When deciding on the best things to do in Dubai this weekend, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by everything that's going on in the city. Whether you’re planning to try a fabled Dubai brunch, have dinner at one of the city’s best restaurants, catch a pop-up exhibition or take the family to one of the city’s most-loved attractions, we’re here to help. Condé Nast Traveller Middle East highlights the best things to do in Dubai each weekend, as well as sharing the tried-and-tested favourites that never let us down.
1.Escape to Guerlain Spa, One&Only The Palm
One of the loveliest spas in the city, Guerlain Spa at the elegant One&Only The Palm is celebrating summer with a luxurious new package. Book the Guerlain Summer Escape and spend the day unwinding in a private cabana, complete with air conditioning and television, located by the resort’s picture-perfect pool. Available for up to four guests, the itinerary also includes a 60-minute Guerlain spa treatment, afternoon tea or light lunch and a refreshing glass of something chilled to watch the sun set into the Arabian Gulf.
When: Until 30 September, weekdays and weekends
Where: Guerlain Spa, One&Only The Palm
2. Mark International Yoga Day
In observance of International Day of Yoga on 21 June, a slew of events are taking place across the city over the course of the weekend, celebrating this year’s theme: Yoga for Women Empowerment. From special classes at top studios to larger celebrations designed to bring the community together through free events, highlights include a gathering of 4,000 yogis at Sheikh Saeed Halls in Dubai World Trade Centre in association with Friends of India and hosted by the Indian Consulate in Dubai; a morning class hosted by Karina Onga at Kulture House on Saturday, 22 June, and a yoga, relaxation and breathwork class at Mondoir Gallery. Visit idydubai.com for more information.
When: 21 June
Where: Events across Dubai
3. Embark on a gastronomic journey across India
For lovers of Indian cuisine, the nine-course Navratan menu at Rang Mahal, JW Marriott Marquis Dubai’s celebrated Indian restaurant, is designed to take guests on a journey across India, showcasing signature regional dishes. Available for both meat lovers and vegetarians, the menu includes pineapple carpaccio with warm sweet potato, seasoned yoghurt and tamarind chutney; lamb stuffed padrón chilli with vegetable cornetto, and pistachio coated lamb chops with chana masala, all paired with fine wines from India.
When: Available every night from 6pm
Where: Rang Mahal, JW Marriott Marquis Dubai
4. Try Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal and Pau Gasol’s new Dubai restaurant
Newly opened in Dubai and joining the restaurant brand's international locations in Madrid, Ibiza, Riyadh, Mexico City, Valencia and Beverly Hills, Tatel is an homage to Spanish cuisine, courtesy of three European sporting legends: Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal and Pau Gasol. Located at Hotel Boulevard, Autograph Collection in Downtown Dubai, the restaurant evokes a 1920s speakeasy atmosphere, presenting a menu that covers meat and seafood in dishes like Balfegó tuna loin; Iberian cecina cured beef; Josper grilled artichokes and asparagus; Andalusian-style crispy squid; padrón peppers; patatas and traditional rice dishes.
5. Shop Sienna Miller’s fashion collab
British style icon and actor Sienna Miller’s Bohemian approach to dressing is the stuff of fashion history; her love of hippie blouses, coin belts, pretty summer dresses and wide-leg denims has inspired myriad interpretations for the past two decades, catapulting her into fashion’s hall of fame. Just arrived in the UAE is her new design collab with the British department store Marks & Spencers, showcasing a line-up of signature Sienna looks that fans of her insouciant style can now shop at Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Hills stores.
Where: Marks & Spencers, Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Hills
6. View Nasser Almulhim’s artwork at Tabari Artspace
Riyadh-based painter and sculptor Nasser Almulhim is showcasing In-Between, a solo exhibition of 12 colourful Abstract Expressionist artworks at Tabari Artspace in DIFC. The saturated canvases present geometric forms in modern hues of tangerine, pistachio, navy, green and pink, which represent the complexities of the human psyche, the conscious and the subconscious, inspired by Carl Jung’s notion of shadow work that explores the importance of confronting thoughts, memories and trauma to find inner peace.
When: until 6 September
Address: Tabari Artspace, DIFC
7. Hit the shops
Dubai is a shopping city, with cavernous malls that are much more than mere retail spaces, housing luxury cinemas, art exhibits and innovative pop-ups alongside rows of shiny designer boutiques and interesting homegrown labels. While weekends can be particularly busy – especially as people escape the heat of the summer months – they are the best time to truly explore Dubai’s malls. Head to Dubai Mall, the biggest shopping mall in the world, for an early morning breakfast on the terrace of Jones The Grocer or Carluccio’s, overlooking Burj Lake in the shadow of the world’s tallest building. Both open at 9am – an hour before the shops – allowing you to secure that all-important parking spot and beat the crowds fed and watered. Dubai Hills Mall, one of the city’s newest on the edge of Dubai Hills Estate, is an altogether more relaxed shopping experience, with all the big names, punctuated with boutique homegrown brands and plenty of photogenic cafes and bistros.
