.png)
In 2020, Dubai welcomed the world to one of the largest international exhibitions ever held. For six months, Expo 2020 became a stage for innovation, culture, and ideas shared by more than 190 countries. However, when the event closed, its story didn’t end. The site was reborn as Expo City Dubai: a permanent city that carries forward the Expo’s spirit. Today, it’s a sustainable urban district where culture, business, and community converge, designed as much for residents as for visitors.
Walking through the city is a sensory experience. Mist from choreographed water features brushes your skin, the world’s largest 360-degree projection dome surrounds you with light and sound, and aromas of international cuisine mingle with the fresh scent of greenery. Every step invites discovery, moments that feel intimate, as if the city itself is quietly whispering its secrets.
Yet with so much to explore, the real question isn’t what to see; it’s where to begin. Some are drawn to the technology and design showcases, while others gravitate toward gardens, water features, or art installations. Families and explorers alike find the city reveals itself gradually: through its architecture, its balance with the natural environment, and the way it brings people together.
At a Glance:
Most cities are built over centuries; this one was constructed as a question: what if the future could be lived now? Expo City Dubai answers with a working model: a “15-minute city” where 80% of a World Expo still thrives, powered by a digital backbone.
For visitors, it isn’t just about admiring architecture. It’s walking shaded streets designed for people, stepping into pavilions that continue to serve a purpose, and seeing how daily life plays out in a place where sustainability, design, and culture intersect.
Cities often grow around necessity; Expo City Dubai was shaped with intent. Built for 35,000 residents and 40,000 professionals, it sets daily life, work, and leisure on the same stage. Shaded walkways link homes to schools, clinics, and offices.
Urban forests and water features soften the edges, while cultural spaces anchor community life. The result is a compact district where biodiversity, wellbeing, and sustainability aren’t afterthoughts; they’re the baseline.
Expo City Dubai demonstrates how a city can be constructed on what came before while pointing firmly ahead. Spread across 1,083 acres, it has reused four-fifths of the original Expo 2020 site and set a course to reach net-zero carbon by 2050.
One hundred and twenty-three LEED-certified buildings sit within an urban plan shaped by passive cooling techniques drawn from traditional Emirati design. Terra, the Sustainability Pavilion, remains at the heart, operating as a net-zero landmark and a reminder of what the city stands for.
Around it, WELL-certified workplaces, cycling and walking routes, and 45,000 square metres of parkland fold health, biodiversity, and low-carbon living into the everyday pattern of life.
Culture at Expo City Dubai doesn’t sit on the sidelines; it fills the streets. Al Wasl Plaza glows with digital artistry during the Dhai Dubai Light Festival, its dome turned into a vast, shifting canvas. Ramadan evenings unfold with food stalls, music, and heritage theatre, while the onset of winter brings markets, crafts, and projection shows that turn the district into a seasonal stage.
Beyond the calendar, energy comes from movement and sound. Runners and cyclists reclaim the avenues during the Dubai Marathon and Fitness Challenge, before the tempo shifts to global beats as UNTOLD Dubai brings one of the world’s biggest music festivals into the city’s core.
Built on these principles, the city extends its character through landmarks that are both celebrated and unexpected.
Most visitors arrive at Expo City Dubai with a checklist, rushing through highlights as if ticking boxes could capture its essence. They snap photos, skim exhibits, and leave, missing the layered brilliance woven into every corner. The reality is striking: by treating it like a typical tourist stop, they forfeit the chance to connect with a living urban experiment that challenges how we live, innovate, and imagine.
To truly grasp Expo City, you need to slow down, wander deliberately, and engage with spaces that defy expectation. Within this landscape lie three experiences that define the spirit of Expo City, offering a glimpse into the future of urban life. Miss them, and you miss the very soul of Dubai’s next chapter.
Every city has a heart; at Expo City, it beats beneath the dome of Al Wasl Plaza. Its lattice dome, the largest of its kind, doubles as a 360-degree projection surface where light, sound, and narrative fold into one. What might seem monumental in scale carries a surprising intimacy: stories of culture, ambition, and collective memory ripple overhead, gathering visitors into a shared orbit.
Expo City’s story of ideas comes alive in its two landmark pavilions. Terra examines how human choices leave their mark on the planet, drawing visitors into a dialogue with the natural world through immersive, interactive exhibits.
Alif shifts the lens to mobility, charting the possibilities of transport through bold, hands-on installations. Both are less about display and more about encounter: spaces where concepts are experienced rather than explained.
Curious how Dubai looks from its highest point at Expo City? Rising gently above, the Garden in the Sky offers a slow, rotating sweep of Dubai’s skyline and the site’s intricate design below.
On the ground, water features shift between calm pools and choreographed displays of light and sound, drawing attention without overwhelming it. Between sky and water, the city is seen in motion, reframed with each glance.
For those drawn to the energy and spectacle of Expo City, the Festivals of Dubai extend that experience, bringing music, light, and performance into the streets in ways that echo the city’s inventive and celebratory spirit.
After wandering through Expo City’s gardens and pavilions, curiosity slowly shifts into hunger. In Dubai, the transition feels natural; one moment you’re exploring, the next you’re dining, and the day carries you forward without pause.
Just minutes away, DOORS Dubai continues the story with flavours as layered as the city itself. Savour wagyu steaks with a perfect char, lamb chops that fall apart at the bone, and king crab glossed with butter that lingers like a memory. Much like Expo gathers cultures into one place, DOORS gathers cuisines into dishes that feel both global and intimate.
For those who want the day’s last discovery to be its most memorable, a table is waiting.
Yes. The pavilions remain open, reimagined as cultural, creative, and educational spaces. It now feels less like a fairground and more like a city built around design and ideas.
Set aside four to five hours to take in the key pavilions and experiences. Stay into the evening if time permits; the domes glow, the fountains come alive, and the walkways feel transformed.
General entry is free. Only select attractions, such as the Garden in the Sky or special exhibitions, carry a small charge.
The site is designed for walking, with shaded paths, art installations, and cycle tracks. Buggies are available for longer stretches.
Just minutes away, DOORS Dubai extends the visit with a setting as polished as the city itself. Expect Wagyu grilled over charcoal, lobster enriched with saffron cream, and desserts presented like sculpture, a fitting finale to the day.
.svg)
