Whilst we were in Downtown Dubai we plunged into high tourism mode by taking in the obligatory Burj (Tower) Khalifa, at 829m (give or take a half-metre) the world's highest skyscraper/human-made structure.
We did the standard thing, paid to go up to the Observation Deck, Level 124. If you want a higher view you can go up to the top viewing deck at Level 148 (all up the structure has 163 levels) - which will cost you about AED350.
But level 124 was high enough for us, the view from there was like looking at a space age city - vast modern buildings and vast intersecting arterial freeways, surrounded by an ocean of sand - made to look all the more Sci-Fi by a constant haze circling around the periphery. The waterworks of the Dubai Fountain was a spectacular hydro-sight from above. Back on ground level the Burj has an interesting info display on the history of the building's construction, charting it stage-by-stage and metre-by-metre.
