Where do residents and guests of the UAE spend their leisure time

Entertainment is an integral part of a person’s life. A pleasant, relaxed pastime with family or friends after a working day or on weekends relieves daytime stress, gives a powerful emotional impulse, energizes. In fact, every adult works in order to provide himself, including entertainment for his interests.

If we talk about children, then entertainment for them is the main part of life. And how many children, so many ideas on how to spend time. But if you start studying the list of available entertainment in the UAE, there will be no doubt that adults have significantly surpassed children in the number of incredible ideas for leisure activities, and most importantly, that all this has been realized.

Museums, galleries, theaters

If you happen to be even passing through Abu Dhabi, try to find a few hours to visit the local Louvre. This is the name of the art gallery opened in the capital of the principality in 2017. France sold the right to use the name “Louvre” for its art gallery to the UAE for about half a billion euros for 30.5 years. In addition, French museums will regularly organize exhibitions of their masterpieces in the Arab Louvre. More than 2000 square meters of space are allocated for them. 

Another 9200 “squares” are reserved for permanent exhibitions.

The architectural solutions used in the construction are no less unique than the exhibits. The museum is crowned with a 180-meter white dome with a geometric design. The pattern allows sunlight to penetrate at a specific angle through eight layers, creating a cinematic effect in museum interiors called “light rain”.

To get acquainted with the expositions of all Dubai museums, it will take more than one week. The National Historical Museum is located here in the fortress of Al-Fahidi. Another historical monument is the museum – the house of Sheikh Said Al Maktoum, from where the rulers ruled the country since the middle of the XIX century. The house is built of coral raised from the bottom of the Persian Gulf.

The exact opposite of the previous attractions is the Museum of the Future, which resembles a silver ellipse in shape and introduces visitors to the still fantastic inventions that will be available to mankind in 50 years.

Also in Dubai there are museums of coffee, pearls, history of cinematography, camel, Madame Tussauds, police, children’s museum of experiments OliOli, zoological museum The Green Planet, which contains more than 3,000 rare tropical plants, animals and birds.

The main cultural center of Dubai is the ultra–modern Dubai Opera House. Its auditorium accommodates 2,000 spectators, and the space is transformed into the format of any event: an opera production, a rock concert or an open exhibition.

Excursions, walks, cruises

Numerous offers of excursions that can be made by boat, camel, jeep, motorcycle, convertible, helicopter or balloon will help you fully enjoy Dubai and its surroundings.

You can take a boat trip along the city’s canals with access to the Persian Gulf on various types of vessels: small pleasure boats, powerful high-speed yachts or speedboats, traditional Arab dhow boats. Such trips can be complemented by deep-sea fishing, diving or snorkeling. Pleasant music always sounds on board. Guests are offered a delicious lunch or dinner, drinks.

The desert fascinates no less than the sea or mountain expanses. You can make sure of this by taking a tour in jeeps or buggies. For the bravest, they arrange an extreme safari or snowboarding on the dunes. In the evening, guests meet in a stylized Bedouin village, having dinner with traditional local food, or a more familiar barbecue is arranged for them. They also play a show with dancing and fire in front of them, ride camels, offer to hold a photo session in traditional attire.

You can admire the city, the Persian Gulf and the desert from above, using a balloon or helicopter. You can ride along the city streets, turning into the most secluded corners of the old city, where tourists usually do not go, during excursions on small bikes or in open convertibles.

Beaches and outdoor activities

Beaches in all the emirates are the same gold mine, bringing huge profits, like oil. Hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world come here all year round to get a great tan, enjoy incomparable service, and spend time in active recreation. There are public beaches that are free, paid and at hotels, but the level of cleanliness, comfort and safety is the same everywhere. 

