Burj Khalifa
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Rising an incredible 828m into the sky, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world and a symbol of Dubai’s urban style. Guests can visit the 124th, 125th, and 148th floors for outdoor observation decks and amazing views, or take a trip to the new Lounge on floors 152, 153, and 154 for the highest view in the world! TicketLens compares offers from different websites so that you can book tickets and find last-minute deals for the best available price.
By Anneliese O'Malley
By Anneliese O'MalleyThere are currently no available offers.
Some experiences and attractions are seasonal and might close temporarily.
Some experiences and attractions are seasonal and might close temporarily.
4 Tips for Visiting the Burj Khalifa
Sunset and Dubai Skyline with Burj Khalifa
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Book in AdvanceThe Burj Khalifa is one of the busiest attractions in Dubai, and tickets on the door can sell out very early in the day. Make sure you get a ticket for a time slot that suits you by booking a skip-the-line ticket in advance.
Dubai Fountain after dark
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Early Birds and Night Owls can Avoid the CrowdsSunset is the most popular time to visit the Burj Khalifa. That’s when the light is best and the views are at their most impressive, but it’s also the busiest time. For a cheaper ticket and fewer crowds, book a ticket in the morning or after dark.
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Marvel at the Dubai FountainLook out for the fountains! Right below the Burj Khalifa is the stunning Dubai Fountain, which has shows with light and music every thirty minutes from 6 pm daily. If you’ve chosen a sunset or nighttime ticket to the observation decks you can watch from above and from ground level to see which is more impressive. The soundtrack is also played in the observation deck so you don’t miss out.
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Try All the Activities and Interactive ExperiencesMake sure to check out the virtual reality experience and viewing telescopes on floors 124 & 125. Tickets to the 148th floor also include light refreshments and an interactive motion sensor experience.
Burj Khalifa Observation Decks: Which To Pick
The Burj Khalifa has three different levels to visit, and the higher you go, the more expensive the tickets get. The view is more or less the same from each, but the higher floors offer the chance to skip the lines, a VIP guest service, drinks, and the chance to brag about how high you climbed on your visit.The Outdoor Deck of At The Top | Flickr: Fabio Achilli CC BY 2.0
At the Top
This is the cheapest ticket you can buy and it gives you access to the 124th and 125th floors of the Burj Khalifa. Floor 125 is 1,483 feet (452 m) up and offers a room of floor-to-ceiling windows to enable you to enjoy the view, a virtual reality experience that lets you see the city from the tip of the Burj Khalifa, and several interactive multimedia displays. Meanwhile, Floor 124 gives visitors the chance to head outside onto a large outdoor observation deck and discover the skyline using high-power telescopes. Since tickets for At the Top are the cheapest available, and visitors from the higher levels can also visit floors 124 and 125, the observation decks can be very crowded. Choose your timeslot wisely to avoid the rush.
The View From Inside | Flickr: Guilhem Vellut CC BY 2.0
At the Top SKY
This ticket gives you access to the observation deck on the 148th floor as well as the two floors included in ‘At the Top’ tickets. You’ll begin your trip with a ride in the elevator up to the 148th floor, 1,820 feet (555m) above the ground, accompanied by a guide who will help to orient you. Once you’ve reached the deck you’ll be given complimentary tea or coffee and a sweet treat that you can enjoy while gazing out at the view. The 148th floor also has a small outdoor observation deck which you shouldn’t miss. You’ll then be able to descend to the lower floors 124 and 125 to visit the larger outdoor observation deck and explore what they have to offer. Visitors are advised not to stay on the 148th floor for longer than 30 minutes to avoid overcrowding, and on busy days you might be gently encouraged to move on to the lower floors.
The Lounge
Opened in 2019, The Lounge is the highest space you can visit in the Burj Khalifa. It’s spread over the 152nd, 153rd, and 154th floors, with an outdoor terrace at 1,886 feet (575 m) up. The Lounge is designed to be the ultimate way to experience the Burj Khalifa, and its tickets reflect luxury. All tickets include a meal, with options such as Breakfast in the Clouds (includes buffet breakfast), Tea in the Clouds (includes afternoon tea), Bubbly Sundowner (includes a glass of champagne and canapés), or Bubbly Under the Stars (includes a glass of champagne, canapés, and either live music or a DJ set). All of these options give you 90 minutes to enjoy the three floors of the Lounge before giving you the chance to discover the offerings on the 124th and 125th floors. Food and drink are provided by the Armani Hotel.
