Tabriz has traded for 3,000 years, and it still shows: 5,500 shops of carpet, gold, copper and spice under brick vaults, plus modern malls on Valiasr. This guide walks the bazaar's specialist timches, then the design streets, then the villages that supply the souvenirs.
The 1868 domed carpet hall is the bazaar's trading heart — some 100 dealers under a brick cupola. Silk-on-silk Tabriz rugs run 60–120 raj (knot density); expect 80,000,000–600,000,000 IRR for a 2x3 m piece, kilims from 12,000,000 IRR. Open Sat–Thu 09:00–18:00, closed Friday.
A hammering corridor of workshops where smiths still tin-line pots by hand. Buy engraved qalamzani trays, samovars and ghalyan bowls priced by weight — roughly 900,000–1,400,000 IRR per kilo, so a small tray lands near 1,500,000 IRR. Most stalls work 09:00–17:00.
Amir Bazaar is the gold and silver wing, but its flanking herb lanes sell Azerbaijani saffron, sumac, dried barberry and Khoy walnut halva. Saffron is sold in 1 g and 4.6 g mesghal boxes, roughly 900,000 IRR per 4.6 g for grade-one negin threads.
Tabriz is Iran's nougat and pastry capital; the shops along Nobar Street box up gaz with pistachio, ghorabiye biscuits from Tabriz and eriseh sweets. Sold by weight in 500 g and 1 kg gift tins, typically 700,000–1,600,000 IRR per kilo, open until 22:00.
Tabriz's flagship mall on Ostad Shahriar Blvd: seven levels of Iranian and licensed international labels, plus a hypermarket and cinema. Local brands like Hakoopian tailoring and Chartar leather sit alongside a food court; open daily 10:00–23:00, free parking underground.
The city's modern retail spine south of the river, lined with independent fashion boutiques, eyewear and sneaker shops, and cafés between Toranj and Golgasht junctions. Window prices are fixed here, unlike the bazaar — useful for benchmarking before you bargain elsewhere.
The provincial crafts bureau's fixed-price showroom stocks certified work from registered artisans: Osku silk fabric, Marand pottery, khatam inlay, felted namad rugs and verni flat-weaves. Prices are tagged and receipts double as export paperwork. Sat–Wed 08:00–15:00.
The retail cluster ringing the lake district mixes homeware showrooms, children's brands and Azerbaijani sweet shops, busiest after sunset when families arrive. A good place for gift-grade packaged goods — nuts, tea, rosewater — without bazaar haggling.
The Qajar-era vaulted hall inside Amir Bazaar holds Tabriz's goldsmiths, working 18-karat by the gram at the daily posted rate plus an ojrat (making fee) of 7–15 percent. Filigree silver and turquoise-set rings are the local specialty. Sat–Thu 09:30–17:30.
The rock-cut village 50 km southwest of Tabriz sells what its households make: mountain honey, dried herbs, hand-knitted wool socks (jourab) and small clay pieces from stalls along the stream path. Shared taxis from Tabriz's Motahari terminal cost about 400,000 IRR each way.
On the road back, Osku is the province's silk-weaving town, where looms produce scarves and shawls sold direct from workshop fronts, alongside pressed-wool namad mats. Silk scarves run 2,000,000–7,000,000 IRR; a felted namad rug starts near 3,500,000 IRR.
Tabriz's covered pedestrian passage off Tarbiat holds antiquarian booksellers, stamp and coin dealers, old-poster stalls and stationery shops — the lightest souvenirs in the city and the least touristed. Most trade 10:00–20:00, closed Friday morning.