Al Garhoud station (R15) got its proper name back in April 2025 – after fourteen years as GGICO – and serves one of old-money Dubai’s most pleasant low-rise districts: garden villas, the Irish Village’s beer-garden institution, the Dubai Tennis Stadium and a strip of long-established hotels between the airport and the creek. Elevated, fare zone 5.
The Irish Village and the Tennis Stadium
The Aviation Club grounds hold the district’s two famous names: the Irish Village – the city’s oldest garden pub, pouring since 1996 around its lake terrace – and the Dubai Tennis Stadium, home of the ATP/WTA Dubai Duty Free Championships every February-March. Both are a 10-12 minute walk from the station; on tournament nights the walk becomes a procession, and the metro comfortably beats the car-park queues.
GGICO, for the record
The station carried the Gulf General Investment Company’s name from 2011 until 14 April 2025 – one of the network’s least-loved brand names, and among the first things this district celebrated losing. Old bookings, maps and reviews saying “GGICO station” mean here; the GGICO building itself still stands nearby as the reference point.
Garhoud’s quiet appeal
Between Festival City across the creek and the airport behind, Garhoud is a residential pocket that predates the boom – villas, schools, Century Village’s restaurant courtyard next to the tennis grounds, and crews from the airline campus one stop over. For visitors it means calm, fair hotel rates and a five-minute ride to T3 – the classic final-night base before an early Emirates flight.
Local tips
- Tournament fortnight (Feb-Mar): evening sessions end right at metro-friendly hours; the station is the only sane exit strategy.
- Dubai Festival City is a short taxi over Garhoud Bridge – closer from here than from any metro station on that bank until the Blue Line opens in 2029.
- Quiz-and-pint economics: Irish Village + AED 3 ride home beats every Downtown equivalent by half.
- Zone 5: airport one stop, Deira and Union all single-zone fares.
The Irish Village and the Tennis Stadium
The Aviation Club grounds beside Al Garhoud hold the district’s two famous names: the Irish Village, the city’s oldest garden pub pouring since 1996 around its lake terrace, and the Dubai Tennis Stadium, home of the Dubai Duty Free Championships every February-March. Both are a 10-12 minute walk from the station, and on tournament nights the walk becomes a procession while the metro comfortably beats the car-park queues – the station is the only sane exit strategy for evening sessions. Century Village’s restaurant courtyard sits next to the tennis grounds, and the whole quarter has the settled, low-rise calm of a district that predates the boom.
GGICO, for the record
The station carried the Gulf General Investment Company’s name from 2011 until 14 April 2025 – one of the network’s least-loved brand names, and among the first things this district celebrated losing when the RTA restored the Al Garhoud name. Old bookings, maps and reviews saying “GGICO station” mean here; the GGICO building itself still stands nearby as the reference point. Between Festival City across the creek and the airport behind, Garhoud is a residential pocket of garden villas, schools and long-established hotels – the classic final-night base before an early Emirates flight.
Getting here and onward
Al Garhoud is elevated on the Red Line, zone 5, one stop from Terminal 3 and two from Terminal 1, so the airport is two to four minutes and AED 3. Dubai Festival City is a short taxi across Garhoud Bridge – until the Blue Line opens in 2029, no metro station sits closer to Festival City. Deira and Union are all single-zone fares. During the tennis fortnight, evening sessions end at metro-friendly hours; otherwise onward travel is the taxi rank or a feeder bus.