Downtown Dubai’s ample attractions include a 10-million litre aquarium, an Olympic-sized ice rink and the world’s tallest building.

Nothing can prepare visitors for the true scale of record-breaking Burj Khalifa. At twice the height of the Empire State Building and almost three times the size of the Eiffel Tower, it soars 828 metres into the sky. Inside, there are 160 floors occupied by designer Giorgio Armani’s first-ever hotel, award-winning restaurants, luxury apartments and offices – and observation decks at levels 124, 125 and 148.

Next door,  The Dubai Mall  houses more of Downtown Dubai’s supersized attractions. Visitors can cage-dive with sharks at the vast Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo and Dubai Mall’s indoor ice rink is an ample fit for professional figure skaters at 60 metres long; it can also snow here at the flick of a switch.

Bustling with entertainment, Downtown Dubai’s high-octane epicentre is looped by the laidback, café-lined Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Boulevard – a starting point for a public art trail.

Downtown Dubai is an urban canvas of sculptures commissioned by Art Emaar, including Richard Hudson’s ‘Love Me’, a gleaming steel heart that reflects the city’s much-loved landscape, and Jorge Marin’s ‘Wings of Mexico’.

Performing arts also play a part in the story of Downtown Dubai. Dubai Opera  sources headliners from the world’s leading stages, but the most-watched show in the neighbourhood is performed by the Dubai Fountain.

Sunset signals the beginning of the daily shows with lights, jets and music erupting from Burj Lake. Ever-present Burj Khalifa completes the scene with its own illuminations, the architectural icon at the heart of dynamic Downtown Dubai.