Arabesque and Disneyesque, Dubai is the fastest growing city in the world.

Bur Dubai Souq Ali Bin Abi Talib St Under wooden arcades and wind-towers, you'll discover scores of shops selling textiles, clothes and mosque alarm clocks, along with a few Arabian 'antique' stores. In the surrounding streets you can buy a sari, have a suit made, bargain for electronics, and pick up some Bollywood tapes.

Deira Gold Souq Sikkat al-Khali St Deira's celebrated Gold Souq attracts buyers from all over the world. Pass through its wooden lattice archways to discover great dazzling heaps of gold - chains, rings, earrings, bracelets and every other kind of jewellery. Most impressive are the ornate Indian and Arabian designs, intended for a bride's dowry - by the look of them they're too heavy to wear!

Deira Spice Souq Al Abra St This small but atmospheric souq was the largest in the region at the start of the 20th century. Take in the wonderfully restored wind-tower architecture and pungent aromas from jute sacks brimming with frankincense and oud, herbs and spices. It's fun to chat to the shopkeepers and guess the things you don't recognise.

Dubai Museum Al-Fahidi Road The Dubai Museum is housed inside the Al-Fahidi Fort, which was built in the late 1790s, and is believed to be the city's oldest building. The museum has collections of everything from Arabian sailing boats to the curved daggers known as khanjars. There are multimedia and interactive displays, and all the exhibits have captions in Arabic and English.

Grand Mosque Ali bin Abi Talib St This multidomed mosque boasts the city's tallest minaret. The mosque might appear to be a beautiful example of restoration work, but it was in fact built in the 1990s. As well as being the centre of Dubai's religious and cultural life, the original mosque was also home to the town's kuttab (Quranic school) where children learnt to recite the Quran. Maintaining the style of the original Grand Mosque, which dated from 1900 and was knocked down to make way for another mosque in 1960, its sand-coloured walls and wooden shutters blend in perfectly with the surrounding old quarter of Bur Dubai.

Jumeirah Archaeological Site btwn Jumeirah and Al-Wasl Rds Built sometime in the 6th century AD, this township is the biggest and perhaps most significant archaeological site in the UAE. You'll see the remains of stone walls, a souq, houses and what is thought to have been a governor's palace. Objects found on the site, such as pottery and coins, are on display at Dubai Museum and the Heritage Village. The settlement is interesting in that it spans the pre-Islamic and Islamic eras and was once a caravan stop on a route linking Ctesiphon (now Iraq) to northern Oman. Remains from here link it with the Persian Sassanid empire, dominant in the region from the 3rd to 6th centuries AD, but wiped out by Arab tribes, and the Umayyad dynasty, with the coming of Islam in the 7th century.

Jumeirah Beach Park Jumeirah Rd This lovely grassy park adjoins Jumeirah Beach. It has walkways, kiosks, barbecue pits, picnic tables and a children's play area. The long stretch of beach is clean, lined with shady palm trees, and regularly patrolled by lifeguards. The women's only days are an opportunity for the ladies to get a tan. Hours: 8:00am-11:00pm

Perfume Souq Sikkat al-Khali St While the Perfume Souq is really just a group of shops, it sells a staggering range of Arabic and European perfumes. The European perfumes are a mixture of designer originals and copies while the Arabic perfumes are much stronger and spicier. It's worth buying some of the latter for the kitsch packaging alone.

Sheikh Saeed al-Maktoum House Al-Shindagha Rd Built in 1896, this was once the home of the ruling Al-Maktoum family. It was built using traditional methods, from coral coated with lime and plaster. Inside there's an interesting exhibition of photographs showing how little time it took for Dubai to go from a little fishing and pearling town to a big money, resort-style oil city.