Tourist Attractions

Villagio

Distance from HIA: ~30-35 minutes

Open Hours: Sunday – Wednesday – 9am-10pm, Thursday & Saturday – 9am-11pm, Friday – 1pm-11pm

Villaggio is one of Qatar’s largest malls with over 220 stores including a large food court with a variety of restaurants and cafés serving different cuisines. There is also Via Domo, a special section for luxury brands. The mall is themed to resemble the city of Venice, completed with a 150-metre long canal and a gondola boat ride. A 13-screen IMAX cinema shows movies in 3D. Gondolania, a theme park for kids offers rides and games for children of all ages along with an ice rink and Qatar’s first 4D theatre. French grocery store chain, Carrefour maintains a presence here too.

The Mall

Distance from HIA: 22 minutes

Open Hours: Saturday – Thursday – 10am-10pm, Friday – 4pm-10pm

The Mall was the very first mall to open doors in Qatar in 1998. Since then this mall has expanded considerably. It currently has two levels with 74 stores. A three-screen cinema, restaurants such as Opera Café, Biella, Chili’s etc., a play area for kids, and many stand-alone kiosks are the prominent features of this mall.

City Center Doha

Distance to HIA: ~18-22 minutes

Open Hours: Saturday – Wednesday – 10am-10pm, Thursday – 10am-midnight, Friday – 3pm-midnight

With five levels and over 370 stores, City Center is Doha’s largest mall. 2,000 parking spaces are available in its large basement parking facility. The mall’s location in West Bay along with its proximity to the Corniche and many commercial buildings in the area attract the office crowd around the area to its food court and other restaurants. The mall offers almost everything that people might require – laundry services, an express photo studio, a grocery store in the form of Carrefour, an ice skating rink, banking services, currency exchange services, a 14-screen cinema, kiosks providing government services as well as global gymnasium chain Fitness First. The only drawback is that parking is not free, however shopping at some of the stores or watching a movie may entitle visitors to free or discounted parking depending on the amount spent.

Landmark Mall

Distance from HIA: ~24-30 minutes

Open Hours: Saturday-Wednesday – 9am-10pm, Thursday – 9am-11pm, Friday – 1.30pm-11pm

One of the next busiest malls after City Center and Villaggio, Landmark is built in the style of a Qatari castle. With many large international stores such as Marks & Spencer, BHS, Carrefour, Zara, H&M, and Virgin Megastore, the mall also has a large food court, a three-screen cinema as well as CircusLand, a play area for kids, and hairdressers for kids & men. There are also many other restaurants that serve a variety of cuisines ranging from global fast food chains to independent local restaurants. Maya La Chocolaterie, Wafi Gourmet (Lebanese cuisine), Pizza Express and TGIFriday’s offer some of the dining options.

Royal Plaza

Distance from HIA: ~20-26 minutes

Open Hours: Saturday-Thursday - 9am-10pm, Friday – 3.30pm – 11pm

Located in the heart of Al Sadd, one of Doha’s liveliest and busiest areas, Royal Plaza Mall offers its patrons not just a variety of shopping options in the form of 101 boutiques and kiosks, but also an interesting cinema theater with 1920s-inspire three screen movie theatre. The mall ensures care for all of its visitors, including visitors with disabilities whom it refers to as its ‘Royal Customers’. They can call ahead to arrange with the concierge for special facilities in the restroom as well as wheelchairs on arrival. Ray’s Reef, an underwater-themed play area offers children between the ages of 6 months and 14 years a unique experience.

Royal Plaza’s The Violet Room also offers a mini banquet space for upto 100 people, with stage and projection equipment available. Most stores at this mall are unique to the mall with the exception of a few names such as Pari Gallery and Ali Bin Ali Jewellery. The only drawback is that the dining options here are very few; the food court offers very limited and may not be suitable for people looking for healthy dining.

Centrepoint (Al Asmakh Mall)

Distance from HIA: ~22-23 minutes

Open Hours : Saturday-Wednesday 10am-10pm, Thursday 10am-11pm, Friday 1pm-11pm

Centrepoint Mall mainly depends on its anchor tenants City Lifestyle, E-Max, Splash, babyshop, and Shoe mart as well as a number of other stores. Visitors can enjoy the streetside café-style alfresco seating in addition to indoor seating at Costa Coffee on the mall’s lowest level during the cooler months of the year. The mall seems to place a greater emphasis on the shopping options than the food options as only a few fast food outlets serve the mall visitors. No dine-in restaurants are present.

The Gate Mall

Distance from HIA: 21-23 minutes

Open Hours : Saturday-Thursday – 10am-10pm, Friday – 3pm-10pm

Dubbed as ‘Qatar’s Ultimate Fashion and Lifestyle Destination’, the Gate Mall offers a shopping experience for those seeking upscale brands and products. Over 30 luxury brands including international designer brands such as Temperley London, Elie Tahari, Matthew Williamson, and Paul Smith are housed at the mall that are completed by excellent F&B outlets such as Vapiano, jones the grocer, MBCo., and Farggi offering unique dining experiences. Salam Stores is the mall’s anchor tenant, which is also one of Qatar’s earliest department stores offering a wide range of international fashion designer brands.  

