Dubai Mall
A power shopper’s Shangri-La, Dubai Mall is the largest shopping mall in the world. 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, indoor theme parks and 150 food outlets. There’s a strong European-label presence, along with branches of the French Galeries Lafayette department store, the British toy store Hamley's and the first Bloomingdale’s outside the US.
Mall of the Emirates
Get lost amid the ample temptations of this mega-mall famous for its indoor ski slope. 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 popular shopping centres. With narrow walkways and no daylight, it can feel a tad claustrophobic at peak times (except in the striking Fashion Dome, lidded by a vaulted glass ceiling and home to luxury brands).
Box Park
This urban strip brims with cool cafes and eclectic boutiques in shipping containers. 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 urban cool into the Dubai shopping scene. The 220 units draw a hip crowd, including lots of locals, with quirky concept stores, eclectic cafes and restaurants, and entertainment options including a cinema with on-demand screenings.
Ibn Battuta Mall
Shopping goes exotic amid gorgeous decor in six country-themed courts, including Persia, India and Spain. 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, which traces the way stations of 14th-century Arab explorer Ibn Battuta in six themed courts (China, Persia, Egypt, India, Tunisia, Andalusia). Anchor stores include Debenhams and Decathlon.
Outlet Village
Discounts on luxe labels in a Tuscan village setting some 30km south of town. 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 Banana Republic to Armani have shoppers reaching for their credit cards. It's about 30km south of the Dubai Marina, next to Dubai Parks and Resorts.