Do you love shopping? Then Dubai is the place for you! Nowhere in the world will you find as many shopping centers as in Dubai. And not only that, Dubai is also home to the largest shopping center in the world, the Dubai Mall. With more than 1,200 stores spread over 4 floors and a total floor area of more than half a million square meters, this shopping center in Dubai is officially the largest shopping center in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records. And if that wasn’t enough, the Dubai Mall also houses the largest shoe store in the world and the largest aquarium in the world. Directly in front of the entrance to the shopping center you will also find the Dubai Fountain, the largest fountain show in the world.
The enormous shopping center can be found in Downtown Dubai right next to the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. Had enough of all the shops? In and around the Dubai Mall there are many restaurants and cafes where you can relax. The restaurants outside and those with a terrace on the fountain side on the 1st or 2nd floor are especially recommended. They offer a view of the largest fountain show in the world, the Dubai Fountain. Beside to the many shops, the Dubai Mall also has an indoor ice rink with a capacity of 2,000 guests, a karting track and Reel Cinemas, a mega cinema with 22 screens and more than 2,800 seats.
Shops in the Dubai Mall
The range of stores in the Dubai Mall mainly consists of well-known international chains and brands including Diesel, Versace, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, G-Star Raw, Puma, Nike, Reebok, Hugo Boss, Dolce & Gabbana, Replay and chains such as Galeries. Lafayette, H&M, Bonhams, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and Bloomingdale’s. Of course, the Dubai Mall also has shops selling luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Dior, Armani, Dolce & Gabanna, Balenciaga and Burberry.
Are you crazy about jewellery? Then don’t forget to visit the Gold Souk on the ground floor where more than 200 jewelers try to sell their gold and jewellery. There are dozens of shops full of souvenirs, electronics, glasses, accessories, delicacies, toys, telephones, books and jewellery in this immense shopping center in the center of Dubai.
All stores in the mall can be found on the shop page of the Dubai Mall website. Are you looking for a specific store in the Dubai Mall? You can find all the shops on the map of the shopping centre. For more information about the Dubai Mall, take a look on the Dubai Mall website.
Shopping areas in the Dubai mall
The Dubai Mall is divided into special areas such as the Gold Souk, The Souk, The Village, Fashion Avenue, Dubai Mall Zabeel and the Food Court. If you want to buy a piece of jewelry you can indulge yourself in the Gold Souk, the best jewelers in Dubai can be found here. The Souk and The Village can also be found on the ground floor of the Dubai Mall. In The Souk you can mainly find local products, while The Village is built in such a way that it should seem as if you are walking in the open air in a shopping street.
If you are hungry after all that shopping, you can go to one of the many restaurants or the Food Court. In the Food Court of the Dubai mall you will find a large amount of fast food restaurants and cafes with a wide range of meals, from fresh North Sea fish to Mexican burritos and from the well-known McDonald’s to Pizza Hut. Beside to the major fast food chains such as McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut and KFC, you will also find numerous Japanese, Mexican, Italian and fish restaurants in the Food Courts of the Dubai Mall.
Especially in the evenings it is pleasantly busy in and around the Dubai Mall and the adjacent Souk al Bahar. The restaurants and many bars with their terraces overlooking the spectacular fountain shows are very popular in the evenings with locals and tourists.
Fashion Avenue in the Dubai Mall
Fashion lovers can enjoy themselves for days in the Fashion Avenue. The Fashion Avenue is a separate part of the shopping center where more than 120 stores can be found with a total of 92,000 square meters spread over three floors. The Fashion Avenue mainly has high fashion stores from well-known luxury brands such as Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Armani, Chanel, Rolex, Cartier and Mikimoto.
Beside to clothing stores, there are also several restaurants and cafes in the extension, including Starbucks. Many restaurants offer a beautiful panoramic view of the Dubai Fountain thanks to their outdoor terraces. On the top floor of Fashion Avenue you will mainly find luxury perfume shops, while on the ground floor there are luxury jewelers. The clothing stores with luxury brands and the restaurants and cafes are spread over all three floors.
