48 hours in Dubai

Friday
5 p.m. – Start your stay with a coffee or a shisha waterpipe at the Shakespeare & Co cafe, a Dubai institution in Jumeirah's Village Mall. The cafe also serves a decent selection of food in a cozy, living room-like atmosphere.

6 p.m. – Take a taxi ride down the imposing Sheikh Zayed Road, lined with skyscrapers and cranes as far as the eye can see. Watch for the twin Emirates Towers to your left and Burj Dubai, not yet complete but already the world's tallest building.

7 p.m. – Enjoy an early evening cocktail at the 360 bar situated on a spit off the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, with views of the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab which lights up at night.

8:30 p.m. – Go to one of the restaurants inside the Burj al-Arab, which pitches itself as the best hotel in the world, for dinner. This is a pricey venue and advanced bookings are a must, so make a night of it and enjoy the views from the top.

10:30 p.m. – If you are still feeling energetic, head to Madinat Jumeirah, a shopping, hotel and leisure complex built in traditional Arabian style, and take your pick of bars or go to Trilogy nightclub.

Saturday
9 a.m. – Head to Bur Dubai and wander around the Dubai museum set inside the city's old fort. The museum is small but gives an insight into desert life before the discovery of oil, when the economy relied on pearl-diving, fishing and trade.

10 a.m. – Have brunch in the cool courtyard of the nearby Basta Art cafe. Set in a traditional house in the Bastakiya district, it serves salads, sandwiches, breakfast and smoothies.

11 p.m. – Wander through the streets of the Bastakiya district and gaze up at the wind towers used as air conditioning in the days before electricity. This is one of the few corners of Dubai where visitors can imagine what the city must have been like only 60 years ago. Stop off at XVA art gallery and admire the latest works by a regional artist.

11:30 a.m. – Walk out of the quarter and along the side of the creek, through the textiles souq. Board an abra, a small motorized boat that ferry passengers across the creek.

12 a.m. – On the other side of the creek is Deira souq. First you will reach narrow streets of vendors selling spices and incense, then Dubai's famous City of Gold, where shops windows gleam with jewelery.

1 p.m. – Take an abra back across the creek and walk along until you reach a cluster of waterfront cafes where you can enjoy a cooling fruit juice and a mezze, or array of dips eaten with flat breads, and perhaps a kebab.

2:30 p.m. – After a busy morning exploring, relax on the beach. Choose from any of the sandy public beaches that line the shore around Jumeirah, though be warned, they can get very busy at the weekend. Alternatively, spend the afternoon splashing around on the slides at Wild Wadi water park.

7:30 p.m. – Dubai is home to thriving Indian and Pakistani communities so head to Satwa and fill up on one of the excellent and cheap curry dinners on offer. Try Ravi's for the cheap, no-nonsense Pakistani food in a bustling part of town or Coconut Grove at the Rydges Hotel.

9:30 p.m. – Head to Dubai Marine resort and enjoy a late night drink and dance on the beachside patio of ShoChos or one of the many neighboring nightspots.

1:30 a.m. – Grab a late night snack at Al Mallah in Satwa. It serves a selection of Middle Eastern snacks and sandwiches including shawarma and falafel

Sunday
10 a.m. – Book yourself in for a two hour stint on the slopes of Ski Dubai, the indoor ski slope in the Mall of the Emirates.

12 p.m. – Dubai is known for its shopping so leave the skis behind and check what is on offer at the Mall of the Emirates.

2 p.m. – After a busy morning, sit down for a hearty Lebanese lunch at Karam Beirut restaurant overlooking the piste.

4 p.m. – A visit to Dubai would not be complete without a trip to the desert. Most tour companies offer dune-bashing and dinner-in-the-desert packages – a little touristy but worth it if you are short on time. More adventurous visitors can ask for a quad-biking or sand-surfing session to boot. They pick you up in a four-wheel drive and drop you home by around 9:30 p.m.