Located south of Dubai Creek, The Al Fahidi Fort built in 1787 has survived through the years and is considered the oldest standing structure in Dubai. This fort was renovated and transformed into Dubai Museum, which is now a popular tourist attraction in Dubai. The Ruler of Dubai opened the museum in 1971 so that the traditional way of life in Dubai could be captured and preserved.
The museum's historic setting makes this a perfect place for a journey back in time when Dubai was merely a desert settlement. Dubai's simple and traditional life before the discovery of oil which brought its extravagant advance towards modernism can be witnessed here. In the museum, different wings are dedicated to various aspects of Dubai’s Bedouin era, with galleries that contain exhibits and life-size dioramas that illustrate daily life before the invention of technology and modernism in the emirate.
Several exhibits illuminate the trade route of Dubai by displaying local antiques and artifacts from countries that traded with Dubai. These exhibits illustrate how Dubai started out as a modest village settlement before it took the world by storm with its innovative and astonishing new-age attractions and architectural marvels that transformed it into a world-renowned tourist destination. The entrance fee to Dubai Museum is AED 3 for adults and AED 1 for children below the age of 6.
The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.