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Sunday, December 21, 2008

Dubai’s Top 8 Shopping Malls

Dubai’s Top 8 Shopping Malls

Dubai Festival City
The landmark 2.8 million square foot urban retail resort combining Festival Waterfront Centre and Festival Marina forms the epicentre of Dubai Festival City and is shaping itself to be one of UAE's most exciting retail, dining and leisure destinations.

The retail resort has close to 600 shops, including 25 flagship and anchor shops – the largest collective number in the Middle East – as well as many new-to-market specialty boutiques and international brands. There will be over 100 international restaurants, bistros and cafés throughout the resort including 40 Al fresco dining venues along the water.

Deira City Centre
While other shopping centres are still trying to carve out a niche amid Dubai's crowded shopping scene, the Deira City Centre has stuck to its tried and trusted eclectism. From a postcard to a Persian carpet and from Massimo Dutti to Mexx, you can buy anything here. The jewellery and textile courts as well as the Arabian Treasures for local furniture and textile courts are a big attraction. If you are hunting for designer labels, you should head for the Bin Hendi Avenue and for gadget gurus, please look out for electronics goods on the ground floor. Kids have their own magic planet and is well known for all taxi drivers and many hotels provide shuttle buses straight to the door.

BurJuman
Renowned in the city for its blend of high-street names and designer brands BurJuman will help you give a complete makeover from clothes, to shoes, makeup and perfumes, accessories. Having undergone massive renovation, it's a slick and stylish mall –thanks to the Saks Fifth Avenue the legendary New York department Store. Prada, Ralph Lauren and Paul Smith is too high, then you can try Zara, Mango and Next. There are plenty of options in homeware, jewellery and entertainment. There are coffee shops galore where you can spend a leisurely evening or slump after sightseeing at the creek. Specialised play areas and the food court is particularly effective.

Madinat Jumeirah
It is the recreation of a traditional Middle Eastern marketplace. Lining its long alleyways, you'll find the largest selection of specialty shops with a wide range of art and photography, among them the outstanding Gallery One. Elsewhere there is an emphasis on the more unusual brands like Tommy Bahamas, Celine Fashion, once you are done with shopping, it's the Madinat's range of impressive waterfront bars and restaurants that are taking the strain.

Ibn Batuta Mall
It's huge with six pavilions and you need to go through a navigated guided tour. It's part shopping, part history lesson, part scientific exhibit, part food. Each court is themed on a pattern or a region that was visited by Ibn Batuta, a 14th century Arabic traveller. You can scour through the Egypt Court for a new pair of Adidas trainers, look into the India Pavilion with a Daniel Hechter shirt and then settle down for a three courses dinner at the China court. Andalusia will help you seek your life's essentials while Tunisia will help to keep the kids occupied. And that's only for starters


Wafi City
The Egyptian Pyramid-themed Wafi has exclusivity written on every wall and painted glass décor. Inspired by the great

pyramids of Egypt, Raffles Hotel, Dubai's latest attraction radiates an opulent blend of Middle Eastern and Asian decor. Under the apex of the pyramid, 11 distinctive restaurants and bars feature culinary delights from all over the world. For successful meetings and events, Raffles Dubai offers a choice of 11 private rooms with state-of-the-art audio visual equipment and the latest wireless technology. The one-hectare masterpiece Raffles Sky Garden is Dubai's most luxurious venue for outdoor celebrations and events.

A wide range of jewellery and couture awaits shoppers at the Wafi City, Versace, Nicole, Farhi and Tag Hueuer, to name a few. For more down-to-earth goods, the large section of the Mark's and Spencer should not disappoint. It is part of the bigger, Wafi City complex and it is significant : it is good for kids and so is the Encounter Zone.

Mall of the Emirates
Here you can shop for a brand new shoe from the ‘Walking Society', enjoy the latest Hollywood blockbuster, enjoy a mouth-watering meal with family and friends, enjoy an exhilarating ride on the brand new Magic Planet, slalom down a real ski slope inside the world's first indoor snow dome and shop from myriad brands from around 400 retail outlets. Some top brands include River Island, Debenhams, Harvey Nichols, Harvey Nichols, Zara and the Paris Gallery

Mercato
Mercato and its Renaissance style architecture is hard to miss. With over 90 restaurants, cafes and shops, it is one of the biggest malls in Jumeirah. Spinneys, Home Centre and Virgin Megastore are some of the big players here, Armani, Hugo Boss, Top Shop Susan Walpole that sells silk paintings and the Pride of Kashmir constitute some of the rest. There is also the Barbie Avenue, a whole shop dedicated to Barbie dolls. You can also relax at the Fiesta Café.

Source: Go Dubai

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