Dubai

Dubai is a city built on what comes next. Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building at 828 m, looks over it all from its Level 148 deck. At its foot stand The Dubai Mall, one of the world's largest, with more than 1,200 shops, and the Museum of the Future, its steel face written in Arabic calligraphy.

The first Dubai still lives along the Creek. Cross it by abra, the wooden ferry the city has always used, walk the wind towers of the Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, and visit Al Shindagha Museum for the story of pearl diving and the city's birth, before the Gold and Spice Souks of Deira.

To stay, you choose between city and sea: generous suites at Raffles Dubai or the Grand Hyatt near the Creek, or a resort with its own beach on Palm Jumeirah, such as Anantara with its overwater villas, the Waldorf Astoria, Fairmont or Sofitel. About 60 km inland lies the 225 km² Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, where we set up private camps among the dunes.

For mountains, Hatta is Dubai too: about 130 km south-east of the city, set among the Hajar Mountains around the turquoise lake of its dam.