Dubai

There are not many places on the planet where you can mingle with over 200 different nationalities, dine out on food from all corners of the globe, spend the morning on the world's most impressive indoor ski slope and the afternoon sandboarding on the dunes of the Arabian Desert. With its towering skyscrapers and manmade archipelagos, Dubai is a city overflowing with innovation. Whether it's architecture, cuisine, shopping, or cultural happenings, Dubai tourism offers a remarkable experience.

The hallmarks of contemporary Dubai are visible in its magnificently modern cityscape. Wondrous things to do in Dubai include visiting a novel palm-tree shaped island and the Burj Al Khalifa, until recently the tallest building in the world. Atlantis Aquarium and Ski Dubai are suitably superlative leisure destinations. Then, for a flavour of vintage Dubai, head to the cobbled streets and period houses of Bastakiya.

This city has as much an appetite for haute cuisine as designer threads. Pierre Gagnaire is just one Michelin-starred chef who has an outpost here. Cheap eats are found on the Al Dhiyafah Road where you can take your pick of Dubai restaurants by way of Lebanon, Iran and India. For a tipple, Bar 44 in Grosvenor House has splendid views of Dubai's glittering skyline.

With 1,539 rooms, Atlantis Hotel – located on a man-made palm-shaped island – is as extravagant as Dubai hotels come. Inspired by the eponymous lost kingdom, it is mythically luxurious. At the more affordable end of the scale, boutique hotel The XVA Gallery has six stylish rooms. Situated in the Bastakiya neighbourhood, it is in good company with the Orient Guesthouse, another slick B&B.

With over 500 brands on show, The Mall of the Emirates attracts people from across the globe. Aside from luring shoppers with its magnificent range of shops, this famed example of Dubai shopping has an indoor ski slope with real snow. If such riches are overwhelming, The Village on Jumeirah Beach Road is a smaller affair with a range of quirkier boutiques.

Shoppers peruse over 300 stores at the Deira Gold Souk, the largest gold market in the region. Dating from the 1940s, the maze of alleys here are where locals come to get bracelets, necklaces, rings, and other adornments at good prices. After securing your cheap flights to Dubai, this glittering and shimmering is particularly seductive.