Burj Khalifa: What You Need to Know Before You Go

Standing at 828 metres, the Burj Khalifa is the kind of structure that makes you feel genuinely small in the best possible way. You spot it from the highway long before you reach Downtown Dubai, its needle tip catching light long after the lower buildings have fallen into shadow. Most visitors book either the At The Top experience on the 124th floor or the higher At The Top Sky on the 148th. Both are extraordinary, though the price gap is significant. Book online in advance — walk-up tickets cost more and the prime sunset slots sell out days ahead. The journey up happens in a high-speed elevator that climbs so fast your ears pop slightly. At the top, the observation deck stretches around the whole perimeter. On clear days you can see Palm Jumeirah, the World Islands, and on exceptional days, even the coast of Oman across the Gulf. The best time to visit is the hour before sunset, when the city turns gold below you. After coming down, the Dubai Fountain show outside runs every thirty minutes from 6pm — a fitting encore to the experience above.