Whether you want a bird’s-eye view of Downtown Dubai or that of the posh landscape of Dubai in general, you have one felicitous vintage point — the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa. Burj Khalifa boasts two observatory decks from which you can enjoy a 360-degree view of the Arabian city, At the Top and At the Top SKY. These form the nub of this article.

The decks boast floor to ceiling windows and 360-degree views of the city. In the day, the view is spectacular. After sunset, it is even more spectacular as it transforms into something different — something shimmering. Before your journey starts, you may see a digital presentation of the construction of the skyscraper.

At the Top

At the Top as you should’ve already known is an observatory deck in the Burj Khalifa. This deck is situated on the 124th and the 125th floors of the tower. It has TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence. It has an electronic telescope, an augmented reality device developed by Gsmprjct° of Montréal. The device allows of the view of Dubai’s landscape in real-time, as well as previously saved images. The view from the deck is veritably impressive. It is small wonder thus visitors say good things about it.

The 125th floor observatory deck is 456 meters high, spacious and decorated with Arabic mashrabiya and boasts a 360-degree view of the city of Dubai. You are taken to the observatory decks by one of the world’s fastest double deck elevators traveling at 10m/s. The 124th floor has a patio, an outdoor observatory terrace.

Ticket Information

To book, click here

At the Top SKY

At the Top SKY is another observatory deck in the Burj Khalifa. 555 meters high, it boasts one of the world’s highest outdoor observatory terraces. You can refresh yourself at the SKY lounge, a VIP lounge with huge sofas and armchairs. You get to explore Dubai’s landmark with a unique interactive experience, using motion senses.

Situated in the 148th floor of the tower, it isn’t only higher than “At the Top” but is also VIP. You don’t get to wait in the regular queue. Your waiting is even at a VIP room with Arabic coffee. When it’s time, you’re taken with your party (those who booked the same time as you) to the elevators for At the Top SKY.

The observatory deck is rather private and your party is rather small, as against the At the Top which is usually crowded. The time allowed is normally one hour. The confections and beverages here are plush. After you’re done here, you’re taken to the observatory deck on the 125th floor, where you may spend as much time as you please.

Ticket Information

Given that the At the Top SKY’s ticket prices or costs change, I have not written about them. But you could find out about with one click here.

Visiting the Observatory Decks

If you love sightseeing, you don’t want to miss sightseeing from these decks. They’re in the world’s tallest building and they’re overlooking one of the world’s most dynamic cities. The view of Downtown is spectacular and veritably chic. Booking online is preferred in terms of price; it is significantly more inexpensive. And you are advised to get there an hour before the opted time.

Address: Downtown Dubai
Phone: 800 28843867; International: +9714 8888124
Email: [email protected]
Website: Tickets.AtTheTop.ae

Thoughts About The Observatory Decks

mayssaakabbani (Dibba Al Fujairah, United Arab Emirates)
Wonderful Place
It’s a must see place. It’s taking you to the history of Burj Khalifa and the stages it passed through to reach its completion… It’s a majestic place. You can see all Dubai. Enjoy the sunset and have some light snacks… (5 STAR)

oniemimi (Lagos State, Nigeria)
No fears
I used to be scared of heights. This is so beautiful; imagining the world at your feet. Awesome experience! (5 STAR)

Patriziadu64 (Milan, Italy)
Top of the world
The view from this tower that is the tallest in the world is really amazing…… I was there 5 times, because always the colors and the landscape change….. If you go to Dubai, this is a must and very interesting also to have look to the pictures of the construction and the description as well….. Where the men can….. (5 STAR)

SumitThakur (Bangalore, Karnataka, India)
Top of the world
Yes, this is the place where you can say I am on the top . Seriously. We pre booked our tickets a month ago and opted for evening time. They have different charges as morning, afternoon, evening, and at night. You have to be there at least 1 hr before to collect the physical tickets. Then there are souvenirs on the way to the elevators and a demo building where all the history of construction is displayed digitally. Worth watching. You can utilize your waiting time for all this information about the place. The ambiance is very digital and delightful. Then elevator and your turn comes and supersonic lift takes you up from 0 to 124th floor in 60 sec. World fastest lift and fully digital where all the information you can capture within 60 sec. After this you will be on the top of the world. They have cameras inside where you can select and see how the skyline looks in the morning, afternoon, evening and at night. You can go to the balcony and just get stunned with the views. Spend some time around 45 mins to absorb the manmade marvel. Same lift queue will get you down in 60 sec and you can enjoy the musical fountain show where the building will be glowing with lights and water will be on the music rhythm. (5 STAR)

emil7890 (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
Top
I had to do it at least once. Worth every dirham and every meter! Outstanding view!!! once I get courage back I’m going back! (5 STAR)

mendi (Coral Gables, Florida)
Another Dubai MUST do. This is fun and the pictures show it.
Get up there, enjoy the views (360 degrees) and have your picture taken. While hanging on to the building you will make spiderman look like a fool. Check the poses you want before taking the pictures. The very friendly staff will basically take as many as you want time and crowd permitting. You will better understand once you get there. (5 STAR)

603amishm
Tea in the clouds!!!
We got our online tickets from their website for 600dhs per person. Kids pay the same [only in the case of At the Top SKY].

