Sheikh Zayed Road, Trade Centre · Dubai

Museum of the Future

The silver ring on Sheikh Zayed Road is the most photographed building in Dubai after the Burj Khalifa, and unusually the inside earns the outside. Each floor is a separate designed environment rather than a gallery of objects, and the whole thing takes about two hours to walk.

Why go

Seven floors, each a fully designed environment rather than a display case
Arabic calligraphy façade — the windows are the text
Children's floor for under-10s included in general admission
Directly on the Red Line, so no parking problem

How the building is organised

You start at the top and work down. The upper floor is staged as an orbital station in the 2070s, complete with a lift briefing that commits fully to the premise. Below it sits a darkened room of preserved species — a digital ark, presented more as a cathedral than a museum case. Lower still are floors on wellbeing and on future technologies, and the ground floors are given over to children.

The Arabic calligraphy wrapping the façade is not decoration bolted on afterwards: the windows are the letterforms, which is why the interior light falls in those shapes. It is worth walking the perimeter outside before you go in.

Who it suits

It rewards people who like being inside an idea rather than reading about one. If your travelling companion wants artefacts, dates and provenance, the Louvre Abu Dhabi will suit them better and the two make a natural pair across a trip.

Photography is allowed throughout and the building is built for it, which does mean the popular corners have small queues of people waiting their turn on a staircase.

Museum of the Future, answered

Do I need to book Museum of the Future in advance?

Yes. It sells by timed slot and weekend slots routinely go several days ahead. It is one of the few Dubai attractions where turning up without a ticket regularly means being turned away.

Is it suitable for young children?

The lower floors are built for them and work well for ages three to ten. The upper floors are dark, quiet and conceptual, and small children tend to lose interest quickly.