8. Embrace café culture
All good weekends start with coffee, and in Dubai, it’s serious business. For centuries, Arabic coffee has been a symbol of hospitality, so for a taste of tradition, head for the shaded garden of Arabian Tea House in the historic Al Fahidi Neighbourhood, the oldest part of the city, where you’ll discover more than just traditional coffee. Or embrace the city’s modern-day coffee culture in Al Wasl, where independent cafes line up amongst the imposing villas of Jumeirah. Pop into any of these spots and you’re almost guaranteed to find a good cup of coffee, but make a beeline for Portuguese spot Lana Lusa, for a delicious pasteis de nata on the side.
9. Find family fun
For weekends with the family in tow, head to indoor biodome The Green Planet in City Walk, where more than 3,000 plants and animals, including pythons, sloths and cotton-top tamarins, coexist in ecosystems that replicate the wild, allowing visitors to observe their behaviours as they wander through the thriving green space. Not many places excite children quite like the Atlatnis’s waterpark Aquaventure. It has more than 105 slides, so plenty to keep them busy, and for the less-adventurous adults, there are two lazy rivers and plenty of lagoon side loungers.
10. Explore Alserkal
Dubai’s thriving cultural scene is best explored via the warren of galleries, pop-ups and exhibitions that occupy the warehouses of Alserkal Avenue. In this unlikely creative hub, in the heart of Al Quoz industrial area, lives Cinema Akil, Dubai’s first arthouse cinema, where weekend scheduling changes each week, but expect classics like Taxi Driver and Goodfellas shown alongside Arabic films. At Ishara Art Foundation, catch their latest exhibition, Sheher, Prakriti, Devi, curated by Gauri Gill, which will be on show until 1 June.. And when you get hungry, head to Nightjar Coffee, and order the creme brulee pancakes.
11. Try a new class
Whatever your workout of choice, there’s a class for that. And with new boutique studios popping up at an astonishing rate in Dubai, you could try a new class every weekend. For fans of reformer pilates, Posture on the Palm is not only an incredible workout, it’s worth visiting for the studio alone. A cave of calm with huge arched mirrors, warm lighting, oak floors and cool stone walls, you’ll want to move in. To get your heart pumping, head for the neon-lit dark rooms of The Lab Studios, a new boutique studio in Downtown, where people flock on weekend mornings for spin, Hiit and strength classes to sweat out the damage of the night before.
12. Head to an underground bar
On Friday and Saturday nights, Dubai’s shiny bars are full of glossy people, toasting with something sparkling after a long week. But it’s the city’s new wave of low-key, underground bars that have been on our weekend agenda; here heels can be swapped for sneakers, and drinks are served against eclectic global soundtracks. Head through the hidden door at the back of a tiny vinyl store in the Pullman Downtown, where you’ll find Honeycomb Hi-Fi, the city’s first listening bar. Here, the city’s cool crowd sip on sake-infused cocktails as DJs pump their soundtracks through high-fidelity speakers. Or head for the neon lights of Electric Pawn Shop, inspired by the grunge of 1970s New York Chinatown, that buzzes until the early hours.
13. Get brunching
Brunch is Dubai’s favourite weekend pastime. And while the city is well-known for its lavish buffets and endless feasts, there are plenty of ways to enjoy brunch here. If it’s an all-out brunch you’re craving, family-friendly Bubbalicious at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi is a fail-safe choice, with more food and drink stations than you’ll be able to visit in your three-hour sitting. Head to Zuma in DIFC for an a la carte offering just as legendary, but a little more refined. Or, if you seek brunch in the more traditional sense of the word, pull up a chair on Splendour Fields’s terrace overlooking the park in JLT and order the ricotta hotcakes.
14. Discover the future
Described by His Highness Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai as “the most beautiful building on Earth”, Museum of the Future is the crowning jewel on the city's already striking skyline. Step inside, however, and you will offered a glimpse into what the Dubai of the future may be like. The museum's Heal Institute offers a detailed showcase of how the city will look 50 years from now, with thriving green spaces set among towering skyscrapers, and drones filling the skies above. Across the museum's seven floors, exhibits explore the future of space travel, health and wellness, and climate change, with interactive installations and flying robots.
Address: Trade Centre 2, Dubai