The shopping

This is the big draw for many holidaymakers. Dubai has a huge number of mega-malls which include almost every store you can name. Safe, air-conditioned and bustling the malls also have cinemas, play areas for kids, and big food courts. Dubai is famous for tax-free deals, though nowadays many of the prices aren’t that much lower than those at home. If you do want a bargain, though, prices are often cut dramatically during the regular Shopping Festivals. Not for nothing do shopkeepers call the city ‘Do Buy’ rather than Dubai.

The endless Mall of the Emirates has Ski Dubai, an ice-cold indoor ski mountain. If you want to try it out you can rent skis, boots and ski clothing (no-one expects you to bring woolly hats to the desert, after all). If you just want to watch then there are viewing areas in the mall and it is a bizarre experience to see people all kitted out and racing down the snowy slopes while you take a break from the shops. It’s also worth heading outside the mall to see what the ski mountain looks like from there – it’s a huge, shiny structure, designed to reflect the heat. And it really is unique.