We reached the ticket counter pretty easily as we followed the directions in the lowest level at the Dubai mall.

We reached at 2:50pm as we had booked the 3pm slot.
We had to wait for others in the same time slot to arrive. Our group comprised of 10 people.
We need to wait in a separate line to avoid the lines.

At 3pm we were escorted to our first elevator to 123 floor. Its a walk of 5 minutes… Along the way you can see the history behind the Burj including the sculptures of it as it was made.

Post reaching the 123 floor we get into another elevator to the 152 floor. The elevators take about a minute.
Now the 152 floor has the outdoor balcony for which you have 5 minutes to venture out.
153 floor has seating arrangements
154 has the tea and snacks
All the floors are connected by stairs.

We chose first to go to 154 floor as all others went to 152 floor to outside balcony.
The snacks are amazing and well worth the money and so is the service.
We then took our plates loaded with goodies and headed to 153 floor to enjoy the view as we ate. It was a very peaceful and serene experience as we saw the amazing skyline and ate to our hearts content. It was fun spotting hotel buildings and famous landmarks.
We spent a good hour or so and headed out to the outside balcony on 152 floor which was pretty amazing and breezy.
All in all a great time with family. (4 STAR)

Clutters01 (Cheltenham, United Kingdom)
Stunning and informative – A must
Shop around to get the best price, tickets at the gate are astonishingly expensive but online deals are much cheaper. 

The option we took was floor 124-125 which takes you about 3/4 of the way up which is plenty high enough. The tour is really interesting, try and take your time and learn all there is about the tower, this is an educational piece as much as a trip up the tower. Take the time to take it in.

You can spend about 1-1.5 hours on this excursion, pre booking time slots means you’ll be up very quickly. There is an outside viewing platform, gifts shops and a small cafe. (5 STAR)

BrianGroth (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Great way to see Dubai
I was hesitant about the price, but I was a walk-up, which is much more expensive than paying online. However, the view from the 124th floor is great and you can get a nice overview of the layout of Dubai. (5 STAR)

dizzylee1977 (Hertfordshire, United Kingdom)
A Good View
Recently took a trip up the Burj in the evening, it was ok, I was expecting more after going up the shard and rocker fella centre previously. The views were good but for the price charged I wouldn’t recommend to be honest. The Burj is much more impressive from the outside. (3 STAR)

Absfab (Rugeley, United Kingdom)
Worth the extra money!
When booking the sunset visit to the Burj my husband booked to include the visit to the top of this amazing building (Skip the line Dubai Bhurj Khalifa VIP sunset ticket).

We were staying in a hotel not too far away so I told myself I could easily do the extra few floors but oh my when the day arrived and I was stood outside the realisation hit of actually how high the building is and how much difference the extra 20 floors was that I would be travelling. I was a little apprehensive….

But it was well worth it, the views are so much better and those tall hotels and other buildings now look tiny on the landscape.

You are treated as a VIP and after checking in are taken to a back room to await all the group. We were booked for a 6:00 pm sunset tour and was advised to get there an hour early. Once inside the meeting room we took a seat and was treated to Arabic coffee and dates. This was a nice touch although I wasn’t keen, just meant the hubbie got extra.

Once the party all arrived we were taken through security…Iif you are in a couple be prepared to be separated as there are separate queues for males and females.

Once through you are led to the lift and taken first to the 126th floor and then into a second lift which takes you to the final destination floor 148. We were told we had an hour here and then could take the lift down to floors 126 and 125 where we could spend as long as we wanted.

Floor 148 comprises of a VIP lounge with huge sofas and armchairs is the widow so as to maximise the views. Once here you are treated to cold drinks and miniature finger food nibbles and you could have as much/as little as you want. All was delicious.

We were lucky too as we stayed until the sunset so spent nearly 2 hours on the VIP floor enjoying the sunset in one of the armchairs taking lots of lovely photos.

We then made our way down to floors 126 and 125 where the views are good too. We spent an additional half an hour here then left to make a restaurant reservation we had made.

Another bonus of these tickets is the separate VIP queue for the lifts, saves such a lot of time.

This was my favourite part of visiting Dubai. I loved it and I’m confident you will too. (5 STAR)

References:
DubaiTourPro.com & 2
Tickets.AttheTop.ae
TripAdvisor & 2