Dubai Mall Zabeel
Since 2019, the Dubai Mall has become even bigger with the opening of a 420,000 square meter expansion. The extension is called Dubai Mall Zabeel and has a total of 9 floors where more than 60 new stores can be found. In addition to numerous shops, the Dubai Mall Zabeel also offers various restaurants and lifestyle experiences, plus a special organic supermarket. You will also find a state-of-the-art karting track where you can go karting with electronic karts.
The new section was built across the busy Financial Center Road. You can easily reach the extension via a 200-meter pedestrian bridge over the busy Financial Center Road. You can walk from the existing part of the Dubai Mall to the extension via this air-conditioned bridge in about two minutes. The pedestrian bridge entrance can be found on the second floor of Dubai Mall, between the entrance to Galeries Lafayette and the entrance to the central car park.
Things to see and do in and around the Dubai Mall
In the Dubai Mall you find many shops and restaurants, there are also various sights and attractions in and around the gigantic shopping center. Below we have listed all the attractions and sights around the Dubai Mall for you.
Burj Khalifa
Next to the Dubai Mall stands the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. From the promenade in front of the Dubai Mall you have a beautiful view of the 828 meter high tower and you can take beautiful photos and selfies of the tallest building in the world. Do you want to visit the Burj Khalifa? It is possible to visit the Burj Khalifa via the At The Top viewpoint where you can enjoy an amazing view of Dubai. The entrance to At The Top is located in the Dubai Mall on the Lower Ground floor. At The Top’s viewing point is located on the 124th and 125th floors of the tower, at a height of 452 meters above the ground. From this immense height you have an amazing 360 degree panoramic view of the Dubai skyline.
Would you like to visit the 124th and 125th floors? Then book your At The Top tickets via the Tiqets website or the GetYourGuide website. Prices start at 44 US dollar per person for the normal Burj Khalifa tickets. Tickets for busier times such as sunset are slightly more expensive. More information about the tickets for the Burj Khalifa can be found on our “visit the Burj Khalifa” page.
The amazing Dubai Fountain
One of the biggest attractions of the Dubai Mall is without a doubt the beautiful fountain show of the Dubai Fountain. This fountain is officially the largest and most expensive fountain show in the world and is one of the most popular attractions in Dubai. Every day, tens of thousands of people admire one of the fountain’s beautiful shows.
The fountain can spray up to 83,000 liters of water at a time, reaching heights of up to 150 meters, which is equivalent to a 50-storey building. The fountain has a length of 275 meters (2 football fields), has a total of 6600 lamps and 25 color projectors that provide a breathtaking spectacle. The entire project, including the construction of the 12 hectare Burj Dubai Lake, cost 800 million Dirham, equivalent to approximately 150 million US dollar.
Every evening from 6 o’clock several fountain shows are shown, which start every 30 minutes. Various choreographies with music such as:
“I will always love you” by Witney Houston, “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, “Con te partirò (Time to Say Goodbye)” by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman and “The Prayer” by Celion Dion and Andrea Bocelli. And on top of that various Arabic songs like: Baba Yetu, Sama Dubai and Shik Shak Shok.
New songs are regularly added to the repertoire to replace older songs so that the offering is various. The first and last fountain show are accompanied by the song Sama Dubai, which was specially written for the leader of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Please note that during high season from October to early April, it may be very busy on the Dubai Mall promenade where most people getting together to watch the fountain show. The busiest evenings are from Thursday to Saturday, these are the days that people have weekend in Dubai.
Dubai Aquarium and Under Water Zoo
In the Dubai Mall you will find many shops, but also the largest aquarium in the world, the Dubai Aquarium. More than 33,000 sea animals swim in this aquarium of ten million liters of water. The Dubai Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the world, the glass panel (32 meters wide and 8 meters high) is also officially the largest in the world. The large aquarium can be viewed for free, but if you want to visit the underlying Underwater Zoo and the tunnel through the aquarium, you must buy a ticket. On our Dubai Underwater Zoo page you can find more information about the enormous aquarium complex that is located behind the large aquarium.
