Dubai Shopping Festival: Get Ready To Stroll, Splurge, And Shop!

To get a taste of old Dubai and to enjoy the Dubai Shopping Festival in its full glory you must visit the Al Fahidi souk. This restored heritage area is filled with labyrinthine lanes, but stuns you as a bazaar selling everything from fancy accessories to jewelry, Indian clothing, and electronic gadgets.

Al Fahidi Street is the best place to shop for cameras, laptops, and cellphones at the lowest prices. You can also shop for home appliances like washing machines, refrigerators, and ovens.

-Location: Situated along the Dubai Creek, in Bur Dubai

-Timings: 
Saturday to Thursday 10:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Friday 16:00 PM – 12:00 AM 

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The Dubai Shopping Festival experience is kind of incomplete if you do not shop from the Gold souk. Located in the Deira area, the Gold Souk is a maze of walkways covered with glittering shops selling stunning gold jewelry. Apart from the intricate gold jewelry you can shop for precious stones like diamonds, emeralds, and rubies.

A major highlight of the Gold Souk is that it also lets you shop for shisha pipes, henna kits, saffron, and incense burners. The stores here have rugs, artifacts, textile items, and traditional herbs to beckon your attention.

-Location: Gold Corner Building, 3rd Floor - Gold Souq - Deira - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
-Timings: Monday to Sunday: 9:30 AM-9:30 PM, Fridays: 4:00 PM-9:30 PM

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When you are in the Deira Islands, you are in the biggest retail district that comes alive during the Dubai Shopping Festival. In the biggest night market, you can spend hours shopping for spices, souvenirs, lanterns and rugs

If you do not end up buying anything, the night bazaar will leave you amazed with its wide range of gold necklaces, gemstones, gold biscuits, Arabian coffee pots, and branded apparels.

-Location: Unnamed Road - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
-Timings: 10 AM to 10 PM (Saturday to Thursday) and 4 PM to 10 PM on Fridays

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The Promenade at the Dubai Festival City Mall is a visual treat. You must visit it during the Dubai Shopping Festival because there are a gazillion chic restaurants waiting to serve you fabulous food and perfect views. The water and fire theme presented through the laser light show is a major highlight of the Promenade.

You can come here to shop from the IKEA store, and other popular labels like ACE for hardware stuff, Marks and Spencer for clothes, and have a fun evening at the Hard Rock Café.

-Location: Crescent Dr - Dubai Festival City - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
-Timings: Monday-Sunday 10 AM – 11 PM

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Located in the city's Deira side, Al Rigga is home to Dubai’s first mall and the first branch of McDonalds. Today this Dubai locality is home to some of the well-known hotels and Aswaaq which is a luxury supermarket.

During the Dubai Shopping Festival, you can come to Al Rigga Street to book your discounted stays in either the Versailles Hotel or Radisson Blu and shop for fresh fruits, fish, and veggies. If you feel exhausted with all the shopping, grab a quick bite from any of the restaurants or shops lining the pedestrian walkways.

Location: Deira, Dubai, UAE

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The Mall of the Emirates is one of Dubai’s largest malls, that is spread across 233,467 square meters. While being the city’s structural pride, the mall is home to as many as 630 brands that have their retail stores here. With over 100 restaurants and cafes serving delicious snacks and meals, you can experience the richness and culture of Dubai right here.

It looks like a luxurious grand palace which you can explore during the Dubai Shopping Festival, shop for electronics, home furnishing, fashion and lifestyle items. Apart from shopping you can also have a whale of a time at the recreational spots namely –Ski Dubai, Magic Planet, Go Sports Mega Store, and Astro Blasters. 

-Location: Sheik Zayed Rd - Al Barsha - Al Barsha 1 - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
-Timings: Monday-Sunday 10 AM – 10 PM/12 AM

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Located in the heart of the Palm Jumeirah, the Nakheel Mall is home to over 300 entertainment outlets, restaurants, and shops. There is a 15-screen cinema complex even besides other attractions across its five floors. The fashion meets food retail destination presents an extensive collection of experiences and brands.

