BURJ KHALIFA

Stack 2.53 Eiffel Towers and you've got the Burj Khalifa. A vertical city, home to 10,000 people, dominating the capital of the small emirate. Commissioned by the Emaar Group and designed by the Americans Skidmore, Owings & Merrill on a Y-shaped plan inspired by the bulb of Hymenocallis, a desert flower, the glass and aluminium tower was inaugurated on January 4, 2010 after 1,325 days of construction. It took 12,000 workers a day to build it. With its 160 storeys and 828-metre spire, it is the current world record for the most dizzying skyscraper. The difference between the top and the base is 6 degrees. It's very difficult to get it into the viewfinder of a camera. From below, it's beautiful, slender, vertiginous, just a marvel of balance and architectural genius. From above, i.e. from the observation platforms on the ^124th, ^125th and ^148th floors at 452, 456 and 555 metres, it looks almost fragile, because it's so narrow, and on a clear day it allows you to observe more than 95 km in all directions. Who lives there? From the ground to the ^39th floor, Armani customers, up to the ^108th floor, tenants of some 1,000 apartments, and then executives deserving of the adjective "superior". On ^122nd, a restaurant. When it comes to figures, some are dizzying, such as the 26,000 windows or the more than 946,000 liters of water needed every day to run the air-conditioning system. From the condensation caused by the latter and the city's humid heat, they manage to recover around 55 million liters - the volume of 20 Olympic swimming pools - and use it to water the gardens below. In the event of fire, islands are installed every 25 floors or so, equipped with air-conditioning and armoured doors. They are also equipped with alarms that prevent residents from going out on their balconies if the wind becomes too strong. Underneath, 192 concrete pillars, 50 metres high and 1.40 metres in diameter, had to be poured to support the entire 500,000-tonne structure - the weight of 100,000 elephants. As for the windows, over 24,300 had to be ordered, with silver on the outside to reflect light, and titanium on the inside for better heat insulation. These two materials also mean that, in the late afternoon, when the sun is about to set, you can admire it all in silver, as if it were lit from within. It's simply sublime. Regularly ranked in pole position on the Web, At The Top is the most popular activity in Dubai, quite sensational it must be said, and definitely unique. Is it worth taking this expensive tour? Yes, because the sensation of being on the world's highest public balcony is quite exhilarating, and on a clear day the aerial view is unforgettable (at night, the altitude and distances are overwhelming, but the city lights are enchanting).No, if you don't like crowds, long queues and are claustrophobic or prone to vertigo, the direct elevator from 0 to 124 floors is a form of ordeal, as you go up (or down) one floor per second, even if the spectacular sound and light effects reduce this impression of confinement. By the ^124th floor, you're already 452 meters above sea level, high enough to enjoy a fairly comprehensive panorama of the city, the articulation of its neighborhoods, the coastline... That slightly strange sensation of a Lilliputian city spread out there, like a construction kit. For twice the price, we're a few meters higher, on the ^126th floor, with its 360-degree circular deck, an intermediary step on the way to the elevator leading to the VIP floor: the ^148th, the world's highest observation platform at 555 meters, thirst-quenching drinks, petits fours, subdued lounges, a luxury boutique, refined floral arrangements, and unobstructed views without the hustle and bustle of the most visited floor.

In the event of a problem, safety stations and some 50 elevators are available. And if you wanted to take the stairs, you'd have to go back down the 2,909 steps! Eco-friendly friends, note that it takes the climatic equivalent of 10,000 tonnes of ice a day to cool the steel lily. With just a few sips of water and a lot of bravery, Alain Robert, the "French Spiderman", entered the Guinness World Record in March 2011 by completing the climb in 6 hours. The same year, it was also immortalized in Mission Impossible, with Tom Cruise running, jumping and climbing along the bay windows. During the festive season, over a million visitors flock to see the breathtaking fireworks that seem to set the Burj Khalifa ablaze. It was named after the second President of the Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, former ruler of Abu Dhabi. If you can't get up there, we recommend that you take a tour of the Burj via Boulevard Sheikh Mohammed, and enjoy an evening refreshment by the fountains. In a flat landscape, the Burj Khalifa has become a veritable beacon for the city, the emblem of a vernacular Dubai - in short, a modern-day Tower of Babel. A word of advice: don't climb just before sunset, for the best light and a clear view of the skyscrapers. Discounts available by booking through Groupon.