Al Rigga

Al Rigga is a residential and commercial neighbourhood in the Deira district of Dubai, on the north bank of Dubai Creek. It sits between Al Sabkha, Al Muraqqabat and Naif, bounded on the south by the creek itself, and is one of the oldest built-up parts of the city.

Al Rigga and Riggat Al Buteen: one name or two

People searching for Al Rigga often also search for "Rigga Al Buteen" or "Riggat Al Buteen", and the two are closely linked rather than separate places. Riggat Al Buteen is the official name of the suburb that overlaps the northern part of Al Rigga, around Al Rigga Road itself. In everyday use, most residents and businesses simply say "Al Rigga" for the whole stretch between Al Maktoum Road and Omar bin Khattab Road, while Riggat Al Buteen remains the more formal municipal name for the same corner of Deira.

The area covers a little under a square kilometre and is one of the more densely populated parts of Dubai, with around 11,000 residents living in a tight grid of low and mid rise buildings.

Streets, landmarks and well-known buildings

Al Rigga Road is the spine of the neighbourhood and gives the area its identity, lined with cafes, shisha lounges, clothing shops and hotels. Local streets run in a numbered grid that continues the sequence used in neighbouring Al Muraqqabat, with even numbers increasing from 2nd Street near the Bani Yas cemetery up to the mid-40s.

The best known landmark nearby is the Deira Clocktower, built in the early 1960s and often described as the oldest surviving monument in modern Dubai, standing on the roundabout that marks the edge of the neighbourhood. Within Al Rigga and the immediately surrounding blocks, older apartment buildings are frequently known by the family name of their owner rather than a street number, which is why searches for specific blocks, such as the Al Owais Building, are common: this is simply how people in Deira give directions, by building name rather than address.

A number of mid-range and budget hotel brands operate directly on or just off Al Rigga Road, including Radisson Blu, Carlton and Riviera properties, which keep the area busy with short-stay visitors as well as residents.

Getting around Al Rigga

Al Rigga is one of the better connected older districts for public transport. Three Dubai Metro stations serve the immediate area: Al Rigga station itself, Baniyas Square, and Union, the interchange station where the Red and Green lines meet. Union Square nearby also functions as a bus and taxi hub, with routes running across Deira and into Bur Dubai.

By road, the neighbourhood is framed by two of Deira's main arteries: Omar bin Khattab Road to the east and Al Maktoum Road to the west, both of which connect onto Dubai Creek's bridges and into the wider road network.

What living in Al Rigga is like

Al Rigga is one of Dubai's original residential and trading districts, built up well before the newer freehold developments along Sheikh Zayed Road. Housing is almost entirely apartments, from studios to larger family units, in older buildings that vary considerably in condition and management from block to block. Rents here are generally lower than in the newer parts of the city, which is part of why the area remains popular with long-term residents and workers who want a central, walkable location.

Al Rigga is not a freehold area. Like the rest of old Deira, property here is held on leasehold or similar arrangements rather than sold outright to foreign individual buyers, so almost all demand in the area is for renting rather than buying.

Day to day, the neighbourhood is dense and commercial at street level, with shops, restaurants and services within walking distance of most buildings, and the creek itself a short walk to the south. It suits people who want to be close to Deira's older commercial core, to Dubai Creek, and to two metro lines, rather than those looking for a quiet, villa-style setting. For a wider view of what to expect from renting in the city, see our tenant guide and our round-up of the best areas to rent a house in Dubai, and browse what we currently hold to rent.

What is the postal code of Al Rigga?

Dubai does not use postal codes. There is no postcode or ZIP system for any Dubai address, and Al Rigga does not have one, so any five digit number attributed to it online has been invented rather than issued by anyone official.

Instead, Dubai addresses rely on a PO Box at an Emirates Post branch, not a numbered street address. Where an online form insists on a postal code for an Al Rigga address, the usual options are to enter 00000, which most international forms accept for the UAE, to use a PO Box number if the form allows letters and spaces, or to leave the field blank and give the building name and nearest landmark instead, which is what a courier in Deira actually works from.

Common questions about Al Rigga