The Different Levels of the Burj Khalifa | TicketLens CC BY 2.0
Ticket Options: What To Book
There are several different tickets and optional extras on offer for each level of the Burj Khalifa so you can build your ideal experience according to your priorities.Basic Ticket
If you’re visiting on a budget and you’re happy to only see the lower observation deck, then you can buy a simple At The Top ticket, without the fast-track add-on. You should still buy your ticket online in advance. If you arrive without a ticket on the day, you’ll have to choose an available timeslot at the ticket counter and you might have to come back several hours later if the attraction is very busy.
Skip The Line
Tickets for At The Top SKY and for The Lounge automatically give you access to an exclusive elevator so you don’t have to wait in line. Basic tickets for At The Top don’t include fast-track elevator access unless you book a special fast-track ticket.
Sunrise/Sunset
Tickets are more expensive either first thing in the morning, before sunrise or in the two to three hours leading up to sunset. You’ll need a special ticket to see the sunrise, which includes a small breakfast in the café on the ground floor of the building.
Optional Extras
While The Lounge requires you to choose between breakfast, afternoon tea, or champagne and canapés, and At The Top SKY offers light refreshments with every ticket, there are also special tickets for At The Top which include coffee, breakfast, or a meal at At.mosphere, the Burj Club, or one of the restaurants in the Armani Hotel Complex.
Combos with other Attractions
The Burj Khalifa offers several ticket combinations with other attractions, usually in conjunction with access to the 124/125th floor observation deck. Choose between tickets to the Dubai Aquarium, the boardwalk at the Dubai Fountain, the Etihad Museum, or a round-trip boat ride around the Dubai Marina.
The Burj Khalifa’s Long Shadow | Flickr: Michael Theis CC BY-ND 2.0
Sunrise/Sunset: When To Visit The Burj Khalifa
Tickets to visit the Burj Khalifa are more expensive at certain times of day, and the observation decks are busier between certain hours too. Decide what you want to see and then book the option that’s right for you.Sunrise
Watching the sun creep over the horizon is always a magical experience, but it’s even more impressive at the top of the world’s tallest building. You’ll be the first to notice the sky start to lighten when you visit during the early morning slots, which vary in time according to the season. Tickets for At The Top at sunrise also include a light breakfast (coffee and a pastry) in the café on the ground floor once you’ve finished enjoying the view.
Sunset
Sunset is the most popular time to visit the Burj Khalifa, with hundreds of people flocking to take pictures of Dubai bathed in golden light. It’s generally a good idea to research the time the sun sets on the day you’re visiting and then book a timeslot for 90 minutes earlier than the sunset. That way you can explore the observation decks thoroughly before finding the perfect spot to take photos as the sun goes down.
Dubai after Dark from the Burj Khalifa
After Dark
There are lots of reasons you might prefer to visit the Burj Khalifa after the sun has gone down. First, it’s much less busy in the dark, since most people either want to see as far as possible into the desert or they want to watch the sun as it rises or sets. You’ll also be able to watch the Dubai Fountain show at night, with music piped into the observation deck. It’s great to watch from ground level as well, and you can do both in the same night if you’re organized.
How To Get To The Burj Khalifa
The Dubai Metro | Flickr: Michael Coghlan CC BY-SA 2.0
Step one is to get to the Dubai Mall - you can either take the red line of the Dubai Metro to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall, take a taxi, or drive and park in the Dubai Mall cinema car park.
Once you reach the mall, follow the signs to ‘At the Top’, which will guide you to the ticket counter and the entrance to the elevators.
If you’ve booked a ticket in advance then you can join a separate line to enter. If you choose not to buy a skip-the-line ticket then you should note that you’ll still have to wait in a line for the elevator.
Inside At.mosphere on the 122nd Floor | Flickr: David Jones CC BY 2.0
Food and Drink in the Burj Khalifa
Most of the Burj Khalifa’s restaurants are in the Armani Hotel Lobby, Concourse, or on the ground floor, but if you’re keen to enjoy a meal among the clouds then that’s possible too in The Lounge or At.mosphere! You can enjoy a host of delicious cuisines in the nearby Dubai Mall as a budget-friendly alternative.The Lounge
The highest floor of the Burj Khalifa offers breakfast, afternoon tea, and an evening glass of champagne with canapés. Menus are fixed and tickets start at AED 618, so it’s not the cheapest option, but it is a unique chance to enjoy the highest observation deck in the world, located on the 152nd, 153rd, and 154th floors, while nibbling on something delicious.
At.mosphere
One of the highest restaurants in the world, At.mosphere is on the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa, 1450 feet (442 m) above the ground. Unlike The Lounge, you can order à la carte at At.mosphere, although a 3-course dinner will cost you about AED 700 per person. The cuisine is international and the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can even order oysters and Wagyu beef if you’d also like to eat something exclusive. Reservations are a must, or you can book a combo ticket that includes a ticket to the At The Top observation deck and lunch or dinner at At.mosphere.
