Malls of the UAE: European street feel is part of Abu Dhabi’s Marina Mall’s charm

The National
  • Marina Mall sits on the south end of the Corniche overlooking the Gulf and looking back at the capital’s skyline. Delores Johnson / The National
    Marina Mall sits on the south end of the Corniche overlooking the Gulf and looking back at the capital’s skyline. Delores Johnson / The National
  • The mall includes attractions for children such as the trampoline site Bounce. Delores Johnson / The National
    The mall includes attractions for children such as the trampoline site Bounce. Delores Johnson / The National
  • The mall is spread over five floors that include a huge Carrefour in the basement, a nine-screen cinema, many attractions for children, a bowling alley and a food court. Delores Johnson / The National
    The mall is spread over five floors that include a huge Carrefour in the basement, a nine-screen cinema, many attractions for children, a bowling alley and a food court. Delores Johnson / The National
  • The mall has a canopied canvas roof at its centre that allows natural light to flood in, and that evokes a big top, with a central tower rising 128 metres into the sky. Delores Johnson / The National
    The mall has a canopied canvas roof at its centre that allows natural light to flood in, and that evokes a big top, with a central tower rising 128 metres into the sky. Delores Johnson / The National
  • The mall has cleverly allowed its many food and beverage (F&B) outlets to spill into the concourses, giving a European street feel to many of its thoroughfares and bringing life and chatter to the space. Delores Johnson / The National
    The mall has cleverly allowed its many food and beverage (F&B) outlets to spill into the concourses, giving a European street feel to many of its thoroughfares and bringing life and chatter to the space. Delores Johnson / The National
  • It has created a boulevard retail experience by eschewing the conventional “cluster” of similar shops that most of the UAE’s malls favour, allowing for a more natural mix with stores from different retail categories sitting alongside each other. Delores Johnson / The National
    It has created a boulevard retail experience by eschewing the conventional “cluster” of similar shops that most of the UAE’s malls favour, allowing for a more natural mix with stores from different retail categories sitting alongside each other. Delores Johnson / The National
  • The mall has a 15,000-year-old woolly mammoth skeleton that, while not being particularly woolly any more, makes any visit worthwhile. Delores Johnson / The National
    The mall has a 15,000-year-old woolly mammoth skeleton that, while not being particularly woolly any more, makes any visit worthwhile. Delores Johnson / The National
  • It has created a boulevard retail experience by eschewing the conventional “cluster” of similar shops that most of the UAE’s malls favour, allowing for a more natural mix with stores from different retail categories sitting alongside each other. Delores Johnson / The National
    It has created a boulevard retail experience by eschewing the conventional “cluster” of similar shops that most of the UAE’s malls favour, allowing for a more natural mix with stores from different retail categories sitting alongside each other. Delores Johnson / The National
  • It has created a boulevard retail experience by eschewing the conventional “cluster” of similar shops that most of the UAE’s malls favour, allowing for a more natural mix with stores from different retail categories sitting alongside each other. Delores Johnson / The National
    It has created a boulevard retail experience by eschewing the conventional “cluster” of similar shops that most of the UAE’s malls favour, allowing for a more natural mix with stores from different retail categories sitting alongside each other. Delores Johnson / The National