Keen to visit Dubai Canal this weekend, but not quite sure how to do so? Here’s our guide…

Yes, the Dubai Canal Boardwalk is now open – running from Business Bay to Jumeirah, and alongside Safa Park, the waterside walkway runs 3.2 km each way.

We checked it out so that you can be informed when you visit:

First things first, how do you park there? Well drive to Al Habtoor City, or the W Hotel, and there’s a new RTA parking lot that, when we visited, had plenty of room.

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The good news is you can also metro there – simply get off at Business Bay Metro station and then walk along the pedestrian path on Sheikh Zayed Road (yes, you can actually walk along the SZR bridge) towards Habtoor City. There are then stairs and an elevator that take you straight down to the Canal. Fancy.

This also means you can now metro to the W Hotel, the Westin and St. Regis. Handy.

READ MORE
*More pics and videos of the Dubai Canal and its grand opening*
*There’s now a waterfall on Sheikh Zayed Road*
*A guide to the marine transport stations along the Canal*
*Sheikh Mohammed on why Dubai Creek is so important*

Don’t get us wrong, the Boardwalk still has a lot of work that needs doing to it – the areas that will soon be ‘green’ are currently just sand lots. But the USB chargers in the streetlights are now mostly functioning so you can charge your phone for all those snaps, two of the pedestrian bridges are open and the views are amazing.

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When we were there on a Monday night there were families out for a stroll, a few joggers pounding the pavement and plenty of workers still helping finish off the thing. We even saw a bit of a photo shoot happening with the UAE flag. We’ll keep you posted on its progress (and on when Safa Park and Jumeirah Beach Park reopen!).

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WHAT DUBAI CANAL WILL ADD TO THE CITY… 

Dubai Canal - how it will look
The pedestrian walkways 

There will be five pedestrian bridges that will run along the Dubai Water Canal, there will also be running tracks, sitting areas looking over the water, smart lighting (that can be controlled by an app) and lots of greenery.

‘The Walk’ at Dubai Water Canal will connect with the current Jumeirah Beach running track, meaning a 7km-long continuous track for joggers.

The area will also be very safe, due to smart surveillance cameras focused on pedestrians with face-recognition technology.

So will we be able to live, stay and shop along the canal? Of course! Property developments will run along both banks of the canal – with 5,345 residential units planned, as well as 948 hotel rooms. The areas will be called Gate Towers, Jumeirah and Peninsula.

There will be four residential towers linked with Safa Park, as well as 211 residential units right on the water.

dubai canalThe Gate Towers mall is seen in the centre of this photo.

In other good news, Jumeirah Beach Park will reopen, and the stretch of beach on the much-loved, currently-closed park will extend by one kilometre as it will run out over the Canal’s peninsula. The peninsula area will also feature 60 marinas, 1,817 residential units, 957 five star hotel rooms and 347 retails outlets and restaurants.

The Gate Towers bridge at the entrance of the canal to the Arabian Gulf will feature a three-level mall that will be built above the Canal and span 300,000 square metres. The mall will hold 434 retail outlets and restaurants.

The coolest bit? The roof of the mall will be a park – yes, as in greenery, and it will look out over Safa Park.

We can’t wait to watch it all unfold – and keep you guys in the loop as it does. 

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