City Walk

This guide to City Walk in Dubai opens with a puzzle: graffiti is illegal in the UAE, yet sixteen of the world's best-known street artists ended up covering entire walls in this district. It traces developer Meraas's gamble on a walkable, tree-lined alternative to Dubai's usual air-conditioned malls when City Walk opened in 2013, and the 2016 Dubai Walls project that brought in artists like Nick Walker, Blek le Rat and Vhils. Take a detour off the main street to find where their murals are hiding.