Lagoona Mall

Distance from HIA: ~27 minutes
Open Hours : Saturday-Wednesday – 10am-10pm, Thursday – 10am-midnight, Friday – 2pm-midnight

Lagoona Mall is an elegant boutique mall located in close proximity to hotels such as Ritz Carlton and Grand Hyatt Doha. Its offerings comprise of a careful selection of lifestyle stores. Sixteen internationally renowned restaurants including Wagamama, Outback Steakhouse, Saladbar – Green is Better, Sugar n Spice, and Marrakesh are part of this mall, in addition to some classic Doha favourites such as Paul. Other international and regional brand names such as Bang & Olufsen, Pandora, Bose, iSpace (retailer of Apple products in Qatar), and US Polo Association are also housed here.

Al Khor Mall

Distance from HIA: ~1 hour

Open Hours : Sunday-Wednesday - 10am-10pm, Thursday & Saturday – 10am-11pm, Friday - 2pm-11pm

Al Khor Mall punctuates the town of Al Khor as it stands tall with its Arabian palace-inspired minaret. With more than 100 retail outlets on two levels, the mall is one of the only prominent shopping destinations in its area. It keeps in line with its Arabian palace theme with stores such as Arabesque offering ice cream, chocolates, and cakes from the Gulf region. A Lulu Hypermarket also calls the mall home, however here it occupies two levels. A canopied food court with cozy seating and a cinema are also some of the prominent features of this mall.

Hyatt Plaza

Distance from HIA: ~31-35 minutes

Open Hours : Saturday – Wednesday – 10am-10pm, Thursday – 10am-11pm, Friday – 2pm-11pm

This single-level mall has approximately 74 retail outlets and 20 kiosks. It is the oldest mall in the area and has a large shopping cart at its entrance. After going through multiple facelifts, Hyatt Plaza currently has a Johnny Rockets with outdoor seating for those who like dining alfresco. In addition to this, other stores such as Highland, The Body Shop, Daiso, Mr. Price etc. are among the most visited stores in the mall. Jungle Zone, an indoor theme park for kids, is popular among kids and their parents. A short walk from Jungle Zone is the mall’s large food court with a wide selection of food options to choose from.

Ezdan Mall

Distance from HIA: ~27-31 minutes
This is the latest addition to Qatar’s existing mallscape. It brings many new global favourite stores to Qatar such as Aeropostale, WH Smith Books, Canadian coffee shop Tim Horton’s as well as many entertainment options for kids. Although the mall is currently operational, most stores are set to officially open in May 2013.

Parco Mall

Distance from HIA: ~21-23 minutes
Open Hours : Saturday-Thursday – 10am-midnight, Friday – 2pm-midnight
This is perhaps Qatar’s smallest mall. Stores here are mostly service-oriented and do not feature any brand names. These include a perfume store, a travel agency, pharmacy, and a beauty salon. The anchor tenant, Food World, is mall’s most prominent store.

Wathnan Mall

Distance from HIA : ~30 minutes
Open Hours : daily – 6am-3pm (open to everyone), 3pm-midnight (families only), Friday – 6-11am/12.30pm-midnight

Wathnan Mall emphasizes heavily on family values and keeps in line with Islamic values. The three levels of this mall comprise of its anchor tenants Masskar Hypermarket, Zarabi Department Store, as well as 73 other retail outlets as well as 9 food outlets including restaurants, coffee shops and a juice stall. This child-friendly mall offers extensive activities for kids through Entertainment City and a hairdressing salon. Open and sheltered parking for 600 vehicles with a car wash facility are also available.

The Centre

Distance from HIA: ~ 16-20 minutes
Open Hours : Saturday – Thursday – 10am-10pm, Friday – 4pm-10pm

This is Qatar’s oldest department store. It is home to many exclusive and non-exclusive brands such as Ettisal phones, Fabindia, Clarks, Scholl shoes, Brands menswear, Al Jaber Opticians, and 4U perfumes and cosmetics. A 24-hour Costa Coffee as well as other food outlets such as Thai Corner and a shawarma stall are located nearby. Around The Centre, there are also other outlets offering other services such as Radisson Blu laundry services, Pinkies nail bar, Artech, Baskin Robbins, Etihad Airways and Techno Blue (Samsung). Mega Mart, the grocery store at The Centre stocks mostly food and household products imported from the UK and North America.

Emporium

Distance from HIA : ~19-22 minutes

Open Hours : Saturday-Thursday – 10am-1pm/4.30pm-10pm, Friday – 4.30pm-10pm

This shopping centre houses a selection of high fashion and exclusive brands such as Kenzo, MaxMara, Betty Barclay, and Ciel (featuring eco-friendly clothing and accessories from Love Moschino and M Missoni) on two levels. It is not as large as most malls and does not have any food outlets, but is located right next to a Chili’s outlet as well as a number of other restaurants, coffee shops and fast food outlets.

Safari Mall

Distance from HIA : ~25-30 minutes
Open Hours : daily 8.30am-midnight

Safari Mall is eponymous with its two anchor tenants, Safari Hypermarket and Safari department store. While Safari Hypermarket is located on the lower level, Safari department store is located on the second level. Other smaller services through shops and kiosks are offered here too. These include Al Sulaiman Jewellery, Giordano as well as other smaller accessories stores, currency exchange desks, ATMs, a florist and the like.

The Pearl – Qatar

Distance from HIA : ~28-30 minutes
The Pearl is home to a number of luxury and upscale designer brand boutiques. Specializing in a variety of high-end brand boutiques such as Alexander McQueen, Roberto Cavalli, Diptyque, Alfardan Jewellery, Chloe, Bottega Veneta, Charriol, Stella McCartney as well as many others. There are a few boutiques by independent designers as well such as The Vanity Room. In addition to shopping, the Pearl also offers a plethora of dining options with a number of cuisines including Indian, Mexican, Italian, French, American etc.