During the Dubai Shopping Festival, you can come here to shop for a fancy range of tailored dishes, Dubai food items, and organic crops; besides casual clothing items athletic wear, sport-chic collections, and budget-friendly accessories. It is recommended you must shop for jewelry and pashmina shawls from the Nakheel Mall.

-Location: Center of Palm - Al Hilali - The Palm Jumeirah - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
-Timings: Monday-Sunday 10 AM – 10 PM/12 AM

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One of the most convenient places to visit during the Dubai Shopping Festival is the Lulu Village which offers practically everything in just one place. This place is a shopper’s paradise by all means as the hypermarket primarily focuses on selling everything from garments to electronics, and groceries.

If excess shopping exhausts you, you can simply sit at a coffee shop and order something to eat from the restaurants.

-Location: 4 Amman St - Muhaisnah - Muhaisnah 4 - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
-Timings: Monday-Sunday 7 AM –12 AM

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The Dubai Waterfront, also called the waterfront, is a must-visit place during the Dubai Shopping Festival. There is an Old European style shopping mall that offers designer wear at inexpensive rates. Apart from apparel you can shop for gift items here.

Situated 2 kilometers away from the Waterfront, you have the Lux Crawl where you can have a sumptuous dinner, drinks and a fancy limousine ride. The Waterfront is also a great place to shop for the choicest meats, apparel, trinkets, green veggies and fresh fruits.

-Location: Deira Enrichment Project - Al Khaleej Road - Deira - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
-Timings: Open 24 hours

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For a relaxed shopping experience during the Dubai Shopping Festival, you must come to the Dubai Outlet Mall. It has over 240 stores where you can shop for apparel high-end brands like Burberry, Roberto Cavalli, accessories or shoes from Aldo, Cole Haan, and Baldini Coach; but if you want to shop for first-rate sportswear, you can head to the Nike and Adidas stores.

Dubai Outlet Mall is known to offer spectacular discounts and deals thus you can get extremely lucky to fill your bags with the latest clothes in trendy designs.

-Location: Route 66 - Al Ain - Dubai Road - Dubai Outlet Mall - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
-Timings: Monday-Sunday 10 AM –10 PM/12 AM

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During the Dubai Shopping Festival, the Global Village is one iconic place that you must go to. It is not just one of the top attractions but is a one-stop shop for dining, shopping, and entertainment. Here you will find each pavilion representing a nation and each of them sell the unique goods of that specific country.

You can never return empty-handed from the global village as there are over thousands of retail outlets. You can shop for everything from antiques to scarves, perfumes, and saffron from the pavilions.

-Location: Sheik Mohamed Bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road - Exit 37 - E311 - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
-Timings: 4 PM – 1 AM

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If you want to witness the best of dining, entertainment and shopping, you must come to the Dubai Festival City Mall during the Dubai Shopping Festival that hosts numerous live concerts. The opening DSF night last year brought together two of the best loved stars from the Arab music industry.

You can get ready for such hot-ticket outstanding performances by star duos namely Balqees Fathi, and Mohamed Hamaki. It literally feels surreal listening to soul-stirring songs with the breathtaking Burj Khalifa at the backdrop, and the singers constantly belting out their favorites

-Location: Dubai Festival City
-Timings: 10 AM – 12 AM

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To witness a dazzling fireworks display every night of the Dubai Shopping Festival you must come to the Dubai Festival City Mall. It feels magical to view the spectacular pyrotechnics illuminating the total Dubai Creek. More shows follow every week of the festival in the Mall in Al Seef.

You can simply grab a table at any of the waterfront restaurants to watch the fireworks. There are a plethora of vantage points that these waterfront restaurants offer, so watch the skies light up.

-Location: Dubai Festival City Mall
-Timings: 10 AM – 12 AM

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If you want to have a lot of festive fun, great food, and shopping, then you must come to the Etisalat Market OTB during the Dubai Shopping Festival. Every year the DSF kickstarts with massive fanfare so much so that the fun quotient increases exponentially. On the second day itself, the pop music fans, foodies and shoppers enjoy a crowing line-up of live concerts.

