Dubai in a day: what to see

The Al Fahidi neighborhood, the historic core of the city, is easily reached in the morning: its colonial-style houses and wind towers, traditional cooling systems, anticipate air conditioning by centuries.

From here, a short journey by abra, traditional wooden boats crossing the Dubai Creek, reaches the Spice Souk and the Gold Souk, where window displays showcase jewelry in quantities hard to find elsewhere.

In late morning it's worth moving toward Downtown Dubai, where the Burj Khalifa stands, the world's tallest building at 828 meters: ascending to the observation deck, bookable in advance, offers a view stretching to the desert.

At the foot of the tower is the Dubai Mall, one of the world's largest shopping centers, which besides shops hosts an aquarium with panoramic wall and an ice skating rink, convenient also just for a lunch break away from the heat.

The Jumeirah Beach is the public beach from which you can see the sail profile of the Burj Al Arab, the hotel that became one of the city's architectural symbols.

Nearby, Palm Jumeirah is the artificial island shaped like a palm, traversable by monorail that reaches all the way to Atlantis, the resort occupying its tip.

Returning toward Downtown Dubai in the evening, the Dubai Fountains put on their spectacle of lights, music and water in front of the Burj Khalifa, before dinner at one of the restaurants overlooking the artificial lake.

Al Fahidi in the morning and the Burj Khalifa in the early afternoon manage to return how much Dubai has changed; the final choice between Jumeirah Beach and Palm Jumeirah adds the newest side of the city.

The desert with its four-wheel-drive excursions and the Dubai Marina neighborhood are gladly left for next time. Passing in a few hours from the alleys of Al Fahidi to the top of the Burj Khalifa well shows how quickly this city has changed.