Entertainment for every taste

Where residents and guests of the UAE spend their leisure time

Entertainment is an integral part of human life. A pleasant, relaxed time with family or friends after a working day or on the weekend relieves daily stress, gives a powerful emotional impulse, and energizes. In fact, every adult works in order to provide himself with entertainment according to his interests.

If we talk about children, then entertainment for them is the main part of life. And how many children there are, so many ideas on how to spend time. But if you start studying the list of available entertainment in the UAE, there will be no doubt that adults have significantly surpassed children in the number of incredible ideas for spending their leisure time, and most importantly, that all of this has been implemented.

Museums, galleries, theaters

If you find yourself even passing through Abu Dhabi, try to find a few hours to visit the local Louvre. This is the name of the art gallery opened in the capital of the principality in 2017. France sold the UAE the right to use the name "Louvre" for its art gallery for 30.5 years for about half a billion euros. In addition, French museums will regularly organize exhibitions of their masterpieces in the Arab Louvre. More than 2,000 square meters of area are allocated for them. 

Another 9,200 “squares” are reserved for permanent exhibitions.

The architectural solutions used during construction are no less unique than the exhibition exhibits. The museum is topped by a 180-meter white dome with a geometric design. The pattern allows sunlight to penetrate at specific angles through the eight layers, creating a cinematic effect in museum interiors called “light rain.”

It will take more than one week to get acquainted with the exhibitions of all Dubai museums. Here, in the Al-Fahidi Fortress, the National Historical Museum is located. Another historical monument-museum is the house of Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum, from where rulers ruled the country since the mid-19th century. The house is built from corals recovered from the bottom of the Persian Gulf.

The direct opposite of the previous attractions is the Museum of the Future, which is shaped like a silver ellipse and introduces visitors to the still fantastic inventions that will become available to humanity in 50 years.

Also in Dubai there are museums of coffee, pearls, history of cinematography, camel, Madame Tussauds, police, children's museum of experiments OliOli, zoological museum The Green Planet, which contains more than 3,000 rare tropical plants, animals and birds.

The main cultural center of Dubai is the ultra-modern opera house Dubai Opera. Its auditorium seats 2,000 spectators, and the space can be transformed to suit the format of any event: an opera production, a rock concert or an open exhibition.

Excursions, walks, cruises

To fully enjoy Dubai and its surroundings, numerous offers of excursions can be made, which can be taken by boat, camel, jeep, motorcycle, convertible, helicopter or hot air balloon.

You can take a boat trip along the city's canals with access to the Persian Gulf on various types of vessels: small pleasure boats, powerful high-speed yachts or speedboats, traditional Arab dhows. Such trips can be complemented by deep-sea fishing, diving or snorkeling. There is always pleasant music on board. Guests are offered a delicious lunch or dinner and drinks.

The desert is no less fascinating than the sea or mountain expanses. You can verify this by taking a tour in jeeps or buggies. For the most daring, extreme safari or snowboarding on the dunes are organized. Guests spend the evening in a stylized Bedouin village, dining on traditional local food, or have a more traditional barbecue. They also perform a show with dancing and fire, ride camels, and offer a photo shoot in traditional attire.

You can admire the city, the Persian Gulf and the desert from above, using a hot air balloon or helicopter. You can ride along the city streets, turning into the most secluded corners of the old city, where tourists usually don’t go, during excursions on small bikes or in open convertibles.

Beaches and active recreation

Beaches in all emirates are the same gold mine, bringing enormous profits, like oil. Hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world come here all year round to get a great tan, enjoy incomparable service, and spend time in active recreation. There are public beaches, free, paid and at hotels, but the level of cleanliness, comfort and safety is the same everywhere. 

Among the best are:

• Al Mamzar (stretches from Dubai to Sharjah) with wonderful fine white sand, calm waters and lots of green spaces;
• Jumeirah is a kilometer-long public area with fine white sand, a smooth entry into the sea, clean transparent water, playgrounds, barbecue areas, green lawns;
• Saadiyat (Abu Dhabi) is a 9-kilometer zone with a smooth entry into the sea, suitable for families with children, which has three beaches: public, paid and at the hotel;
• Al Corniche - a comfortable free beach in Sharjah;
• Al-Khan - local residents call it Russian, since holidays here are relatively inexpensive, it is chosen by our compatriots;
• Kai Beach is a mecca for surfers and kiters;
• Nasim Beach, located on one of the branches of the Palm Island, is popular among wealthy vacationers and young people. This is a closed area at the Atlantis Hotel; beach parties are often held here, lasting until the morning;
• Dibba in Al Fujairah is an ideal diving destination due to its impeccable environmental reputation and clear waters teeming with exotic marine life.

On all beaches, a lot of attractions are organized for vacationers: water skiing and motorcycle riding, boat trips, parasailing, windsurfing, diving.

Amusement parks

These places can hardly be called budget, and they will take a lot of time. But this is the best thing for a holiday with children:

1. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi is a complex of attractions for thrill-seekers: a pneumatic roller coaster, which reaches speeds of up to 250 km/h, a vertical roller coaster, Turbo Track, which is a combination of slides and free fall, as well as Flying Aces, the world's highest loop and the steepest descent.
2. Yas Waterworld is a water park that has no analogues in the world. Here you can ride a hydromagnetic slide that creates the effect of a tornado up to 240 meters high, dive to the seabed, and find a shell with a real pearl that you can keep for yourself. For children there are playgrounds with geysers, pirate ships, and safe slides.
3. Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is a theme park dedicated to the characters of the American film studio. The heroes don’t just walk around the park, but put on real shows.
4. IMG Worlds of Adventure (Dubai) is 140,000 square meters of area, stylized as a magical world, in which real-size dinosaurs, ghosts, as well as characters from American animated series and comics live. Visitors take away a lot of positive emotions with them.
5. Ski Dubai is a real ski resort, only indoors, and even in the middle of the Mall of Emirates. There are several slopes of varying difficulty and sledding hills here. Clothing and equipment can be rented on site.

Shopping centers

Shopping and entertainment centers in the UAE are giant cities where shops, cafes, restaurants, fitness centers and spas, cinemas, attractions for children and adults are located under one roof. What UAE malls are can be judged by the example of one that is famous throughout the world.

Dubai Festival City Mall is the world's largest shopping center, covering an area of 1.2 million square meters. Here are located:

• 1360 boutiques of the world's leading brands;
• about a hundred cafes, restaurants, as well as a food court, where you can try dishes from any cuisine in the world;
• Novo Cinemas;
• children's entertainment center Stay and Play;
• Ice Arena;
• French hypermarket “Galeries Lafayette”;
• “gold market”, uniting 200 jewelry boutiques.

On the ground floor there is an aquarium, which, like the mall, is the largest in the world. It is filled with 10 million tons of water and contains about 30 thousand species of marine flora and fauna. You can observe the life of marine life by walking through a 155-meter tunnel with glass walls, laid through the aquarium.

Dubai Festival City Mall is also a venue for major seasonal events. Its area is so large that you can easily set up a stage on it and hold various performances. One of them is the annual Shopping Festival with huge discounts and the “Imagine Festival Bay” laser show program.