A “city within a city,” Dubai Festival City is a 1,600-acre experience in the Arabian Gulf. Less than 5 minutes from Dubai International Airport, this ground-breaking mixed-use destination features over 2.6 million square feet of retail, office, hotels, and marina, all along the northeast bank of Dubai Creek.

Spanning 1.1 million square feet, “The Crescent,” encompasses three levels and houses over 300 retailers, including Marks & Spencer, a 40,000 square foot Paris Gallery perfume emporium, 40,000 square-foot Aishti department store, and the largest IKEA in the Middle East. The entertainment options are extensive and include a 12-screen cinema complex, family entertainment center, bowling alley, championship golf course, and luxury marina.

Wrapping the exterior, “The Boulevard,” provides a covered outdoor experience consisting of twenty internationally known stores, to vary the shopping experience. A 500-meter long pedestrian promenade, Canal Walk, connects the waterfront to the development and contains forty waterside cafés and restaurants. Visitors can access the shops, cafés, or just ride along the lazy river via the internal canals. Open-air entertainment is an integral part of the project; four waterfront pavilions offer 100-shops and kiosks in four themes: Celebrate Food, Kid’s Town, Maritime Experience, and Trade Routes. Festival Square, a waterside performance space spanning between 40,000 and 50,000 square feet, serves as a natural space for community events and people-watching.

In time, about 77,000 people will be living and working at Dubai Festival City, the developer says. To accommodate families, Festival City will include school facilities Dubai Festival City is the largest privately funded, mixed-use waterfront development in the Middle East. Dubai’s population, now 1.2 million, is growing at about 8 percent annually.