Dubai is a city of extremes. Extreme wealth, extreme heat, extremely mind-blowing. The dazzling city skyline in the middle of the desert closely resembles a scene out of a sci-fi movie, in fact I truly wouldn’t be surprised to see cars hovering around overhead within five to ten years of me writing this post; that’s just the kind of place it is. Potentially one of the most extreme of all the extremes in Dubai is the magnificent Burj Khalifa- the tallest building in the world. Visiting the Burj Khalifa in 2022 is a little different to the normal drill; there a few Covid rules to follow. But it was still an experience worth experiencing.
I mean: check out these views for one thing.
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Just how high is the Burj Khalifa?
The last time I ventured up an incredibly tall structure was the CN Tower in Toronto, and stepping onto the glass floor above the street below was a particularly hair-raising experience. But, the CN Tower is a mere 553 metres in height, paling into insignificance against the Burj Khalifa’s 828 metres. This tower is in fact, so incredibly impressively tall that technically you could watch the sun set at the bottom, then get an elevator to the top and watch it dip below the horizon again a few minutes later.
The building, like a strange twinkling needle gleaming above Downtown Dubai, has a grand total of over 160 stories. As well as private apartments and corporate suites, the tower is home to the Armani Hotel and the At.Mosphere restaurant; because let’s face it- a Travelodge and a McDonalds just wouldn’t fit in with this address.
It’s way too exclusive round here on the Arabian Gulf.
The ‘At The Top’ observation deck is on Level 124 and 125, and this is where most climbers of the Burj Khalifa head- a mostly open-to-the-elements observation deck with 360º views of the city and the gulf beyond. ‘At The Top Burj Khalifa Sky’ gives you access to Level 148, with a slightly less-crowded and more exclusive vibe.
And then there’s The Lounge, all the way up on Levels 152, 153 and 154. This is one luxurious and extremely high-up-in-the-air lounge, and in here you can tuck into an afternoon tea or evening cocktails; whatever floats your boat.
Enter via the Mall
The culture in Dubai seems to centre largely around consumerism, so it wasn’t a surprise to me that like most places I visited in the United Arab Emirates, (even the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi), entry to the Burj Khalifa is via a mall. The Dubai Mall, no less, which is absolutely gargantuan and worth a visit in its own right. The route to the Burj Khalifa past the windows of handbags and diamonds and watches is very well sign-posted, so despite the grandiose scale of the place, you can’t get lost easily; just distracted by diamonds.
Buying tickets to the Burj Khalifa
Let’s get on down to the queue. We booked and paid for our tickets to the At the Top observation deck online in advance, thinking that meant that we’d have some kind of skip the queue privilege. But so did approximately 250 other people. Alas.
Still- book and pay for your ticket to the Burj Khalifa here.
Entrances are very vaguely timed, so although you’ll book an allocated time slot it could be that you queue for an hour and end up entering much later than planned. There’s also a difference in price depending on whether you book for peak time or not. From 9am-3pm and 7pm-11pm an adult ticket costs 159 AED (approx €41), and at peak time 4pm-6.30pm, tickets cost 234 AED (€60). And the higher observation deck obviously comes at a higher price.
Reaching the top
Through the exceedingly long queue, we followed the corridor past walls of facts and figures and photos of the Burj, just as the call to prayer began. At that stage in early 2022, masks were still being worn indoors, but tourism was already on the up and there were plenty of other visitors squeezing around us to try and be the first ones in the elevators arrived.
And when our elevator did arrive, we bundled on in like sardines in a can. Dubai may well be a luxury destination, but there’s nothing like having your face plunged into the armpit of a stranger to bring you back down to earth as you, ironically, travel 124 stories above the ground. A few of our fellow elevator passengers muttered and chuckled about social distancing and safety first as the doors closed and we began our ascent.
And I’ll tell you this for free; the journey up the Burj Khalifa was far less scary than when I ventured up the CN Tower, mainly because you can’t see the outside world at all. Music plays for the duration of the ride, and on every inside surface of the elevator is some impressive CGI film which made me feel a bit like I was being launched into space. But in a cool, fun way.
At the Top
The open observation deck may not have a roof, but the glass walls that encase the whole thing protect it completely from the wind, making the whole structure feel surprisingly sturdy. I was far less petrified than when I visited the CN Tower, and Rachel (who had been particularly nervous) was loving it.
There were plenty of other visitors already meandering around the deck, so predictably it was sometimes necessary to wait our turn before getting close to the glass. But the view really was spectacular.
Directly below us was the turquoise blue of the Dubai Fountain, and hotel swimming pools. We could see our ship in the distance in the port. Skyscrapers looked miniature next to us, and it struck me when we were at the top how much of the city was still under construction. Plenty of the towers around and below the Burj Khalifa were clearly completely empty, and still had cranes and scaffolding encasing them. How much of Dubai is even lived in? Was anyone going to move into these buildings, or work in these buildings, or were they just for show?
Dubai began its life as a tiny fishing village in the 18th century, and then only really began to develop after oil was discovered in the 1960s. At the beginning of the 2000s, the city was still relatively off-the-radar, and Downtown Dubai was more of a sparse desert area than a bustling metropolis. But then things developed at an even faster pace; in 2006 a quarter of all the world’s cranes were in Dubai, putting up skyscrapers here there and everywhere. There are clearly still quite a few there, as the development continues.
Exit through the gift shop
Visitors have an unlimited amount of time on the observation deck, which I appreciated. It’s nice not to feel rushed, you know? So we took our time, and eventually headed back inside, where there was a bar, a gift shop and a photographer waiting to pounce.
In one corner of the glass walls is a beautiful mural painted directly onto the glass- providing the perfect photo opportunity with the view of Dubai outside in the background. The wings were painted by Collette Miller, and there are several of these wings painted at locations across the world- part of her Global Angel Wings Project which began its life in LA.
The photographer was a hilarious Filipino man who had a tripod set up pointing at the wings. He directed us into position and proceeded to yell out commands and poses.
“One hand on hip! Blow a kiss! Now hands in the air like this! Beautiful! Wow! Now jump- 1- 2- 3- jump! Oh my gaaahd! Ok now peace sign!” It was pretty fun, I have to admit. And the photos looked pretty good.
But at the cost of around €40 per picture, we both opted out. I do not take kindly to being ripped off, so it was a hard no from me.
Is it worth it to visit the Burj Khalifa?
When you think about it, visiting the Burj Khalifa is really just getting a lift to the top of a building, and getting a lift back down again. But it’s still pretty cool to say you’ve been up the tallest building in the entire world, let’s face it. The whole experience is a little bit theme park-y, but just seeing the city from all the way up on Level 124 is enough for me to say that although Dubai baffles me, visiting the Burj Khalifa was 100% worth it.
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