If you visit the enormous Dubai Mall shopping center you can hardly miss the aquarium, the aquarium is located on the 1st floor of the shopping center, but from the 2nd floor you also have a view of the gigantic aquarium. The entrance to the Underwater Zoo is on the 2nd floor. If you cannot find the aquarium in the enormous shopping center, you can fortunately find information points in various places in the shopping center with maps and friendly staff who will be happy to show you the way. The aquarium is also clearly indicated on the route signs in the shopping center.
The Dubai Dino in the Dubai Mall
There is also a huge dinosaur skeleton in the Dubai Mall in the Grand Atrium. This special specimen is almost completely intact, 90% to be precise. This is quite unique by the millions years old dinosaur skeletons. The 24.4 meter long and 7.6 meter high skeleton is of a so-called Amphicoelias Brontodiplodocus and is approximately 155 million years old. The skeleton was found in the Wyoning area in the United States and was flown by plane to Dubai for display.
The Dubai dino can be admired in The Souk Dome on the ground floor (Ground Floor), near the Ice Rink. During the shopping center’s opening hours you can admire the enormous dinosaur skeleton.
Dubai Ice Rink
Beside shopping until you drop, you can also do plenty of other things in the largest shopping center in the world. The shopping center also has its own Olympic-sized ice skating rink. For a fee it is possible to skate laps at the Dubai Ice Rink. If you visit the shopping center with children, this is a fun activity to do.
Souk al Bahar and the Time Out Market
The small-scale shopping mall Souk Al Bahar is also recommended to visit, where you can mainly find local products. This shopping center, designed in an Arabic atmosphere, is located next to the shopping center across the water. Via the exit of the Dubai Mall you can easily walk into the Souk al Bahar via the bridge over the water of the Burj Lake where the beautiful Dubai Fountain is.
The Souk Al Bahar shopping center also houses the Time Out Market Dubai food hall, a paradise for food lovers. The Time Out Market Dubai covers a total area of 13,000 square meters and you will find no fewer than 17 restaurants and 3 bars under one roof. Here you can taste the tastiest dishes. Whether it is a simple pizza, an ice cream with a cone of 24-carat gold, a home-made veggie burger or a delicious Asian dim sum dish, you will find it all in the Time Out Market Dubai. The Time Out Market Dubai offers a wide range of dishes, from the 280 square meter outdoor terrace you also have a beautiful panoramic view of the Dubai Fountain and the Burj Khalifa. Concerts and events are also regularly organized there.
Airbus A380 simulator in Dubai
Have you always wanted to know what it’s like to fly an Airbus A380? Then visit the only public Airbus A380 simulator in the Dubai Mall. In this realistic simulator you will be assisted by an experienced instructor and you will have the opportunity to take off from one of the twelve busiest airports. As an extra dimension, you can also choose between various weather conditions and times. The airports you can choose from include Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Paris and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
The Waterfall
In the southeastern part of the shopping center is the impressive work of art The Waterfall. The artwork was designed by the architectural firm DPA Architects from Singapore. It consists of two cylindrical walls of 24 meters high and a diameter of 30 meters. A waterfall has been placed on these cylindrical walls with various fiberglass diving people in between who appear to be diving down.
The fountain covers all four floors of the shopping center, making it an impressive sight where many people stop to take a photo. Especially in the evenings, it can get busy here with tourists who want to take a quick selfie in front of the fountain. If you want to photograph the fountain without people, it is best to visit during the day or be patient until you have a moment when there are no people in front of the fountain.
Reel Cinema
The shopping center also has a Reel Cinema cinema. The cinema is located on the second floor of The Dubai Mall. The Reel Cinema has 22 screens with more than 2,800 seats, making it the largest cinema in the region.
Ekart Zabeel
The Dubai Mall wouldn’t be the Dubai Mall if there was a special attraction in one of the newest extension of the mall. In the Dubai Mall Zabeel it is possible to go karting on the indoor karting track with electric karts. You will find the state-of-the-art karting track of EKart Zabeel opposite the Food Court in the Dubai Mall Zabeel.