Armani Lounge
Whether you’re in need of a cup of coffee or a full meal, the Armani Lounge in the lobby of the Burj Khalifa is ready to cater to your every need. It serves Italian and other European cuisines and is open for business from 8 am to 2 am daily. It’s still pricey, but less so than other restaurants in the Armani Hotel.
Armani Deli
The Armani Deli is on the ground floor of the hotel and serves Italian-style coffee and light snacks. It’s renowned for its 24-carat gold coffee - yes, you can drink gold! Visitors are welcome between noon and midnight every day.
Armani Ristorante
For an Italian dinner in sumptuous surroundings, look no further than the Armani Ristorante in the lobby of the Burj Khalifa. It’s open for dinner only, and reservations are advised for those who want to dine there. It’s also pricey, with a special degustation menu costing AED 475 per person.
Armani Amal
If you have a craving for Indian food, then you’ll find some of the best in Dubai on the 3rd floor of the Burj Khalifa. Armani Amal opens for dinner daily and offers a fine dining experience - a three-course menu will set you back around AED 400 per person.
Armani Hashi
This Japanese restaurant offers stunning sushi and elegant seafood dishes along with teppanyaki. Located on the concourse of the Armani Hotel, you can savor as much sashimi as you want. With a serving of maki costing around AED 75 and nigiri sets costing AED 225 upwards, it’s definitely a treat.
Armani Mediterraneo
Found in the lobby of the Armani Hotel inside the Burj Khalifa, Armani Mediterraneo offers tasty Mediterranean-inspired food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With an average meal for two people costing AED 480, it’s one of the more reasonably-priced options in the building.
The Burj Khalifa in the Dubai Skyline
A Day In Dubai with the Burj Khalifa
A trip to the Burj Khalifa takes about two hours, depending on the ticket you choose, but there are several ways you can combine your trip with other attractions or activities to build your perfect day in Dubai.The Tunnel in the Dubai Aquarium
Dubai Aquarium Combo
One of the most popular combination tickets available is a ticket to both At the Top and the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo. The aquarium is inside the Dubai Mall and features more than 33,000 animals from over 140 species! This is a great attraction to visit with children or just to get a fantastic shot for your Instagram, and because it’s also accessible from the Dubai Mall, you won’t even have to worry about transportation.
A Dhow in the Dubai Marina
Boat Tours
There are a few different ways to get onto the water in Dubai, and you can combine most of them with a trip to the Burj Khalifa. One of the most popular options is to tour the city’s coastline on a speedboat, which will take you down to Atlantis The Palm and the Burj Al Arab, letting you see some of Dubai’s famous artificial islands along the way. Alternatively, you can enjoy a meal on a traditional dhow cruise along the Dubai Deira Creek, rent a small boat or jet ski, or indulge in a private tour on a yacht.
Quad-biking in the Desert
Desert Safari Day Trips
If you’d like to combine your trip to the ultra-modern and air-conditioned Burj Khalifa with something a little wilder, then you might want to consider taking a day to escape to the desert. Different tour operators offer slightly different itineraries, so select the amount of adventure that feels right to you. Some tours include camel rides, while others offer dune bashing in 4x4’s, sandboarding, traditional Emirati meals, belly dancing shows, and the chance to sample shisha.
On the Streets of Dubai
City Tours of Dubai
If you only have a day or two to visit Dubai, or you’re planning to see the Burj Khalifa on a day trip from Abu Dhabi, then you’d definitely benefit from a one-day city tour! Get to know Dubai with the help of an expert guide who will show you around the historical city including the Dubai Museum and souks or the modern city of skyscrapers that tourists and expats know and love. You can even combine the two themes into one tour, just make sure that you pick the itinerary that sounds the most interesting to you.
The Burj Khalifa Under Construction | Wiki: Imre Solt CC BY-SA 3.0
Building the Burj: Facts & Stats
A Flower in the Desert
The Burj Khalifa was designed to look like a hymenocallis, a beautiful desert flower found locally in the UAE. It’s also a good shape for reducing wind resistance and making sure that people inside the tower get the best possible views from most parts of the building.
A Huge Project
The tower was constructed between 2004 and 2009, with over 12,000 professionals from more than 100 countries working on the building site daily. The completed building is so large it takes professional window cleaners 4 months to wash all the windows from top to bottom!
Wind-Resistant and Stable
All skyscrapers sway in the wind to a certain degree, and the Burj Khalifa is no exception! However, the architects tested their building designs in wind tunnels to make sure they were safe, and when you’re standing inside you won’t even feel the movement. You might hear the building creak slightly during extremely high winds, but it’s completely safe.
Built to Withstand Heat
The Burj Khalifa was specially designed to withstand Dubai’s extremely hot climate, with an elaborate cladding system of hand-cut glass panels shielding the building from the sun’s intense glare. The temperature difference between the top and the bottom of the tower can be as much as 6°C (11°F).
