Dubai Museum

Dubai Museum is inside Al Fahidi Fort, the oldest existing building in Dubai, dating from 1787. The entry fee is AED 3 (about $0.80), which makes this the cheapest attraction in the city by a wide margin. For that price you get a fort, a courtyard with traditional boats and a wind-tower house reconstruction, and underground galleries with dioramas showing pre-oil Dubai life: pearl diving, souk trading, desert living, and the Creek trading economy.

The dioramas are surprisingly good. Life-size figures in reconstructed settings show how Dubai functioned before the discovery of oil in the 1960s. The pearl diving section is particularly interesting, explaining an industry that defined the Gulf economy for centuries before collapsing when the Japanese invented cultured pearls. The archaeological section displays artefacts from the Al Qusais burial site dating back 4,000 years.

The fort itself is small, with thick walls, a watchtower, and a courtyard that gives you a sense of the defensive architecture that protected the Creek's trade routes. The building has served as a palace, a garrison, a prison, and a museum over its 230+ year history. Standing in its courtyard and looking at the Dubai skyline in the distance is the most condensed version of the 'before and after' story that defines this city.

Allow 30-60 minutes. The museum is air-conditioned underground and a good escape from the heat. Combine with Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood (a 2-minute walk) and the Creek waterfront for a half-day in Old Dubai. Open 8:30 AM to 8:30 PM Saturday to Thursday, 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM Friday.