KidZania
KidZania at Dubai Mall is an award-winning, child-sized mini-city, complete with paved streets, buildings, vehicles and even well-known shops and offices. In KidZania, children have the opportunity to try out the jobs they are so curious about. The shop assistant, mechanic, doctor, pilot, cook. There are more than 80 professions from which the children can choose during their day out in KidZania. And after work, they can spend the money they earned by doing some grocery shopping or booking a flight with Emirates!
Expensive cars spotting
The Dubai Mall is definitely recommended for car enthusiasts. Every evening the most expensive cars are lined up at the valet parking. The valet parking can be found at the main entrance on Financial Center Road and at the entrance on the Dubai Lake side next to the Address Dubai Mall hotel. Especially in the evenings on Thursdays and Fridays, there is a rush of expensive cars at the valet parking. Don’t be surprised if there is a Bugatti Chiron, several very expensive Lamborghini’s and/or Ferrari’s parked behind each other, alternating with luxury SUVs from Range Rover, Porsche and Bentley.
If you haven’t had enough of the expensive cars yet, you can walk into the parking garages at various places from the Dubai Mall itself, where there are often even more expensive cars that could no longer find a place at the valet parking. Especially the parking lot on the side of The Address Dubai Mall hotel, several luxury cars can be found in the parking garage. If there is no Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati and/or a Rolls Royce parked here, this is a unique moment.
To give an example of how crazy it can be in Dubai with cars: in a couple of hours we counted 25 Rolls Royces, 7 Ferrari’s, 6 Lamborghini’s, a Bugatti Veyron, various Aston Martins, Bentleys and Maserati’s at the valet. parking.
How to get to the Dubai Mall
Shops at Dubai Mall, Dubai Aquarium and Ice Rink are open Monday to Thursday from 10:00 AM to 12:00 AM, Friday to Sunday from 10:00 AM to 1:00 AM.
The waterfront promenade restaurants and the restaurants in the shopping center and the Food Court are open daily from 10:00 AM to 1:00 AM. The Metro Link bridge is open daily from 10:00 AM to 12:00 AM. Please note, these opening hours may have changed, so always check the Dubai Mall website for the most current opening hours of the mall.
Traveling with the metro to the Dubai Mall
The Dubai Mall is very easy to reach by public transport. If you want to travel by Dubai Metro, you can get off at Dubai Mall / Burj Khalifa station. Then you can walk to the Dubai Mall in two ways. Walk to the Dubai Mall via the more than 800 meters long covered and air-conditioned metro bridge (Metro Link Bridge). You then enter on the 2nd floor of the Dubai Mall. Or choose to simply walk outside the metro station of the Dubai Mall and walk along the road towards the Burj Khalifa. Walk via the various pedestrian areas around the lake of the Dubai Fountains towards the Dubai Mall. If you choose this last option, you will pass various points where you can take beautiful photos of the Burj Khalifa and the skyline of Downtown Dubai.
Visiting the Dubai Mall by bus
If you want to travel by bus in Dubai to the Dubai Mall / Burj Khalifa you can take bus number 27 which departs from Deira Gold Souk station or bus number 29 which departs from Ghubaiba Bus station. Every 15 minutes these buses run to the tourist drop off point which is located in front of the Grand Drive entrance, on the lower ground floor of the Dubai Mall.
With the taxi to the Dubai Mall
It is also possible to travel to the Dubai Mall / Burj Khalifa by taxi. Almost every taxi driver understands you when you say Dubai Mall. The taxi in Dubai will drop you off close in front of the main entrance of the Dubai Mall (Grand Drive Entrance) or at one of the many taxi drop-off points of the Dubai Mall.
With the car to the Dubai Mall
Have you rented a car in Dubai and do you want to take your own transport to the Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall? The parking garages of the Dubai Mall are best reached via the Financial Center Road. The Dubai Mall has 14,000 parking spaces, so you will definitely find a free parking space. You can choose from four parking garages, the Grand Parking, the Fashion Parking, the Cinema Parking and the Zabeel Parking.
