Saadiyat Island's cultural district in Abu Dhabi, designed by Jean Nouvel and famed for its 180 m silver 'rain of light' dome — eight layers of geometric star patterns casting dappled light that fuses Arabian and Mediterranean poetry. Its galleries follow a 'universal narrative,' threading artefacts from prehistory to the contemporary across civilisations, a flagship of Abu Dhabi's cultural diplomacy bridging East and West. Built by the sea, with white walls meeting waterways, visitors feel art, architecture and sea breeze converge — the Gulf's most internationally minded museum.

The Burj Al Arab is a sail-shaped luxury hotel on an artificial island off Dubai's Jumeirah coast, whose 321 m double-membrane 'sail' silhouette has symbolised Dubai since 1999. Suite-only and famed for its gold interior, underwater restaurant and helipad, it long billed itself as 'seven-star.' Set alone at sea and linked by a private causeway, it changes colour at night and reflects on the Arabian Gulf — a totem of photography and luxe travel. Non-guests can book its restaurants and lounges to glimpse the gilded interior, or view the 'sail' from the public beach and nearby Jumeirah Mosque.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque stands in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, the country's largest and most magnificent mosque, its pure white marble, 82 domes and two rows of 107 m minarets expressing a serene yet grand Islamic architectural language. Inside lie one of the world's largest hand-knotted carpets and gigantic chandeliers of Swarovski crystal and gilding; the courtyard's flower mosaics reflect in pools, beautiful by day and night. Built to honour the nation's founding president, Sheikh Zayed, it serves both worship and cross-cultural dialogue, offering guided visits to all — the first stop to grasp Gulf modern religious aesthetics and its spirit of openness.

The Burj Khalifa rises 828 m across 163 floors in downtown Dubai, UAE, the world's tallest building since 2009. Designed by SOM with a Y-shaped plan inspired by the desert flower Hymenocallis and a tapering spire, it defines the Dubai skyline. High-speed lifts reach the 124/125 and 148 floor observatories for sweeping views of the Persian Gulf, the Palm Islands and the desert; at its base, the Dubai Mall and the musical fountain put on nightly shows against the tower's lights. Both an engineering marvel and a symbol of the Emirates' skyward ambition, it is the definitive Dubai landmark.

Expo City Dubai is the legacy district of Expo 2020, transformed into a sustainable city and cultural destination in southern Dubai. Its iconic trio of theme pavilions — Terra (Sustainability), Alif (Mobility) and the Opportunity pavilion — together with the 138 m rotating Al Wasl Dome, form a futuristic landmark cluster. Where the world's pavilions once showcased creativity, the site now keeps core exhibits, green spaces, fountains and nightly light shows, serving as a venue for families, technology and arts, and a model of Dubai's post-oil urban planning. Visitors feel the cutting edge of design and sustainability thinking here.