The World's Tallest Skyscraper
The building’s height of 2720 feet (828 meters) means that the sun sets 3 minutes later at the top of the tower than at the bottom. In fact, clerics in the UAE have ruled that residents living in skyscrapers should fast for an extra 2 minutes during Ramadan if they live above the 80th floor, and an extra 3 minutes if they live above the 150th floor. If you’re really quick about it, you might even be able to catch two sunsets in a single day by rushing up to the top of the tower.
An Elevator Utopia!
There are 57 elevators and 8 escalators inside the Burj Khalifa, making it easy for visitors and residents to get up and down the tower. The double-deck elevators can carry between 12 and 14 people at a time and travel at 10 meters per second, making them the fastest in the world. You can’t climb the stairs as a guest, but if you wanted to then you’d find yourself facing a climb of 2,909 to get from the ground to the 160th floor. To get to the very tip of the Burj Khalifa, maintenance staff have to use ladders.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I plan for my visit?
The average visit time is about 90 minutes, but how long you spend will depend on which ticket you’ve bought. If you’re aiming to see the sunset then the venue advises booking a slot which begins 90 minutes before sunset so that you definitely have plenty of time to reach the top. Once inside you can spend 30 minutes on the 148th floor (if you’ve bought At The Top SKY tickets) and as much time on the 124th and 125th floors as you like. If you’re visiting The Lounge then you get 90 minutes to enjoy breakfast, afternoon tea, or drinks and canapés. Read more.
How do I get to the Burj Khalifa?
You can take the red line of the Dubai Metro to the helpfully-named Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall stop and follow the signs to the Dubai Mall, where you’ll find the entrance to the observation decks. There are moving walkways to speed things up, but plan for a fifteen-minute walk. Read more.
What does Burj Khalifa mean in English?
Burj means tower, and Khalifa is a term that refers to the ruler of the United Arab Emirates. The tower was originally meant to be called the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower) but was renamed in honor of Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan after he helped the emirate of Dubai with debt problems. Read more.
What’s inside the Burj Khalifa?
The tower is home to offices, private apartments, bars, restaurants, a hotel (with its own spa and several restaurants), a swimming pool and gym complex, and its public observation decks. At any one time the building holds an average of 10,000 people, but it can hold up to 35,000 people at once - the population of a small town. Read more.
What can I see from the top of the Burj Khalifa?
From the 124th-floor observation deck, you can see the whole of Dubai and a good way into the desert that surrounds the city. On a clear day, you can even see all the way across the Persian Gulf to the coast of Iran. From the 148th-floor deck or The Lounge on floors 152, 153, and 154, you can see even further - some visitors even claim to be able to see the curvature of the Earth on the horizon, but we’ll let you decide that for yourself. Read more.
What happens if the weather is bad?
On average, Dubai only gets 5 days of rain a year. While that’s great for sunbathing and clear views without clouds, it does mean that there can be quite a lot of dust in the air, and every now and then there are quite dramatic dust storms which can reduce visibility. We recommend checking the weather forecast before visiting so that you can get the clearest view. The observation decks may also close in the event of high winds. There’s no refund if you visit on a day with bad visibility or high winds. Read more.
Dubai's Highest Observation Decks
Photo
Building
Total Height
Height of Observation Deck
Open Since
Dubai
Burj KhalifaDubai | UAE
828m#1 in Dubai#1 in UAE#1 worldwide
585m#1 in Dubai#1 in UAE#1 worldwide
2010
UAE
Etihad Towers T1Abu Dhabi | UAE
278m#3 in UAE#59 worldwide
251m#3 in UAE#49 worldwide
2011
worldwide
Empire State BuildingNew York | USA
443m#3 in USA#17 worldwide
373m#3 in USA#14 worldwide
1931
Burj Khalifa is number 1 in Dubai and number 1 on the worldwide list of the tallest buildings with an observation deck.
General Information
Opening Hours:
During winter the observation decks are open from 5.30 am every Friday and Saturday so that guests can view the sunrise.
Last entry to the observation decks is 45 minutes prior to closing.
Tickets:
Address:
1 Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard
Downtown Dubai
Dubai, UAE
How to get there:
Know Before You Go:
- Free WiFi is provided throughout the attraction.
- Shopping bags and children’s strollers will need to be left in the luggage storage facility located at the entrance.
- In severe weather conditions, the outdoor observation decks may not be open for safety reasons.
Dress code:
Written byAnneliese O'MalleyAnneliese is a former Londoner, keen traveler, and total word nerd. As a Content Management Specialist she knows the TicketLens inventory inside out and curates, matches, and writes about the most interesting attractions worldwide.
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