There is high-octane entertainment, and delicious street food stalls amidst pulsating festive cheer, at the Etisalat Market OTB. This year, there would be a special BTS day that you would not want to miss, and the weekends are packed with music, K-pop dance shows, besides there would be games for the Squid Games fans.

-Location: Burj Park
-Timings: Saturday-Sunday 10 AM – 12 AM, Monday to Sunday 4- 11 PM

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The Dubai Shopping Festival Drone Light Show is back by popular demand. It will be held at the Bluewaters and the Beach right opposite JBR. It is going to be the season’s highlight as you catch live shows, and be dazzled by a display of bright sights and colors against a splendid coastline backdrop.

Thousands of visitors muster to witness the ravishing choreography that tells the tale of UAE’s past, and incorporates the ingenious AR elements. It runs daily between 7 PM to 9:30 PM and is the longest running show in the Middle East.

-Location: Jumeirah Beach Residence - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
-Timings: 7 PM – 9: 30 PM

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If you have been eyeing designer clothes for some time, make the most of the DSF and head to the listed malls and shop for your favorite brands.

The DSF will turn your heads with all the heart-stopping deals on Prada, Burberry, Bebe, Armani, Verri, Christian Louboutin, BOGGI, Jack & Jones. This fest has almost everything you ever desired in your wardrobe

-Where to Buy: Mall of Emirates, Dubai Outlet Mall, Dubai Festival City Mall

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In the city of Gold, you cannot forget to buy gold. Cheap prices, purity, and intricate designs are some reasons as to why the Dubai Shopping Festival is the best opportunity to indulge in some gold shopping.

From modern art to contemporary designs, the jewelry will meet all your needs. Besides gold jewelry you can also shop for precious metal, stone, and diamond jewelry.

-Where to Buy: Dubai Gold Souk, Gold and Diamond Park, Joyalukkas outlets, jewelry stores

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If you are not sure of where to purchase cosmetics from during the Dubai Shopping Festival, you can head to the Ibn Battuta Mall. From popular foreign brands including Sephora to other cosmetic shops, that let you enhance your features. You can fill your bags with fragrant perfumes, and cosmetics from the Body Shop, Lush, Bath & Body works, and Arabian Oud stores.

From the Mall of Emirates you can shop for the traditional Arabic scents, besides skincare, make-up, and fragrances from Cartier, Yves St. Laurent, and Jo Malone.

-Where to Buy: Burberry, Chanel, De Beers, and Bvalgari stores in Mall of Emirates, and Dubai Outlet Mall 

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Do you fancy watches studded with diamonds? At the Dubai shopping Festival you can surely pick one from your well-loved collection. Burberry, ICW, Michael Kors, Rado, Cartier, you name it! The watches from any of these brands can be purchased at reduced prices post heavy discounts.

Where to Buy: Mall of Emirates, Dubai Outlet Mall, Dubai Festival City Mall, Ibn Battuta Mall 

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If you are in Dubai during the DSF, head straight to the Carpet Oasis to shop for tons of vibrant carpets for your floor. But, if you would like to pick other items of home décor like chandeliers, wall clocks, vases, or antique wood items,

you can head to any of the malls and enjoy a whopping 50-75% discount on each.

Where to Buy: Mall of Emirates, Dubai Outlet Mall, Dubai Festival City Mall, Global Village, Dubai Mall

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Dubai is a city free from taxes hence you can shop for gadgets duty-free from the country. Fulfill your gadget cravings by shopping from the best brands and their latest models at dirt cheap prices. Be it Fujitsu, Acer, Cross Gold, Vertu, Bose Sony or Apple,

you will indeed have a time deciding on what to buy eventually!

Where to Buy: Mall of Emirates, Dubai Outlet Mall, Dubai Festival City Mall, Global Village, Dubai Mall, Al-Fahidi Street in Bur Dubai area, Sharaf DG store

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