While only a little over an hour's drive from each other on the United Arab Emirates' Persian Gulf coast, these two major metropolises are distinctly different. Both glittering cities rising out of the desert but with their own charms and devoted fans.
So which is the best? Let's hear the arguments from two writers who have known and loved these stars of the UAE for years before you decide.
Sebastian Modak’s idea of a good time is asking a Dubai cab driver where to get lunch. And then, after a delicious meal, asking the employees at that restaurant where he should go for dinner.
I could take the easy route here by listing all the superlatives attached to Dubai. In a single afternoon, you can take an elevator to the top of the world’s tallest building, hit your 10,000 steps in one of the world’s largest shopping malls and even glide down a colossal indoor ski slope. You can ride the world’s largest Ferris wheel and then kick back in “the world’s only seven-star hotel.” You ask why, Dubai answers, “Because we can.”
But pointing to Dubai’s unmistakable appeal as a kind of living theme park for tourists is too obvious. Instead, I want to point you to its real beauty, as a crossroads of the world. Name a nationality and you’ll find it in Dubai. Sure, the same could be argued for nearby Abu Dhabi, but as a global financial center, Dubai just has more of it. And it’s a place where encountering the world – without the government bureaucrats and buttoned-up diplomats you’ll find in Abu Dhabi – is just more fun.
The real magic of the city is found where it began, along Dubai Creek and in the low-rise neighborhoods of Bur Dubai and Deira that extend on either side of it. It’s like stepping back in time – the 1960s are ancient history in a city as new as Dubai – and is a reminder of what the city was like before it started growing vertically.
Follow your nose through the souqs and in no time you’ll find the best Filipino, Indian, Pakistani and Iranian food available outside of the Philippines, India, Pakistan and Iran. Overwhelmed? There’s a tour for that: the women-run Frying Pan Adventures offers walking tours with a focus on the immigrant communities and their cultures that flourish away from the five-star hotels and amusement parks.
Okay, but maybe you came to Dubai because you want the amusement park vibes. You can encounter the world in one of those too, at the deliciously kitschy Global Village. A kind of turbocharged Epcot Center, “village” is an understatement here. Spread over a massive space, different countries and regions are given different pavilions to sell food and handicrafts. It’s a celebration of the 190-something nationalities that
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Eight months after my 30th birthday, I realized that I did, in fact, want children. In my 20s, I was never really sure. I thought of it as a kind of eventuality, something I’d get to once my life no longer revolved around friends and travel and chasing the next story. Something for the next, much more grown-up phase of my life. Then I learned that the choice might not be mine to make. My egg reserve levels were teetering on the edge of “critically low” and all signs pointed towards early menopause, a condition I now know runs in my family.
The prick to my finger was fast and sharp, but my blood wasn't being drawn by a nurse. Instead, the outstretched arm of a cholla cactus was the culprit. I had come to California's Coachella Valley for Sensei Porcupine Creek's inaugural longevity-focused hiking retreat, and I'd been stabbed by the plant's barbed spine while furiously pumping my arms to keep pace with my group's extremely fit guide, Anthony Purnel, a tribal council member of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
To my right, two 70-something regulars at the Exhibition pub in York, England, peppered me with questions on American politics, taught me how to recognize a fresh pint of beer (it should leave a path of foam on the glass) and invited me next door for a curry at their favorite Indian restaurant.
Condé Nast Traveler celebrated its 2025 Gold List in Dubai, with a glittering party against the Jumeirah Burj Al Arab, which marks its 25th anniversary, as well as being featured on the prestigious Gold List. The evening, which included a "Touch of Gold" dress code, was hosted by Condé Nast's CEO Roger Lynch, chief content officer and global editorial director of Vogue, Anna Wintour, and Condé Nast Traveller's global editorial director Divia Thani. The list is created annually by Condé Nast Traveler and is a selection of hotels and cruises that its discerning editors across the world deem as their own personal favorites.
Dubai boasts the tallest building, the biggest mall, and the water park with the most water slides in the world. Despite these claims to fame, I still considered it a stopover city, not a full vacation destination.