Explore Dubai in Google Street View

Dubai is arranged along a single road. Sheikh Zayed Road runs south-west from the old town, and almost everything built in the last forty years sits within a couple of kilometres of it. Following that road virtually from Deira to Marina is the fastest possible summary of the city: low-rise and old at one end, a wall of towers in the middle, and a purpose-built waterfront district at the other.

The old city is on the creek and it is the part most visitors skip. Deira and Bur Dubai face each other across the water, connected by abras, small wooden boats that still cross for a fraction of a dirham. The gold and spice souks are on the Deira side, covered and captured on foot. Al Fahidi on the opposite bank has the wind towers, an early form of air conditioning, and lanes narrow enough that they were photographed by trekker.

The Burj Khalifa is difficult to photograph and Street View demonstrates why. From the base you cannot fit it in frame at all, and from far enough away to see the whole thing it reads as a spike on the skyline. The most useful views are from the fountain side of the lake at Downtown, where the tower, the water and the mall all sit in one composition.

Palm Jumeirah is the one to look at from satellite before you enter Street View. The shape only makes sense from above, and the frond roads are cul-de-sacs, so at ground level you are on an ordinary suburban street with villas either side and water at the end. Switching between the two views is the clearest demonstration on the site of why a map and a street camera answer different questions.

The Marina is the most walkable district. A seven kilometre canal was cut through what was desert, towers were built along both banks, and a continuous promenade runs the whole way at water level. It was captured on foot, which makes it one of the better uninterrupted virtual walks in the region.

One thing worth noticing while exploring. The gap between neighbourhoods here is often literal desert or bare sand, visible at the edges of almost every district. Dubai grew fast enough that the joins have not filled in, and following any road to the edge of a development shows you what the whole site looked like before.