Downtown Dubai is a huge residential and commercial development in the north of Dubai covering an area of two square kilometres, part of which is still in construction. It is home to some of Dubai's best known landmarks including Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Mall, the Dubai Fountain and Dubai Opera.
Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, contains a hotel, office space and 900 apartments. Surrounding areas have low-rise villas and town houses as well as residential towers. The metro connects with Downtown and the Dubai Mall whose 1,200 retail outlets, aquarium and ice rink draw shoppers and leisure seekers from all over the country.
Residential accommodation in the centre of Downtown Dubai is high rise and high living in Burj Khalifa, with its apartments backed up by state-of-the-art fitness facilities, indoor and outdoor pools, jacuzzis and recreation rooms, and in The Address with its 626 up-market serviced apartments.
Away from the centre is the low-rise Old Town with its clusters of Arabic style buildings, narrow streets and shady gardens.
Beyond Old Town there are several high-rise apartment complexes, including South Ridge, The Distinction and Burj View Towers.
This district is situated along Sheikh Zayed Road opposite Al Wasl and bounded by Business Bay to the south and by Financial Centre Road to the north-east.
Downtown Dubai is connected to the Dubai Metro via the Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall Metro Station.
There are nine sub-communities in Downtown Dubai. Learn more in the following guides.
Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world and the centrepiece of Downtown Dubai. The Burj (or ‘tower’) has 90 residential floors and a 160-room Armani hotel as well as commercial office space. Surrounding the Burj is The Park with its 11 hectares of landscaped gardens, six water features, two tennis courts, children's playground and wading pool. The Dubai Mall is the world's largest shopping mall housing 1,200 shops, an olympic-sized ice rink, an aquarium and a water zoo. A pedestrian walkway links the mall directly to the metro station.
Outside the Mall the Dubai Fountain is the world's largest choreographed fountain system, putting on its spectacular show at half-hourly intervals after sunset. Accompanied by classical or contemporary music and illuminated by 6,600 lights and 50 coloured projectors, computer controlled jets shoot water up to 150 metres into the air.
Dubai Opera is a 2,000-seat, multi-format performing arts venue in The Opera District of Downtown Dubai. In theatre mode the space is suitable for opera, musicals, ballet and dance performances, large scale drama productions, lectures and conferences, and is capable of seating audiences of up to 2,040. The building’s design is inspired by the Arabian dhow.
The Address Downtown Dubai is a super tall skyscraper alongside the Dubai Mall, the Old Town, and the Burj Khalifa Lake. The 5-star hotel and residential compound has 196 rooms and 63 floors of serviced apartments.
This district is situated along Sheikh Zayed Road opposite Al Wasl and bounded by Business Bay to the south and by Financial Centre Road to the north-east.
The map below shows the location of Downtown Dubai and just below are summaries of the nearest attractions, parks, beaches, golf clubs and cinemas.
Downtown Dubai has many schools nearby including Citizens School at 1.6 km and Japanese School Dubai at 2.1 km.
In terms of performance there are 12 schools nearby that have achieved either of two highest government inspection rating of 'Very Good' or 'Outstanding' including Horizon English School Dubai which has a rating of 'Outstanding' and Jumeirah English Speaking School which also has a rating of 'Outstanding'.
We've partnered with LadiesNightDubai.com and BrunchCrunch.ae to give an overview of the current Ladies Nights and Brunch offers in the vicinity of Downtown Dubai.
Explore communities that are either adjacent or close to Downtown Dubai.
Images depicting the initial concept designs for Downtown Dubai.
Projects often go through a number of design revisions as they progress and developers may or may not honour their original plans when it comes to architectural designs, amenities and landscaping. The images below are provided as a means to compare the original plans with the realised development.
There are 127 building developments in Downtown Dubai. For a full list of all Downtown Dubai buildings visit our Buildings Guide.
Propsearch.ae is a Dubai property portal that hosts ads from a number of local real estate agencies. In addition we offer a comprehensive set of community and building guides to help property buyers, renters and investors learn about the areas and buildings that they may wish to live or invest in.
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