If you’re planning a Dubai trip, the Museum of the Future is absolutely one of the top places to visit—and yes, reservations are a must.
These days, right after Burj Khalifa,
this has becomeone of Dubai’s signature landmarks.
The Museum of the Future
Source: Museum of the Future official website
It’s right in central Dubai, so
it fits easily into your sightseeing route, and the exterior is so unique
that it’s easily one of the best placesfor photos.
Since it sits right along
Sheikh Zayed Road, basically Dubai’s main artery,
you almost can’t miss it when driving by.
I wanted to go when I stayed in Dubai for a longer stretch last year,
but I couldn’t get a reservation and had to skip it, which was such a bummer.
This time, it was almost fully booked again,
but I got lucky, found a ticket, and barely made it in.
Source: Instagram @dubaivisits
The Museum of the Future in Dubai is also famous for being builtwithout interior columns. It’s a seven-story building, so the engineering alone feels wild—very Dubai.
Even just looking at this photo,
you start wondering what was going on inside the designer’s head during construction.
That said, the “2001” in the photo is incorrect—
as far as I know, construction actually began in 2015.
This is the parking lot, and yes, the parking garage definitely has columns.^^
Compared to how many people visit,
there aren’t that many parking spaces, but I got lucky and snagged one
right as someone pulled out.
Time to head into the museum!
The Arabic script written across the circular ring-shaped exterior
is actually a poem,
and there’s an English translation too if you’re curious.
The Arabic lettering you see from outside
is visible from inside too, which was such a cool detail.
Even if you fail to get tickets,
you can still look around the first-floor interior,
so if tickets are sold out, at least step inside and check it out.
This line is for visitors who already have tickets,
and while everyone waits together at first, the line moves fast in big waves.
This is where you pick up your reserved ticket.
The admission ticket costs about $37.
When you book, you enter each visitor’s name,
and each person has to collect their own ticket separately.
Very on-brand for the Museum of the Future,
the ticket comes out of the machine as a wristband.
Your information is stored inside the band.
Ta-da—pretty cute, right?
At first I thought this was the elevator going up,
but it’s actually the elevator you take down after the full experience.
After lining up for entry, I looked around inside—the staircase is gorgeous too.
There’s even a silver dolphin-looking thing flying overhead.
It’s basically a robot made from a helium balloon with something attached to it.
That’s the entrance over there!
When the doors open, this is what you see.
Wow…
This place is fully committed to its concept,
so you kind of have to lean into the immersion on purpose.
That’s what makes the visit more fun.
The idea is that we’re now aboard a spaceship,
and when the countdown on the screen ends,
the ship launches.
Those sand-human figures are actually based on
motion tracking from the people standing there,
so when you move, the sand figures on screen move too.
Countdown over—launch!
With all the rumbling sound effects,
we leave Dubai behind and head into space.
The “future ship” shoots through the stratosphere in seconds!
(That’s my own nickname for it.)
Once you arrive in space,
there are all kinds of things to explore, and it starts with a bit of explanation.
The audio is in Arabic and English,
but honestly, most people were only half-listening and just wandering around.
There are interactive machines like these,
and if you tap your wristband, it says “Hello, [your name].”
After that, you can touch and try different things.
These weren’t the most exciting part,
but there were definitely plenty of weird and futuristic elements.
This one takes a photo of your face
and shows you wearing a spacesuit.
It’s not a still image—it moves.
After the space section, you take an elevator
back down toward Dubai,
and you can even spot Palm Jumeirah in the floor projection.
The details were done really well, which made it fun.
From here on out, it’s free exploration.
We’ve returned to Earth, but thanks to some relativity-theory storyline,
it’s no longer 2024—we’ve arrived in 2071.Yep!
(View out the window) Wait… Dubai changed this much?!
This area is a seed vault, where thousands of seeds
are displayed inside glass containers.
There are so many of them—I was fully acting like I was in a serious documentary.
They aren’t real seeds, by the way.
There’s also a video imagining what the forest of the future might look like.
Each floor has a different concept,
and there’s even a floor guide like this.
You can move through the museum floor by floor using the stairs.
There are photo spots and mirrors throughout,
so there are actually quite a few good places to take pictures.
One section was called “feeling therapy,” but honestly I had no idea what exactly was supposed to be healing.
There was a lot of Korean too,
which made me weirdly happy.
Anyway, let’s head downstairs.
There’s an Audi concept car here,
but it’s not a real functioning car—the inside is basically empty.
It felt more like a futuristic design display.
Since it was Audi,
I found myself oddly invested and looked at it more closely.
There’s also a cute yellow car and a talking female robot.
There’s a microphone in front of the robot,
and if you ask a question in English,
she answers with her own thoughts—and the facial expressions are surprisingly good too.
You can also step outside
into the open-air space in the center of the ring.
Ooh…!
Even people like us who normally don’t take many photos
can’t resist getting a classic proof shot here.
I even took a selfie.
That toothpick-looking tower on the right is Burj Khalifa.
The outdoor space isn’t very large,
so most people just snap a few photos and head right back in.
Before you go outside, there’s a photographer
who’ll insist on taking your picture,
because of course they want to sell you the souvenir photo.
You’re not allowed to photograph the screen,
so I just looked at the edited preview with my eyes and passed. No thanks.
After finishing the exhibits, you take that transparent elevator from earlier
back down to the same first floor where you entered.
That display with colorful liquids inside test tubes
is for making your own custom perfume or something along those lines.
And of course, there’s a gift shop.
I looked around, but honestly nothing felt especially cute or tempting.
I love magnets, so I thought about buying one,
but the quality didn’t feel worth the price.
They also sell Museum of the Future figurines like these.
You can see the price in the photo… expensive is expensive.
If you still want a small souvenir
but don’t love what’s here,
check the airport souvenir shops—they have Museum of the Future items too.
I bought this magnet at Dubai Airport,
and it was much cheaper with pretty decent quality.
There’s also a café inside.
Here’s the menu.
The robot-made coffee was temporarily unavailable when I visited.
But in Dubai—or maybe it was Abu Dhabi—
you can find a few robot cafés inside some of the big malls.
If your phone is dying,
there’s also a power bank rental station on the first floor.
After the visit, I stepped back outside.
It wouldn’t fit in one frame, so I had to use a wide-angle shot.
It really is stunning. I kind of wish Seoul had
another landmark this bold besides Lotte World Tower.
In front of the museum, there’s also a sculpture
of a hand with three fingers extended.
Apparently it represents three values, but I didn’t look into it—I just thought it looked cool.
In the end, what you really take home is the photos.
Wild to think that two days later, Dubai got hit with heavy rain.
I was back in Korea when I saw the news about the downpour and flooding, and I was honestly shocked.
If you’re planning to visit the Museum of the Future Dubai,
book your tickets at least two weeks in advance.Seriously.
Even two weeks ahead might not be enough during peak travel periods,
so buy your tickets as early as you can.
You can buy it on MyRealTrip!
(+I left an extra tip in the comments)
I stitched together several videos I filmed during the visit,
so if you’re curious, definitely check them out.
This is a paid-for-by-me review. If you make a purchase through the link, I may receive a small commission.