VENTURE
One of the UAE’s many strengths is its fantastic roads. A drive from Dubai to neighbouring Abu Dhabi takes just 80 minutes — maybe less if you’re in a Ferrari F8 Spider — and is a trip well worth taking. Upon arrival, a visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a must. Completed in 2007 following 12 years of painstaking work, the mosque is at once spectacular, beguiling and undeniably beautiful. The main prayer hall, which houses the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet, is a particular highlight.
TACKLE
Like a challenge? If so, grab a bike and head into the desert. Al Qudra cycling track not only provides keen cyclists with 86km of track to devour, but it offers unbeatable, breathtaking views of the desert’s shifting, wave-like dunes, as well as wildlife including the iconic Arabian oryx (the UAE’s national animal), gazelles, lizards and all manner of birds. If you’re particularly lucky you might even catch sight of the elusive Arabian sand cat.
BRUNCH
Rhodes W1 is a Dubai institution. Serving sublime European and British cuisine, as well as a plethora of bespoke, eccentric cocktails, the restaurant is a special treat at any time of the day, but it’s the establishment’s Evening Brunch that really sets it apart. Named after the best-selling book by Rhodes W1’s late founder Gary Rhodes, this famed feast, which routinely swallows up guests’ entire evenings, is something to be savoured.
INSPECT
Located alongside Dubai Creek, Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood is a key UAE heritage site, giving visitors the opportunity to discover the Middle East of years gone by. Complete with meandering stone streets, centuries-old infrastructure, art galleries and the charming Coins Museum, this is as close as Dubai’s tourists will ever get to being sent back in time.