Downtown Dubai Around Burj Khalifa: Mall, Burj Park, Boulevard

The Dubai Mall and the At the Top entrance

The Dubai Mall opened on 4 November 2008 and has more than 1,200 shops; Wikipedia records a record 105 million visits in 2023. It matters to a Burj Khalifa visit for one reason first: the At the Top entrance is on its lower ground floor, and the metro reaches it through the 820 m Metro Link walkway. Inside, the paid attractions are the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, whose acrylic viewing panel is 32.88 m wide and 8.3 m high; an Olympic-size ice rink; Play DXB, a 76,000 sq ft indoor park with rides; and KidZania, a 7,000 m² play city for children aged 4 to 16. Fashion Avenue, opened in March 2018, holds more than 150 high-end brands. Restaurants inside the mall do not serve alcohol.

• Dubai Aquarium hours (as listed) — Sunday–Wednesday 10 am–10 pm, Thursday–Saturday 10 am–midnight, last entry one hour before closing
• Combo — The aquarium + levels 124 & 125 ticket is from $87 (AED 319)

Burj Lake and the Dubai Fountain

The Dubai Fountain stands in Burj Lake, a 12-hectare man-made lake between the mall, the tower and Souk Al Bahar. It was built by WET for AED 800 million, is about 275 m long and sprays up to 152 m. It was inaugurated on 8 May 2009, and after a renovation from April 2025 it reopened on 1 October 2025. The booking listings print the schedule as 1:00 and 1:30 pm every day except Friday (1:30 and 2:00 pm on Friday), then every 30 minutes from 6:00 to 11:00 pm. Watching from the promenade is free. The paid ways closer are the lake ride by abra, from $20 (AED 75), and the floating boardwalk.

Burj Park

Burj Park is the green space on a man-made island in Burj Lake and around the base of Burj Khalifa. It is run by Dubai Municipality's parks department and was designed by SWA Group. Entry is free on an ordinary day, and it is one of the calmer places to watch the fountain with the tower behind it. Entry is restricted when Emaar uses it for events, most visibly on New Year's Eve, when it became the ticketed viewing area for the fireworks: AED 950 for adults plus VAT in 2025–26. See Burj Khalifa on New Year's Eve.

Souk Al Bahar and the Boulevard

Souk Al Bahar, built in 2008, stands across the lake from Burj Khalifa and is reached by a footbridge from the mall. It holds more than 100 shops and more than 20 restaurants, cafés and lounges, and unlike the mall its restaurants can serve alcohol. Its lakeside walkway is a free fountain-viewing spot that Gulf News calls less crowded than the mall side. Behind it, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard runs 3.5 km around Downtown; Emaar renamed it from Emaar Boulevard in December 2012. Along it sits Old Town, a quarter of low-rise buildings in Arabic vernacular style. For tables with a view, see restaurants with a Dubai Fountain view.

Dubai Opera

Dubai Opera is a 2,000-seat performing-arts centre in the Opera District of Downtown, about 300 m from the tower. It opened on 31 August 2016 with Plácido Domingo. The building, by Atkins with principal architect Janus Rostock, converts between a theatre, a concert hall and a flat-floor event hall, so its programme runs from opera and ballet to concerts and conferences. The route along the lake towards the Opera is another of Gulf News's free fountain-viewing spots.

What to do before or after your slot

Plan Downtown around your deck time, because the slot is fixed. If you book a sunset slot, see the aquarium or the mall first and come down in time for the evening fountain shows. If you book a morning slot, stay for the first afternoon fountain show. Combining two paid things saves money only when they are bundled: the aquarium and the Sky Views observatory both come as combos with levels 124 & 125.

• Before a sunset slot — Aquarium or Souk Al Bahar, then queue for the deck
• After a sunset slot — Evening fountain shows from 6:00 pm, dinner by the lake
• After a morning slot — The 1:00 pm fountain show (1:30 pm on Friday, as listed), Burj Park