Wind towers, pearls and djinn in the shadow of the world’s tallest building.
Long before the skyscrapers, Dubai was a port of pearl divers and merchants on the banks of the Creek, with coral-stone houses cooled by wind towers and nights full of legends. In just a few decades it became a city of world records, without losing its souks or its abras. Three free walking tours to explore it at your own pace: old Bur Dubai, the souks of Deira and Downtown around the Burj Khalifa.
Choose your free tour
All routes are free and can be combined. If it’s your first visit, start with the mixed route.
From the city’s oldest fort to the house where its ruler lived, through the Dubai of coral and gypsum that existed before the skyscrapers.
Through the souks of Deira, in search of the sea spirit that stalked pearl divers, the woman of the perfume and the mirage that showed gold.
A stroll through Downtown around the Burj Khalifa lake: the giant mall, the dancing fountain, a modern souk and an opera house shaped like a boat.
The map
The routes cross in the old town. Tap a point to see which story awaits you there.
Filled points already have a published article; the rest are in the works.
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A day in the city
Link the three routes and you will see the best of the city on foot, for free: the mixed route in the morning, history in the afternoon and legends as the sun goes down.
Morning
Afternoon
Early evening
Where to eat. Try Luqaimat and Emirati breakfast at Arabian Tea House.
What to eat
The dishes you can’t leave without trying, and the classic spots that have been serving them for years.
Little fried dough balls, crisp outside and fluffy inside, drenched in date syrup and sprinkled with sesame: the Emirati sweet par excellence. They come with karak tea or cardamom-scented Arabic coffee. In Al Fahidi, the Arabian Tea House has served them since 1997 in a 1920s house, alongside a traditional breakfast of balaleet, sweet vermicelli topped with an omelette.
Where to try it
Skewers of minced meat or saffron-marinated chicken, grilled over charcoal and served on buttery white rice with roast tomato. It is the legacy of the large Iranian community that has lived in Bur Dubai for more than a century. Al Ustad Special Kabab, opened in 1978 by the Ansari family, has barely changed its recipes.
Where to try it
The day’s fish and prawns, rubbed with a spice paste and fried, served with rice, paratha and curry. This is the simple cooking of the coast’s fishing harbours. Bu Qtair, a shack by the Umm Suqeim fishing harbour, has made it this way for decades and charges for the fish by weight.
Where to try it
Thin slices of chicken or lamb roasted on a vertical spit, wrapped in Arabic bread with garlic sauce, pickles and fries. It arrived with migrants from the Levant and is the city’s best-loved street food. Al Mallah, on 2nd December Street in Satwa, started out in the late 1970s as a small juice stand.
Where to try it
Lamb or chicken curries cooked in a karahi, a deep iron pan, with bread fresh from the tandoor. Food from the subcontinent is a key part of Dubai, home to millions of people from India and Pakistan. Ravi, in Satwa, opened in the late 1970s and is a classic loved by taxi drivers, locals and celebrities alike.
Where to try it
