Urban chic comes to the city thanks to this cutting-edge concept store (which combines a gallery, club, and shop) that stocks Lebanese pop art and menswear from Yoko Devereaux, Arabian-inspired shirts and jewelry from French-Omani label Taalali Oman, and Dubai-based Shirtaholics Anonymous, among others. It's worth popping in if you enjoy obscure music, magazines, books, labels, yearning to be challenged by an art installation, or just roaming in nearby Wafi mall; otherwise it's a bit off the beaten path.

Crammed with jewelry shops, this mall is similar to the gold souk concept but is its 21st-century incarnation; an altogether more genteel, air-conditioned experience, without the mayhem of the city. It's your best bet if you want to find precious or semiprecious stones, more minimalist, Western settings, or if you want anything expertly copied (a picture of the original will do). Don't be afraid to bargain here; cut the asking price by 50 percent and then work (not too far) up to a compromise. Be prepared to shop around, and always ask for the weight of the gold and the carat of the stones to make comparisons easier.

The big malls all have mainly the same stores; the distinguishing factor for most people is proximity. You can easily spend the whole day at the Mall of the Emirates, the largest mall outside the U.S. and certainly the only one with a ski slope bang in the center of it. Flagship stores include Harvey Nichols from the U.K. as well as a mammoth Carrefour (a French supermarket). All the expensive designer stores are positioned around a faux Rodeo Drive–style section (Sheikh Zayed Road, 4th Interchange; 971-4409-9000; www.malloftheemirates.com). BurJuman is a local favorite (although the gridlocked traffic in the area tends to deter tourists) where Arabs flock to splash the cash at high-end stores such as Chanel, Hermès, Christian Dior, and traditional perfumer Ajmal, and to browse in the only Saks Fifth Avenue in Dubai (Trade Centre Rd.; 971-4352-0222; www.burjuman.com). Named after a famed 14th-century Arabian seafarer, Ibn Battuta Mall is divided into themed areas of the world that he visited. It's a bit out of the way and the Mall of the Emirates has taken the wind out of its sails, but it's still a less-frantic alternative, even if the stores are of a slightly lower quality than the others mentioned here (Sheikh Zayed Rd., 6th Interchange; 971-4362-1900; www.ibnbattutamall.com). For those looking to wander somewhere upmarket but compact, The Boulevard at Jumeirah Emirates Towers has everything the discerning shopper would look for on Fifth Avenue. You'll find around 50 outlets, including Boutique 1, the Middle East's answer to Bloomingdale's (Sheikh Zayed Rd., between 1st and 2nd Interchanges; 971-4330-0000; www.jumeirahemiratestowers.com). Those camped across the Creek, Deira-side, are catered for by the City Centre Mall (opposite the Duba Creek and Golf Club; 971-4295-4545). The faux-Italian splendor (and we use the word loosely) of Mercato Mall belongs more in Epcot Center than Jumeirah. Adore or abhor it, it houses the Lebanese chocolatier Patchi, Syed Junaid Alam's traditional Arabic fragrances, and Pride of Kashmir (selling handcrafted carpets, shawls, furniture, and furnishings) alongside mundane Western chain stores, but it works well as a gift pit stop (Jumeirah Beach Rd., near Dubai Zoo; 971-4344-4161; www.mercatoshoppingmall.com).

It might have a smidgen of the atmosphere of the real thing, but this sanitized, artificial souk, the result of a mall/souk pairing, is heaven-sent for the unadventurous. Locals have grudgingly admitted to being addicted to its air-conditioned, wooden-roofed surroundings, and narrow lanes reminiscent of a traditional souk's architecture. There are more than 100 shops, carts, and waterside restaurants in this maze (we guarantee you'll get lost, but it's all within the confines of a five-star resort), which is a beautiful place to stroll at night, when the twinkling lights add extra atmosphere. Prices are hefty, so make sure you bargain. Try the Marina interiors shop, which sells embroidered cushion covers, wooden furniture, and other ethnic knickknacks (971-4368-6050; www.marinagulf.com); Abdul Samad Al Qurashi Arabian perfumes (971-4368-6616); and Gallery One, which stocks local prints, postcards, and limited-edition black-and-white photographs (971-4368-6055; www.g-1.com). You will also find carts lining some of the corridors with sheeshas, mint-tea glasses, perfumed soaps, and beaded jewelry.

Souks are usually open between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., although the most atmospheric time to go is in the early evening. It's possible to visit all the city's old souks in one go: Start off at the Bur Dubai Souk (also known as the Textile Souk), the epicenter of Dubai's shopping history. Unfortunately it is now primarily a 4,300-square-foot tourist haunt with a lot of tat among the treasures. Worth a look if you are after pashminas (depending on quality, prices can be as low as $10 a shawl), caftans (starting at $5 for a basic, nonembroidered one), and cloth. Be sure to visit Aladdin's shoe stall, which sells intricately embroidered Indian-style sequined sandals for around $8 (Al Fahidi St., near the Dubai Museum, Bur Dubai). Then jump on an abra (water taxi) across the Creek to the Spice Souk. Follow your nose down small alleys crammed with aromatic shops displaying chamomile, rose tea, incense, dried fruits, nuts, and every exotic spice you can think of. Fresh vanilla pods and Iranian saffron are a bargain, while the "aphrodisiacs" are amusingly packaged with innuendo-filled misspelled instructions (creekside, near the wind towers, Deira). Venture farther inside and you will find the bling-tastic Gold Souk: Everything that glitters here is most definitely gold…of the 18- to 22-carat variety (Sikkat Al Khali Street, near the St. George Hotel, Deira; 917-4352-6460; www.dubaigoldsouk.com). Like everything in Dubai, it's very organized, with all the shops centering on a main teak-wood-covered pedestrian street. Damas is one of the most reputable stores, although its prices are a bit higher (971-4226-4849; www.damasjewel.com). Ensure you get good value by asking how much the gold costs and then adding on approximately 30 percent for workmanship, which should ensure you don't get ripped off. Investing in gold here is always a good idea, as prices are linked to the world price of gold and fluctuate accordingly (goods aren't marked with a price; instead a calculation will be done when you buy). After bargaining, ask for a further discount if you're paying in cash.