Where to Shop in Doha: Malls, Souqs and Districts

Doha's malls are air-conditioned destinations with entertainment attached, the souqs are older-style markets where you haggle, and the districts (Msheireb, Lusail, The Pearl, Katara) are walkable streets with shops and restaurants. Pick by what you want from the trip, not by what is biggest.

Opening hours differ by mall and by day, and many close later on Thursdays and Fridays. Fridays often start in the afternoon, so check the listing.

Villaggio Mall, with its indoor canal and gondola rides, is the one most visitors enjoy as an outing. Doha Festival City has Qatar's first IKEA and the Angry Birds theme park, Mall of Qatar has an indoor snow park, and Landmark Mall and Gulf Mall each have their own small indoor amusement area. City Center Doha, one of Qatar's oldest malls, has a dedicated gold souq level.

For something calmer, Ezdan Mall is a budget-friendly family mall with over 200 stores, Hyatt Plaza is a quieter, more residential experience built around a hypermarket, and Doha Mall in Abu Hamour is a neighbourhood mall with a hypermarket and food district.

Place Vendôme in Lusail won the World Prix Versailles award and has a dedicated luxury wing, joined to two five-star hotels. Lagoona Mall in West Bay Lagoon skews upscale in a European piazza style, and Al Hazm Mall is built with imported Tuscan marble. The Gate Mall in West Bay is a compact premium mall linked to the DECC metro station.

Souq Waqif is the one to visit: a rebuilt century-old market with gold and textile traders, a falcon souq with about a dozen shops, and restaurants open far later than the shops. Shops there run roughly 10am to noon and 4pm to 10pm, so go in the late afternoon or evening.

Next to it are the Gold Souq, where independent traders sell jewellery by weight against the day's gold price, and the Al Ahmed Street souqs, three linked textile souqs for silk, cashmere pashminas and abayas. Souq Al Wakra, 15 to 19 km south, is a reconstructed waterfront souq that now works mostly as a beach promenade. Expect to haggle in the souqs.

Msheireb Galleria is a four-level, 100-plus-outlet retail block in Msheireb Downtown with a Monoprix supermarket, and Doha Oasis next door pairs the Printemps department store with Doha Quest. Lusail Marina & Boulevard is a shopping and dining strip alongside a 12 km waterfront promenade. The Pearl-Qatar has a 2.5 km marina-front retail promenade, and Katara's 21 High Street is an air-conditioned open-air shopping street, open until 10pm Sunday to Wednesday and 1am Thursday to Saturday.

For a first visit: a morning at one mall with entertainment (Villaggio or Doha Festival City), a late afternoon and evening at Souq Waqif and the Gold Souq, and a waterfront evening at The Pearl or Katara. For a rainy-day or hot-day plan, see our guide to what to do indoors.