Dubai Marina: Modern seaside haven

The Dubai Marina is a famed city-within-a-city in this thriving Arab emirate. An awe-inspiring waterfront development, it captivates tourists and residents with its multicultural vibe and refreshing lifestyle.

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One of the first and largest of its kind in the Middle East, the Dubai Marina is a man-made canal city with a total area of 50 million square feet and a 3-kilometer long canal that opens to the Dubai seas. High-rise buildings for residences and offices; luxurious yachts along the canal; and the city’s best dining, entertainment, and leisure amenities all lend an invigorating atmosphere to this seaside haven.

Dynamic lifestyles
Home of the Dubai Marina Yacht Club, a good number of world-class yachts lining the docks can take visitors on an exhilarating cruise in Dubai. For a fee, you have the option to take a day cruise, a sunset cruise, a dhow cruise, or a fishing trip. These tours treat you to seaside views of the stunning Dubai skyline, the Burj Al Arab, and the magnificent Palm Jumeirah island.

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Most of these yachts are located behind the Dubai Marina Mall, one of the largest shopping malls in the emirate. It features 140 retail outlets, a supermarket, an entertainment area for kids, and 6 Reel cinemas. Practically a mall by the sea, it is the perfect shopping destination for marina residents and visitors.

For leisurely strolls, the Dubai Marina Walk offers a 7-kilometer long pedestrian walkway. With cafés, restaurants and shops on one side and the floating yachts on the other, the Walk is also ideal for jogging and biking. Night life is also very much alive in the bars and clubs in the area.

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Soaring high
The “tallest block in the world” is situated on the western side of the Dubai Marina. This block of high-rise buildings contains some of the world’s super-tall skyscrapers; one of which is the Princess Tower, the world’s tallest residential building. The skyscrapers in this block currently stand from 250 feet to 400 feet tall.

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The Jumeirah Beach Residence is also comfortably nestled on the marina facing the Persian Gulf. The world’s biggest single-phase residential and commercial development, it is a 1.7-kilometer long neighborhood that contains 40 towers. Snaking between the residences and the beach is a restaurant and shopping strip. It is a perfect setting for al fresco dining with breathtaking views of the sea and the sunset.

Getting there
Getting to the Dubai Marina is a breeze. It has its own Metro station on the Red Line on the way to Jebel Ali. The new tram system, which is scheduled to be completed in November 2014, will make the marina even more accessible by connecting areas in Dubai Marina to the Burj Al Arab and the Mall of Emirates.

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