Tashkent shops in layers: spice-heavy neighbourhood bazaars, madrasah cells turned woodcarving workshops, ikat ateliers sewing to order, and glass malls with printed prices. Three days move from raw market haggling to signed studio pieces.
Tashkent's most upmarket food bazaar, where the dried-fruit rows glow with apricots, jumbo raisins and walnut-stuffed prunes. Sellers hand out samples freely; the covered halls also stock saffron, zira and hand-pressed sesame oil.
A 19th-century madrasah whose student cells are now workshops: woodcarvers cutting lattice panels, miniaturists painting on silk paper, and suzani embroiderers. You watch the chisels at work, then buy straight from the maker.
A courtyard gallery-shop stocking Uzbek makers only: Rishtan blue-glaze ceramics, Bukhara gold embroidery, chapan coats and adras ikat sold by the metre. Labels name the craftsman and the region, so you know what you are paying for.
A compact neighbourhood market where Korean-Uzbek vendors sell kimchi and marinated salads beside spice mounds, halva slabs and combs of mountain honey. Quieter, cheaper and far less rehearsed than the tourist-facing markets.
Tashkent's glossiest mall: four floors of international chains plus a ground-floor strip of Uzbek labels. Open 10:00–22:00 daily, with a top-floor food court and cinema that make it the easiest wet-weather morning in the city.
The pedestrian stretch running off Amir Temur Square where painters, caricaturists and sellers of Soviet badges and medals set out trestle tables from midday. Canvases of Bukhara doorways and Registan skylines are the staple stock.
An ethical fashion workshop turning hand-woven adras and vintage suzani into modern coats, dresses and bags, all cut and sewn on site by women from the neighbourhood. The cutting room is visible from the shop floor.
The Soviet-era central department store, now cosmetics and electronics below with a souvenir floor above selling karakul hats, chess sets and lacquer boxes at fixed, printed prices. Open until 21:00 most evenings.
A family pottery in the old town where three generations have revived Tashkent-school glazes. One room holds antique pieces as a small museum; the studio beside it sells current work, and a master will throw a bowl while you watch.
The gift shop inside the Polovtsev mansion sells curator-vetted craft: Rishtan ceramics, Khiva woodwork, silk carpets and embroidery. The carved ganch and painted ceilings of the house itself justify the entrance ticket.
Tashkent's sprawling second-hand market: Soviet cameras, enamel pins, samovars, vinyl, radio valves and genuinely old carpets laid out along dusty lanes. Busiest on Saturday and Sunday mornings, thinner midweek.
A restaurant courtyard ringed by craft stalls — puppets, ceramics, miniature painting and suzani — run partly as a support project for local artisans. It stays open late, so it works as a final buy-everything stop.