Marco Polo - Dubai: Travel with Insider Tips

Oriental fairy-tale setting in the restored district of the wind tower houses

Travel back in time to life before Dubai became rich and modern

Picture-book desert palace that shows how the grandfather of Sheikh Mohammed lived

The ferries and water taxis give you a view of old and modern Dubai

Heavily laden dhows, sailors from all over the world: Dubai is exotic here, rather than glamorous

Eat your heart out, Babel: see the worlds tallest tower up close

Dubais landmark, a worldfamous hotel, rises on a mini island off Jumeirah Beach

High-rise buildings reach for the sky on the canal banks, mega-yachts and sailing ships moor in the marina

A gigantic themed hotel full of the secrets of the sunken city of Atlantis at the tip of Palm Jumeirah Island

After sundown the Royal Mirage Hotel is the most romantic place in Dubai. In the Eauzone restaurant guests enjoy top-class cuisine

The largest and most dramatically designed shopping mall on the Arabian Gulf and the second-largest in the world

Over 300 shops make this the main place for trading in gold

Drive in a 4 x 4 over dunes as tall as a building, and round off the trip with a hearty Bedouin dinner

From the pyramids water chute to the shark pool this is a stunning aquapark

30,000 marine animals live in the beautifully designed undersea world of this three-storey aquarium

An open-air lounge and hip place with beach feeling: the Barasti Bar among skyscrapers and beneath palm-covered roofs on Mina Seyahi beach

A trip outside the city of Dubai to the Arabia of yesteryear: the Museum of Islamic Civilization and ancient treasures presented in a palace

A welcome tea, flat bread, cheese and olives: in the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding, in a magnificent old building on the Creek, the locals invite you to breakfast with them on Mondays or have an Arab lunch on Sundays

Take your woolly hat, pullover and gloves to do pirouettes on the ice in the Dubai Mall

In the Falconry Centre in Nad al-Sheba, where a large Bedouin tent covers lots of little shops, you can see expert falcon-lovers bargaining with the dealers, and take a look at the birds and falconry equipment

See you there! The Lime Tree Caf is a popular meeting place for expatriates

In southern Arabia its almost impossible to visit the inside of a mosque. But you can join a English-language tours in the Jumeirah Mosque

The Basta Arts Caf in Bastakiya is a place of charm and culture behind high walls and the freshly pressed fruit juice is in great demand

On Fridays and Saturdays Marina Walk turns into an open-air market. Yachts, views of extraordinary buildings and people from all over the world make the shopping a pleasant excuse to stroll here

Sanctuary is the name of the super-club in the gigantic themed Atlantis hotel. Every wish is fulfilled in an area designated specially for live entertainment, a lounge area and an open-air terrace with a view of the Arabian Gulf and the Palm Jumeirah

The beginnings of school education in Dubai: the historic Al-Ahmadiya School for boys has been restored, and the old classrooms have been furnished as in former days and peopled with life-size figures of pupils

A trip across the Palm Jumeirah to the Hotel Atlantis on the elevated monorail gives you a great view of luxury villas and hotels on this man-made island

Try something that tastes good and is healthy in the Organic Foods and Caf in Dubai Mall: fair-trade chocolate, biscuits with green credentials and organically grown fruit. The only ecologically sound address in the whole mall