Dubai

Dubai is the world's fastest-evolving city — a desert outpost that, in 50 years, built itself into a global capital of luxury, architecture, and reinvention. The Burj Khalifa pierces the sky at 828m; the Palm Jumeirah rises from the sea; and the old Deira spice souks smell exactly as they did a century ago. Dubai does everything at superlative scale: the world's tallest hotel, largest mall, biggest indoor ski slope, and most ambitious real estate projects on earth. Yet it also has a thoughtful old city, world-class art galleries, and a desert that starts ten minutes from downtown.