15 Amazing things to do in the Dubai Mall

Never have I been to a mall like this. In fact, rarely would I even choose to go to a Mall – not my thing. I never thought in a million years I’d manage to spend 7 entire hours in a mall. And yet, I did, and could have spent longer. It could only be Dubai.

The Dubai Mall was opened in 2008, and is currently the second biggest mall in the world at 5.4 million sqft. Madness. It actually attracts more visitors per year than New York in its entirety and world famous places like Niagara Falls. It’s a destination in and of itself, and if you’re in Dubai you have to see it to believe it!

There’s so much to do here so if you’re looking for what to see and do on your trip to Dubai Mall – look no further, I’ve got you covered.

Things to do in the Dubai Mall

The Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world, and is impressive whether you think it’s OTT or just a marvel. You can access ‘At the Top’ from within the Dubai Mall which takes you to the 124th floor of the building for panoramic views out over Dubai. Or you can just view it from ground level. Given my husband is scared of heights and it’s quite expensive at ￡40pp, we chose the latter (plus my friend told us of her experience*).

• My friend’s experience was that she booked the tickets for At the Top in advance, along with lunch. It took an hour to get in, and lunch took 3 hours to be served.

China Town

This was possibly my favourite part of the Mall. China Town is free to stroll around and decorated beautifully with blossom trees, neon signs and lanterns. There’s a traditional Chinese home to explore, a giant panda, lots of restaurants, bubble tea shops, and a huge Chinese spa. We went in a few of the shops, had a cup of tea and visited the house – taking us about 1 hour.

Shops, Shops and more Shops

Dubai Mall is home to over 1,200 retail outlets. They’re all free to browse and there is something for everyone. We spent a good couple of hours looking around shops including a giant Lego store, a replica of Galeries Lafayette of Paris, huge Apple and Virgin stores, sweet shops, and a big F1 store. There’s even a full on Emirates flight simulator if you so wish. And if you’re in to designer labels, there is also an entire area of the Mall called Fashion Avenue, housing all the main brands.

Indoor Human Waterfall

The Human Waterfall is actually beautifully done, cascading from the top floor to ground floor of the Mall and visible on every floor. At 24m high, the humans represent traditional pearl divers jumping in to the oceans, one of the main trades of the region before oil was found. It’s free to see, so win win.

Ice Rink

I used to love ice skating as a child so really wanted to go on the full sized rink here. It’s ￡30 a ticket, but I had the entire rink almost to myself (hubs was too busy in the Lego store and I decided I may as well just go and clear my head with a bit of peace!). I had the BEST time and really recommend it to anyone who wants to try ice skating.

Book World

Oh my heart belongs in Book World, also known as Kinokuniya. By far the BEST book shop I’ve ever been in, it was HUGE and stoked EVERYTHING. I came away with such a haul and it took me a full hour of browsing to choose. I could have spent the entire day in there to be honest. Incredible – my highlight of the day.

Dubai Aquarium

Another insane addition to the Mall is Dubai aquarium and underwater zoo, plus penguin cove. You have to pay to enter (about ￡43 for anyone over 2 years old) so it is pricy. Given we were prioritising other things and it was HEAVING, we passed on going in. However, you can see a couple of the tanks from within the Mall for free so we went to look at those instead.

Food Court

Even the food court in Dubai Mall is an attraction. With over 50 food options to choose from, you could be eating anything from Indian to Chinese to Sushi to Mexican or Subway or McDonalds. Whatever you fancy, you can get it here. We love a bit of Panda Express from our time in Asia so we headed there.

Reels Cinema

Another highlight was the Cinema. Whilst we didn’t do this on our first visit to the Mall, we actually came back for an evening later on in our stay. I really fancied watching Argylle and our hotel had a discount on seats. For a mere ￡16 each we were able to purchase a Platinum Experience with reclining chairs, table services and lots of snacks. The film was fun and we had a great evening experience.

Arcade & Play DXB

Of course the Dubai Mall has a full arcade with every arcade game imaginable, plus the largest Virtual Reality experience in the world. We thought about doing a VR ride as something a bit different, but just ran out of time!

Dubai Fountain

Dubai Fountain is not to be missed. Every day at 1 – 1.30pm, and then every evening from 6pm – 11pm, (every half an hour), a light show to music is played. It’s free to watch but does get super busy. Again we didn’t do this on our first Mall visit, but came back in an evening to do it with a special twist. We booked a delicious Indian meal at Amal by Armani in the Burj Khalifa overlooking the Fountain so got front row seats from above. The show is different every 30 minutes and so we got to see 5 versions.

Souk Al Bahar

Within Dubai Mall is an area hosting more traditional shops, known as Souk Al Bahar. It’s far from an authentic Souk, but it stocks more authentic goods and of course you have to haggle. I bought some fresh fruit for 80p which was quite the bargain from their original quote of ￡14!

Dubai Dino & Sculptures

The Dubai Dino is a 155 million year old dinosaur skeleton sitting in the main atrium. As you do (and it’s free to see). There are also a number of sculptures dotted around the mall – we particularly liked the ant and the ape.

Kidzania

Not one for us, but worth the mention as I was so impressed at the concept. This huge place is effectively a role playing area for children and enables them to discover new worlds, skills and even practice things like calculating prices and paying – it has a real airport check in, a fire station and engine, and so many other cool and unique zones to enjoy.

EKart Zabeel

Top of my husband’s list was Go-Karting on the roof of the Mall. Unfortunately for hubs he exceeded the weigh limit as you have to be less than 100kg (15 stone), and the little one over here felt too bad to go it alone. Instead we just watched a couple of laps and headed back to our hotel.

Getting to Dubai Mall

• By Metro – The Dubai Mall is connected to the Red Line Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall Metro station. It’s a 10 minute walk from there.
• By Bus – Route 27 from Deira Gold Souk station and Route 29 from Ghubaiba bus station service the Dubai Mall approx every 15 minutes.
• By Taxi or Uber – there are several taxi ranks around the mall and Uber in Dubai is reliable, reasonably priced and safe too.

Other Important Information about Dubai Mall

• The Dubai Mall is open 10am-12am (1am Thursday – Saturday). Please note that on Eid holidays, Ramadan and special events these regular Mall hours can change
• There is free Wi-Fi in the Mall
• Moderate dress is required in the Mall. Whilst it is a major tourist attraction and relatively relaxed, signs are still up asking for no PDAs and moderation. Please be respectful
• It is illegal in the UAE to take photos of others without permission. Please ensure you are not taking photos in people’s faces.