Locally Loved Places in Dubai

18b Street Murals, Karama

Twenty-four murals above the 'handbag street' souk — 3D illusions, falcons and a floating green pickup, painted over one hot summer.

Dubai

Al Jaddaf Dhow Building Yard

Dubai's last working dhow yard on the Creek, where craftsmen still build wooden ships by hand as they have for a century.

Dubai

Al Seef Promenade

Nearly two kilometres of Dubai Creek waterfront split in two — a re-aged heritage village on one side, glass-and-steel pavilions on the other.

Dubai

Arabian Stallion, Gold Souk

A bronze Arabian horse guarding the south entrance of the Gold Souk — heritage counterpart to the camels up north.

Dubai

Ben Eine Typography, City Walk

Bold letterforms set high on a wall by the artist whose work a British prime minister gave to the White House.

Dubai

Camel Family

Three life-size bronze camels resting under a starry dome — Donald Greig's welcome to the mall's Gold Souk.

Dubai

Chinatown, The Dubai Mall

The UAE's first Chinatown — a designed immersive district of moon gates, lantern streets and neon, by Kokaistudios.

Dubai

Deira Gold Souk & Spice Souk

Lattice-covered arcades where hundreds of shopfronts glitter with gold, and narrow lanes nearby spill over with saffron and frankincense.

Dubai

Dubai Metro Station Shells

Golden shell-roofed stations across the city — Aedas's pearl-inspired canopies, a column-free steel form repeated as urban jewellery.

Dubai

Dubai Street Museum

Old Satwa's 2nd of December Street reborn as an open-air gallery — heritage murals by artists from five continents.

Dubai

Dubai Walls

Sixteen global street artists — Blek le Rat, D*Face, ROA, Vhils and more — turned City Walk into an open-air gallery, including a six-storey mural.

Dubai

Hatta Sign

Giant 19.28-metre letters on a Hajar Mountain ridge — the world's tallest landmark sign, taller than Hollywood's, reachable only on foot.

Dubai

Jaddaf Waterfront Sculpture Park

The UAE's first open-air sculpture park, wrapped around Jameel Arts Centre on the Creek — monumental works by international and Emirati artists.

Dubai

Shepard Fairey Murals, d3

Two facing walls by the artist behind Obama's 'Hope' poster — his first murals in the Middle East, a peace dove and a fist holding a flower.

Dubai