Dubai Water Canal Boardwalk

The Instagram-friendly Dubai Water Canal Boardwalk – a 3.2km pedestrian walkway alongside the Dubai canal – runs from the Business Bay area through to the suburb of Jumeirah. Offering stunning views of not just the water but also the city, you might have already spotted this landmark online thanks to its famous and vibrantly illuminated manmade waterfall that cascades from the Sheikh Zayed Road Bridge on the Al Habtoor City side of Business Bay. If you find yourself sailing on the canal, don’t worry about the waterfall. Thanks to smart sensors, it stops the flow of water when it senses a boat sailing below.

If you’d like to see Dubai in a new light, visit the boulevard at dawn or dusk and enjoy incredible sunrises and sunsets, especially in the cooler winter months. Alternatively, you can drive there, with ample parking to be found in a purpose-built parking lot near the Al Habtoor City area.

The canal boasts five pedestrian bridges, including the magnificent Tolerance Bridge that offers some of the best, uninhibited views of the majestic Dubai skyline and the Burj Khalifa. The first clear span suspension bridge in the Middle East was built to represent the weave of Dubai’s diverse social fabric. Featuring a stunning arch that supports a meandering pedestrian and cycling path, its upward-facing curve is held in place with clean-lined cables. Evoking a sense of weightlessness, this beautiful pedestrian walkway appears to be floating above the canal, curling inwards on either side as it leads down to the boardwalks below.

Another photo-worthy bridge is the nearby Jumeirah 2 bridge. Featuring a DNA-like twisting truss that envelops the bridge’s pathway, here pedestrians experience a kaleidoscopic-like passage while crossing from one side of the canal to the other.

Check out #dubaicanal for photographs of the canal’s incredible sights.