Dubai has a penchant for naming every other development a "city". We have Internet City, Media City, Healthcare City, Endurance City, Culture City...One city we frequent is Dubai Festival City which is basically a mixed use development. It has a grand shopping mall ( Ikea being the major "come on" along with other signature brands and a grand supermarket ), office tower ( our niece, Tracy, works here ), five star hotels ( Crowne Plaza and Hotel Intercontinental), concert venues ( Santana and Celine Dion performed just a few months back ), and other facilities which makes this "city" a favorite hangout. My sons' favorite spot here is "Toys R Us".
You can enjoy it indoors with its spacious and state of the art interiors and also outdoors ( not during very hot summer months of July and August ), with its man made canal lined with open air restaurants & coffee shops and the marina lined with "tyangge" stalls plus an interesting view of the hotel buildings and Dubai Creek. The canal also has a free "abra" ride ( a traditional arabic wood boat) which I believe is inspired by, although pales in comparison, with that of Venice's gondolas. At night time, there's a dancing fountain, an amphitheatre with musical performances on weekends ( free of charge, he he he ) and lights galore. Most of the time, inside and outside, you will experience "mini" performances such as mime shows, acrobats, and other surprises.This city is indeed living up to its name!
