Dubai

Fly into Dubai International (one of the world's busiest airports) and transfer to your hotel. Dubai's first impression from the highway is genuinely astonishing — the Burj Khalifa appears over the highway 30km away, growing slowly until you're in its shadow at the base. Check in, then head immediately to the top of the Burj Khalifa for the At the Top SKY experience — 555m above Dubai, looking over the city, the Palm, and the desert. Book the sunset time slot. Dinner at Dubai Fountain lakeside.

The Burj Al Arab — the sailfish-shaped hotel on its own artificial island — is one of the world's most recognizable buildings and Dubai's defining image. Non-guests can only access it for dining (reserve well ahead). Have afternoon tea in the Sky View Bar at 212m, a revolving restaurant above the Arabian Gulf. Then Jumeirah Beach — the long public beach with the Burj Al Arab visible offshore is one of the world's great urban beach settings. Evening: the Dubai Marina walk, a 7km promenade along the Marina with restaurants on the water.

The Arabian Peninsula's red sand desert begins 45 minutes from downtown Dubai — a sea of photogenic dunes that reaches into Saudi Arabia. A private desert experience (not the group safari buses) takes you into the Empty Quarter's edge for dune driving at sunset in a 4WD, then a camel ride across the dunes as the light turns amber, followed by a Bedouin camp dinner under the stars with Arabic coffee, dates, mezze, and a traditional falcon demonstration. The contrast with the city you were in this morning is profound.

The Dubai Creek bisects the old city into Bur Dubai (south) and Deira (north), connected by the abra — a traditional wooden water taxi that crosses for 1 dirham and has been doing so for over 100 years. The Gold Souk in Deira is the world's largest gold market — over 300 shops in covered arcade lanes displaying jewelry that would be extraordinary anywhere, at wholesale prices. The adjacent Spice Souk sells frankincense, oud, saffron, dried rosebuds, and Omani limes from open sacks. The Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood on the Bur Dubai side is a preserved wind-tower village — the city as it was in the 1950s.

The Palm Jumeirah — the palm tree-shaped artificial island extending into the Arabian Gulf — is home to Dubai's most spectacular hotels and the Aquaventure Waterpark. A morning at Aquaventure (the best waterpark in the world, attached to Atlantis) with private cabana service and the River Ride through the park. Afternoon: the Palm's crescent beach at one of the Palm's luxury beach clubs — Drift Beach at One&Only, or Azure Beach at Rixos. The monorail crosses the Palm's trunk to the hotel cluster on the crescent for dramatic Gulf views.

The Museum of the Future — a torus-shaped building clad in 14km of laser-cut Arabic calligraphy on Sheikh Zayed Road — is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and houses an extraordinary exhibition about humanity's futures, presented through immersive environments. Afternoon: Alserkal Avenue in Al Quoz, Dubai's arts district in a repurposed industrial complex — galleries, design studios, independent cafes, and the opposite of what most visitors imagine Dubai to be. Evening: dinner at one of Dubai's extraordinary fine dining restaurants — Nobu at Atlantis, Zuma in DIFC, or Tresind Studio for modern Indian.

Dubai Airport is vast — allow 3 hours for international departures. Duty-free is world-class if you're shopping on the way out.