Dubai Fountain

As darkness falls over the lake at the foot of the world's tallest tower, music swells, and great jets of water leap and sway in time, lit in colour and rising high into the night. Crowds line the rails to watch. This is the Dubai Fountain, one of the largest choreographed fountains in the world.

It sits on a man-made lake at the heart of the downtown district, in the shadow of the great tower and beside a vast shopping mall. The setting, with the tower soaring above and the water below, is as much the spectacle as the fountain itself.

The fountain performs in short shows through the evening, sending water leaping and weaving to music that ranges from Arabic and classical to pop, the jets shooting high and sweeping in patterns timed to every beat. Each show lasts only a few minutes but draws a fresh crowd every time.

The scale is enormous: powerful jets that throw water far into the air, lit by thousands of lights, on a lake big enough to hold the whole display. On a still night the reflections double the effect across the water.

The shows run free, every half hour or so after dark and sometimes in the early evening, so with a little patience you can watch several in a row, each set to a different piece of music. No ticket is needed to stand at the rails.

The promenade around the lake gives many vantage points, and the lakeside restaurants and the bridge across the water offer different angles, some closer to the jets, some with the tower better framed behind. You can also watch from the mall's terraces above.

For a price, small boats take visitors out onto the lake during the shows, putting you right among the rising jets, though most people are perfectly happy at the free rails along the promenade.

The fountain is the evening centrepiece of the whole downtown district, drawing crowds from the mall, the tower, and the hotels around the lake. The area is busiest and most pleasant after dark, when the heat eases and the lights come on.

It is, like much of modern Dubai, a piece of pure spectacle, designed to impress, and it succeeds. Even visitors weary of the city's scale and gloss tend to stop and watch the water dance at least once.

Timing your evening around a show or two is easy, since they repeat, and combining the fountain with the tower, the mall, and a meal by the lake makes a natural evening out in the heart of the new city.

A few practical notes. The shows are free and frequent after dark; arrive a few minutes early for a spot at the rail, especially at weekends, and check the posted show times. The lakeside is crowded but the views are many, so move around for the angle you like.

Find a place at the rail as the music starts and the first jets rise, lit against the dark with the great tower behind, and let the spectacle do its work. The fountain is the city showing off, and on this it delivers. When the water falls still and the crowd drifts away, the next show is only minutes off.