Dubai's must-see list is a young one, and not all of it is glass. The Burj Khalifa dates from 2004 and the Dubai Frame from 2018; the off-road centre in Dubai Design District dates from 2025, and one tower on this list is still under construction. Between the landmarks are the places that keep the city running day to day: a fish, vegetable and meat market in Deira, a Catholic church, a mosque in Al Safa 1, and a Russian Orthodox church just over the line in Sharjah Emirate. We put this together for two kinds of visitor: the first-timer who wants the famous skyline and something beyond it, and the returning visitor who has seen the towers and wants to know what else is here. Read it as a route through the city rather than a ranking of wonders: a famous sight, then a working one, then another famous one.
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1 Burj Khalifa
1 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid BoulevardThe skyscraper itself, the reason the boulevard is famous
The skyscraper at 1 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard is the Burj Khalifa, and its story starts in 2004; in a city that rebuilds itself every decade, that is enough to make it the elder of this skyline. Don't bother with the crowded photo corners at its base, where the tower becomes a wall of glass you can't take in. Walk several blocks out and look back: the full height finally makes sense. Come once in daylight to see its shape, then again after dark, when the boulevard fills and the building looks quite different.
Dates from 2004
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2 Dubai Frame
An architectural landmark you visit by daylight, open 10:00 to 19:00
The Dubai Frame is open 10:00 to 19:00, Monday through Sunday. It dates from 2018 and is listed as an architectural landmark in Dubai, a building named for exactly what it does: it puts the city inside a border. The 19:00 close makes this a daytime trip, and the morning is best before the heat sets in and the queues build; skip the sunset rush at the taller towers. Check the official site before you go, because hours in this city shift around holidays and the trip is easy to time around them.
Dates from 2018
Hours: Mo-Su 10:00-19:00
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3 Russian Orthodox Church, Sharjah
Al Yarmook AreaAn Orthodox church building in Sharjah Emirate, dating from 2007
The Russian Orthodox Church in Sharjah's Al Yarmook Area dates from 2007 and is the one entry on this list that lies outside Dubai: a church building in Sharjah Emirate. Spend one afternoon away from the mall-and-tower loop and make the crossing; it shows you that the region's Christian communities have built their own landmarks, not just rented halls. The neighbourhood name alone may not get a driver there, so load 25.3501, 55.4042 into your maps app before you leave. Check the parish website for service times, dress modestly, and keep your voice down inside.
Dates from 2007
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4 Waterfront Market
Al Khaleej Road/Abu Hail Road junction, Deira, Dubai, UAEFish, vegetable and meat under one roof in Deira
The day's catch spills across the counters at Waterfront Market, the fish, vegetable and meat market at the Al Khaleej Road and Abu Hail Road junction in Deira. Dating from 2017, this is the modern form of Deira's market trade, not a museum of it. The locals shop here for dinner, not for photos; skip the polished supermarket seafood aisle and buy from someone who can tell you what came in today. Bring a cool bag if you are cooking, and come hungry if you are not. For the exact entrance, use 25.2919, 55.3239, and check the market's own site for its hours.
Dates from 2017
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5 Mercedes-Benz Off Road Experience Centre Dubai
1g D3 Street - Za'abeel - Dubai Design District - DubaiOff-road driving inside the city, in Dubai Design District
Out at 1g D3 Street in Za'abeel's Dubai Design District, the Mercedes-Benz Off Road Experience Centre Dubai is an off-road driving attraction that opened in 2025, making it the newest entry on this list. The address makes the case: off-road driving set inside a design district in the middle of the city, not out past the suburbs. For anyone who wants to drive rather than sit in the back, it beats the identical desert-safari packages. Book through the brand centre's own page, wear closed shoes, and give yourself time afterwards to walk around the district.
Dates from 2025
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6 Dubai Opera House
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid BlvdA performing arts center on Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Blvd
Dubai Opera House, opened in 2016 on Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Blvd, is where the city's evening life looks nothing like the daytime version. Skip the background music in hotel lounges and book a full performance instead: a whole evening of live theatre or music puts you in a Dubai that no observation deck reaches. Check the programme before you travel, not after you land, because the nights worth seeing go early. Dress up a little; on this boulevard, the people in the audience are part of the show.
Dates from 2016
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7 The Dubai Fountain
The world's largest choreographed fountain system
The Dubai Fountain, listed as the world's largest choreographed fountain system, is free in the way that counts: you stand on the open promenade and watch. Don't pay for a premium terrace table just for the view; the promenade puts you close enough to feel the spray, and the crowd's reaction around you is half the experience. Pin 25.1952, 55.2751 to find your spot and arrive a few minutes before the show starts. Plan on two performances at minimum: the first for scale, which takes all your attention, and the second for the choreography, which only registers once the sheer size of it stops catching you off guard.
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8 St. Mary's Catholic Church, Dubai
St.Marys Parish ChurchA parish church in the United Arab Emirates
Ask your driver for St. Mary's Parish Church, the address St. Mary's Catholic Church, Dubai goes by, and you will arrive at a church in the United Arab Emirates. This is not a sight in the spectacle sense, and it is better for that. The congregation comes here to worship, not to sightsee, and that is the reason to come: it shows a side of the city's daily life that the skyline never shows. If the name gets lost in translation, use 25.2405, 55.3176. Dress modestly, keep your camera down during services, and move through it as a guest would.
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9 The Address Dubai Mall
An architectural structure in Dubai, worth seeing as a building
The Address Dubai Mall is catalogued as an architectural structure in Dubai, and that framing is exactly right: treat it as a building to look at, not a place to shop. If a mall is all you want, this city will oblige you almost anywhere, so don't make a detour for that alone. Come to see how it sits among its taller and showier neighbours on the skyline, and give it ten minutes from across the way. The coordinates 25.1996, 55.2776 put you at the right angle; step back until the whole tower fits in your frame.
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10 Dubai Creek Tower
An observation tower still under construction
Nobody stands on top of Dubai Creek Tower yet: it is an observation tower still under construction, and that is precisely why it earns a place on this list. Most of the city's landmarks are finished and familiar; this one lets you watch Dubai while it is still building. Don't take any tour that promises a view from the top, because there is no top to visit. Come and look at it from outside, then compare what you see on your next trip. The site is at 25.1976, 55.3552; check access on the ground before you go, because building sites change their perimeter often.
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11 Al Farooq Omar Bin Al Khatab mosque
Street 6d, Al Safa 1A mosque in Al Safa 1, dating from 2011
On Street 6d in Al Safa 1 stands the Al Farooq Omar Bin Al Khatab mosque, a mosque in Dubai dating from 2011. Don't fall into the habit of seeing this city's faith through a car window. A mosque on a residential street tells you more about how Dubai lives than another rooftop bar will. The locals come here to pray, so plan your visit around prayer times rather than through them, and dress to cover shoulders and knees. Women should bring a headscarf. Ask before you photograph anyone, and leave your shoes where the regulars leave theirs.
Dates from 2011
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12 Dubai International City
An architectural structure to walk through rather than tick off
Put 25.1419, 55.4047 into your maps app and you arrive at Dubai International City, catalogued as an architectural structure, but treat it as a walk rather than a single sight to photograph and leave. Skip the glossy waterfront developments for one evening; this is where you see the city at street level, away from the postcard view. Come hungry, wear comfortable shoes, and give it at least an hour, because the place doesn't start making sense until you've rounded a few blocks of it. We'd say this is the right note to end on: the skyline was the opening act, and this is where people live.
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