Among the best are:

• Al-Mamzar (stretches from Dubai to Sharjah) with wonderful fine white sand, calm water surface and lots of greenery;
• Jumeirah is a kilometer–long public area with fine white sand, smooth access to the sea, clear clear water, playgrounds, barbecue areas, green lawns;
• Saadiyat (Abu Dhabi) is a 9-kilometer zone with smooth access to the sea, suitable for recreation with children, which has three beaches: public, paid and at the hotel;
• Al Corniche – comfortable free beach in Sharjah;
• Russian Al-Khan – locals call it Russian, because rest here is relatively inexpensive, our compatriots have chosen it.;
• Kai Beach is a mecca for surfers and kiters;
• Nasim Beach, located on one of the branches of Palm Island, is popular among wealthy vacationers and young people. This is a closed area at the Atlantis Hotel, beach parties are often held here, lasting until the morning;
• Dibba in Al-Fujairah is an ideal place for diving, as it has an impeccable ecological reputation and the purest water, teeming with exotic marine life.

A lot of attractions are organized on all beaches for vacationers: water skiing and motorcycles, boat trips, parasailing, windsurfing, diving.

Amusement parks

These places are hardly budget-friendly, and they will take a lot of time. But this is the best thing that can be for a holiday with children:

1. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi is a complex of attractions for thrill–seekers: pneumatic roller coasters, the speed of which reaches 250 km / h, vertical roller coasters Turbo Track, which is a combination of slides and “free fall”, as well as Flying Aces – the world’s highest loop and the steepest descent.
2. Yas Waterworld is a water park that has no analogues in the world. Here you can ride a hydromagnetic slide that creates a tornado effect up to 240 meters high, dive to the seabed, find a shell with a real pearl that you can keep for yourself. Playgrounds with geysers, pirate ships, and safe slides are organized for children.
3. Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is a theme park dedicated to the characters of an American film studio. The heroes do not just walk around the park, but arrange real shows.
4. IMG Worlds of Adventure (Dubai) is 140,000 square meters of space stylized as a magical world in which dinosaurs live in real size, ghosts, as well as heroes of American animated series and comics. Visitors take with them a lot of positive emotions.
5. Ski Dubai is a real ski resort, only covered, and even in the middle of the Mall of Emirates. There are several descents of varying difficulty and slides for sledding. Clothing and equipment can be rented on site.

Shopping malls

Shopping and entertainment centers in the UAE are giant cities where shops, cafes, restaurants, fitness centers and spas, cinemas, attractions for children and adults are located under one roof. About what the malls of the UAE are, you can judge by the example of one that is famous all over the world.

Dubai Festival City Mall is the world’s largest shopping mall, covering an area of 1.2 million square meters. Here are located:

• 1360 boutiques of the world’s leading brands;
• about a hundred cafes, restaurants, as well as a food court where you can taste dishes of any cuisine in the world;
• Novo Cinemas;
• Children’s entertainment center Stay and Play;
• ice arena;
• French hypermarket “Galeries Lafayette”;
• the golden market, which united 200 jewelry boutiques.

On the ground floor there is an aquarium, which, like the mall, is the largest in the world. It is filled with 10 million tons of water and has about 30 thousand species of marine flora and fauna. You can observe the life of marine life by walking through a 155-meter tunnel with glass walls laid through the aquarium.

Dubai Festival City Mall is also a venue for major seasonal events. Its area is so large that it is easy to set up a stage and hold various performances. One of them is the annual Shopping Festival with grandiose discounts and the laser show program “Imagine Festival Bay”.

Leisure for Russians

Russian population According to statistics, there are about 100 thousand Russians living in the Emirates, which is about 1% of the population, most of which settled in Dubai. But this group of expats is not deprived of attention. Russian restaurants, nightclubs are open for them, and many concerts with the participation of representatives of Russian culture are organized. The calendar of concert entertainment events is posted on the website of the Russian Emirates.

The most popular restaurants are:

• The most popular restaurants are:
• Chalet “Berezka”, where you can try pancakes, dumplings, dumplings, salmon soup;
• Russian restaurant “Pushkin”, which is famous for Kiev-style cutlets, dumplings, cheesecakes, herring dishes;
• UZB Avenue offers herring under a fur coat, beef stroganoff, dumplings, borscht;
• “Suvoroff”, where veal with pearl barley, mashed soup and potato pancakes are cooked.

Russian Club Arbat is the most popular night club among Russian emigrants. Russian-speaking staff, delicious and inexpensive food, free WI-FI, good drinks, live Russian music, interesting show programs.