Must-see shopping in United Arab Emirates

  • The Dubai Mall At Night, Dubai UAE

    Dubai Mall

    Downtown Dubai

    With around 1300 shops, this isn't merely the world's largest shopping mall – it’s a small city, with a giant ice rink and aquarium, a dinosaur skeleton,…

  • Mirzam Chocolate Makers

    Downtown Dubai

    The art of crafting fine chocolate is taken very seriously at this high-tech 'Willy Wonka' factory, where all stages from roasting to handwrapping take…

  • Souk Madinat Jumeirah

    Dubai

    More tourist-geared boutique mall than traditional Arab market, this handsomely designed souq is part of the Arab-village-style Madinat Jumeirah resort…

  • Souq Al Jubail

    Sharjah

    Herb-infused honey, dates, nuts and dried figs make for great foodie gifts and treats, while the long lines of stalls piled high with fruit and vegetables…

  • Dubai Festival City Mall

    Dubai

    Southeast of the airport, near Business Bay Bridge, this 350-store behemoth has all the standard shops, plus Ikea – a draw for locals and expats. Its main…

  • Threads & Tailors

    Dubai

    This top-notch tailor has made bespoke suits for distinguished clients such as Roger Federer and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, along with men's and women…

  • sdr

    City Walk

    Dubai

    This city-centre shopping, dining and entertainment district has the feel of a European town centre with its faux Georgian-style buildings, water features…

  • Ripe Market

    Dubai

    This market features not only fruit and veg from local growers but also local honey, nuts, spices and eggs, plus arts and crafts, food stations and…

  • S*uce

    Dubai

    Plain and simple they are not, the clothes and accessories at S*uce (pronounced ‘sauce’), a pioneer in Dubai’s growing lifestyle-fashion scene. Join…

  • Mall of the Emirates

    Dubai

    Home to Ski Dubai, a community theatre, a 24-screen multiplex cinema and – let's not forget – 630 shops, Mall of the Emirates is one of Dubai's most…

  • dav

    Outlet Village

    Dubai

    Label-lovers on a budget flock to this indoor outlet mall whose architecture was inspired by a Tuscan hillside village. Midrange to fancy brands from…

  • BoxPark

    Dubai

    Inspired by the London original, this 1.3km-long outdoor lifestyle mall was built from upcycled shipping containers and has injected a welcome dose of…

  • Camel Company

    Dubai

    Hands-down the best spot for kid-friendly camel souvenirs: stuffed camels in all sizes and colours, camels on T-shirts, coffee cups, notebooks, greeting…

  • Kinokuniya

    Downtown Dubai

    This massive shop is El Dorado for bookworms. Shelves are stocked with a mind-boggling half-a-million tomes plus 1000 or so magazines in English, Arabic,…

  • Fruit & Vegetable Market

    Abu Dhabi

    This vast wholesale market, partly open-air, is the exchange point for melons from Jordan, potatoes from Turkey and onions from just about everywhere. A…

  • World Trade Center Souk

    Abu Dhabi

    British architect Norman Foster's immensely pleasant reinterpretation of the traditional souq is a stylish composition of warm lattice woodwork, stained…

  • Souq Al Shanisiyah

    Sharjah

    This new souq, shaded by areesh (palm fronds used to construct huts and houses) panels, is built over the site of an earlier souq discovered during…

  • Central Souq

    Sharjah

    If you're in the market for glitzy gold jewellery studded with semi-precious stones, then this grand, tile-embellished market building, dating from 1978,…

  • Carpet Souq

    Abu Dhabi

    The garrulous traders from Balochistan, Pakistan, here are good fun, though don't expect to encounter piles of beautiful jewel-toned hand-loomed carpets…

  • Ajmal

    Bur Dubai

    The place for traditional Middle Eastern attars (perfumes), Ajmal custom blends its earthy scents and pours them into fancy gold or jewel-encrusted…

  • BurJuman

    Bur Dubai

    Rather than rest on its laurels, Dubai's oldest high-end mall (open since 1992) just keeps reinventing itself. A recent remodel added some 200 shops …

  • Farmers Market on the Terrace

    Downtown Dubai

    The carrots may have roots attached and dirt might stick to the fennel bulb, because both were still in the ground the previous day. Now they're vying for…

  • Ibn Battuta Mall

    Dubai Marina & Palm Jumeirah

    The shopping is good if nothing extraordinary, but it's the lavish and exotic design and architecture of this 400-shop mall that steal the show, tracing…

  • Madinat Zayed Shopping & Gold Centre

    Abu Dhabi

    For first-time visitors to a gold souq, the window displays of bridal necklaces, earrings and belts, the trays of precious stones and the tiers of gold…

  • Iranian Souq

    Abu Dhabi

    If you've never been to a regional wholesale hardware market before, then this collection of stalls huddled around the harbour edge is a fun destination…

  • Meena Bazaar

    Bur Dubai

    Arguably the oldest shopping district in Dubai, the Meena Bazaar comprises a labyrinth of streets surrounding the Bur Dubai Souq that are packed with…

  • Ritu Kumar

    Bur Dubai

    Now in her 70s, Ritu Kumar is an Indian fashion designer famed for her stunning colourful prints and fabrics. As well as traditional lehengas (ankle…

  • Fabindia

    Bur Dubai

    In business since 1950, Fabindia is one of India's biggest retail chains and mostly sells products handmade by more than 50,000 Indian villagers using…

  • Dubai Outlet Mall

    Dubai

    The first outlet mall in the Middle East is a bargain shopper's nirvana with 240 stores offering discounts ranging from 30% to 90%. Don't expect the…

  • Souq Al Arsah

    Sharjah

    One of the oldest souqs in the UAE, Souq Al Arsah once crawled with traders from Iran and India and local Bedouin, their camels fastened to posts outside…

  • Urbanist

    Dubai

    The Syrian couple behind Urbanist dedicate the shop's shelf space to hand-curated items rooted in both tradition and modernity, and Western and Middle…

  • Galleria Mall

    Dubai

    The modern-Middle Eastern design of this locally adored boutique mall is as much a draw as the shops, which include rare gems like the first UAE branch of…

  • Computer Plaza

    Bur Dubai

    Really handy if you have a sudden hardware/software demand or dilemma, this jam-packed computer and electronics mall has more than 80 outlets selling…

  • Balqees Honey

    Downtown Dubai

    Clued-in gourmets know that some of the world's best honey is Sidr, produced by nomadic beekeepers in war-torn Yemen. At this little kiosk near the…

  • Candylicious

    Downtown Dubai

    Stand under the lollipop tree, watch the candy-makers at work or gorge yourself on gourmet popcorn at this colourful candy emporium stocked to the rafters…

  • Typo

    Dubai

    This is the kind of shop where 'notebooks' are still made from paper. Indeed, here they come in all shapes and sizes, from cutesy to corporate, along with…

  • Bateel

    Bur Dubai

    Old-style traditional Arab hospitality meant dates and camel milk. Now Emiratis offer their guests Bateel’s scrumptious date chocolates and truffles, made…

  • Julia Ibbini Studio

    Abu Dhabi

    Make an appointment in advance through the website to view Julia Ibbini's complex, multi-layered artworks in her studio. Her pieces, which riff on the…

  • Marina Home

    Dubai

    This 2000-sq-metre expanse of showroom is the exact opposite of a Scandi flatpack store and its sheer opulence makes it fun to visit. The furniture and…

  • Dubai Flea Market

    Bur Dubai

    Trade malls for stalls and look for bargains amid the piles of preloved stuff that’s spilled out of local closets at Dubai's cherished flea markets, which…

More destinations you need to see