Bucket List / Experience Goals
Visit The Top Of The Burj Khalifa
Ticked off in December 2011
Ride one of the world's fastest lifts to look down on skyscrapers from the top of the world's tallest building.
The adventure
The doors close, a gentle hum begins and the floor numbers race upwards on a screen. Barely a minute later you step out at level 124, close to half a kilometre above the ground. Through the glass, the city's other skyscrapers look like models, cars crawl along Sheikh Zayed Road and the desert stretches away to the horizon.
Go higher to level 148 and the view gets more dramatic still, with the Gulf and the Palm Jumeirah to one side and sand dunes to the other. Arrive late afternoon and you watch the sun go down, the city lights flicker on and the shadow of the tower stretch across Dubai. Afterwards, back on the ground, the Dubai Fountain dances to music at its base, the tower glowing above you.
Why it’s epic
- At 828 metres, the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest building in the world since it opened in 2010.
- Its lifts carry you to the observation decks at about 10 metres per second.
- At the Top on levels 124 and 125 sits around 450 metres up; level 148 is around 555 metres.
- The Dubai Fountain at its base shoots water up to around 150 metres high, the height of a 50-storey building.
What it is
The Burj Khalifa is the world's tallest building at 828 metres.
How to do it
Book At the Top tickets for levels 124/125 or the higher level 148.
Top tip
Sunset slots sell out first.
Need to know
- Tickets are timed, and sunset slots sell out and cost more, so book in advance.
- Haze and dust can reduce visibility, especially in summer; winter mornings are often clearest.
- Allow around two hours, including queues and security.
Plan this trip
- Rough cost
- £750 to £2,000 per person, including flights from the UK
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Best time to go
- November to March
- Fly into
- DXB airport
Tickets are reasonable for level 124 and pricier for 148 at sunset; flights to Dubai are the main cost.
Do it yourself
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How I ticked it off
The Burj Khalifa was built between 2004 and 2009, opening in 2010 as the tallest building in the world. It is the centrepiece of the Downtown Dubai development and towers over Dubai at a height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft).
An outdoor observation deck, named At the Top, opened on 5 January 2010 on the 124th floor. At 452 m (1,483 ft), it was the highest outdoor observation deck in the world when it opened. Although it was surpassed in December 2011 by Cloud Top 488 on the Canton Tower, Guangzhou at 488 m (1,601 ft), Burj Khalifa opened the 148th floor SKY level at 555 m (1,821 ft), once again giving it the highest observation deck in the world on 15 October 2014, until the Shanghai Tower opened in June 2016 with an observation deck at a height of 561 metres.
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