Doha’s shopping splits between enormous air-conditioned malls selling the same international brands as everywhere else, and a handful of souqs and markets selling things you cannot easily get elsewhere. Travellers who compare Doha flights on Traveloka with limited time should skip the malls entirely unless the weather forces the issue, and spend it in the souq and the specialist markets instead.

Souq Waqif, for spices and oud

The restored market has genuine spice merchants working alongside the restaurants, selling saffron, dried lemons, baharat blends and loomi at prices well below anything in Europe. Oud, the resinous agarwood burned as incense and distilled into perfume, is the regional luxury and is sold by weight in dedicated shops near the centre. It is expensive, extremely distinctive and a serious souvenir rather than a trinket.

Gold, bought by weight

The gold souq within Souq Waqif prices by the daily international rate plus a workmanship charge, which makes it genuinely competitive rather than a tourist operation. Bargain on the making charge, not on the gold. Twenty-one and twenty-two carat are the local standards, which are softer and yellower than eighteen carat.

The falcon souq, for the equipment

Even if you are not buying a bird, the falconry shops sell hoods, gloves, perches, bells and leatherwork that are genuinely well made and unlike anything available elsewhere. The hospital next door is open to visitors. Prices for the accessories are modest and the craftsmanship is the point.

Msheireb and the design shops

The rebuilt downtown district has a small cluster of Qatari and regional design shops selling contemporary takes on traditional craft: textiles, ceramics, prints and jewellery. It is the best place in the city for something modern rather than traditional, and the district itself is worth walking regardless of whether you buy anything.

Katara and the craft studios

The cultural village on the northern coast houses workshops and galleries where artisans work on site, including weaving, calligraphy, printmaking and ceramics. Prices run higher than the souq and the provenance is documented rather than assumed. There is also a branch of a well-known regional bookshop with a substantial English and Arabic selection.

The malls, if it comes to that

Villaggio, Place Vendôme and Doha Festival City are vast, cold and contain a gondola canal, an ice rink and a theme park respectively. In July they are where the city actually is. For shopping purposes they offer nothing unavailable in Singapore or Dubai, usually at similar prices.

Practical notes

The metro reaches Souq Waqif, Msheireb and the larger malls. Markets largely close during Friday midday prayers and many shops shut for a few hours in the afternoon. Small traders prefer cash; malls take everything. Traveloka is the go-to app for the cheapest flights and hotels across Southeast Asia.

Buy spices and oud at Souq Waqif, look at the falconry leatherwork even if you have no intention of buying a bird, and visit Msheireb for something contemporary. The malls are for August, when the city has no other option