Tehran shopping runs on two currencies and two speeds: haggled rials in the covered bazaars, fixed prices in glass-fronted northern boutiques. Bring cash — foreign cards do not work anywhere in Iran — and expect tea before any serious carpet negotiation.
The wholesale carpet caravanserai inside the Grand Bazaar, busiest 09:00–13:00 before the afternoon lull. Tabriz, Kashan and Nain pieces are unrolled on the floor; tea arrives before any price does. Closed Fridays.
The hammering alley of the Grand Bazaar where tinned copper samovars, ghalamzani engraved trays and stew pots are still beaten by hand. Prices are by weight, so a heavy tray costs more than a fine one — weigh before you bargain.
The herbalists' lane sells Iranian saffron by the mesghal (4.6 g), dried limes, sumac, barberries and rosewater distilled in Kashan. Sargol grade saffron is all-red threads; anything yellow-streaked is padded stem.
Bolt after bolt of termeh (Yazd brocade), block-printed ghalamkar from Isfahan and machine-loomed silk under the vaulted crossroads. Shopkeepers cut to the metre and will hem a tablecloth while you wait.
North Tehran's glossiest mall on Vali-e Asr's upper reaches, seven floors of Iranian labels, a cinema and a rooftop food court with Alborz views. Opens 10:00, busiest after 19:00 when the whole neighbourhood turns up.
A smaller, sharper mall on Fereshteh Street favoured for contemporary Iranian fashion and eyewear, with café terraces on the ground floor for the mid-shop coffee that Tehranis treat as compulsory.
The gallery strip around Karim Khan Zand and Villa Street sells prints, ceramics and small works by Tehran artists, with openings on Friday afternoons. Assar and Etemad galleries anchor the walk; most shops open 16:00–20:00.
The state handicrafts store carries certified khatam marquetry, Minakari enamel from Isfahan and Zanjan knives at fixed, receipted prices — the useful benchmark before you go back to haggle in the bazaar.
The northern bazaar at the foot of Darband, smaller and friendlier than the Grand Bazaar: pistachios from Rafsanjan, sour cherry lavashak, pickles by the kilo and the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in the middle of it all.
The stretch opposite Tehran University is Iran's publishing spine — hundreds of bookshops and stationers selling Persian miniatures, calligraphy supplies and bilingual editions of Hafez and Rumi.
The downtown antique row near Naser Khosrow: Qajar-era samovars, old photographs, coins, stamps and vinyl in cramped shops that open around 10:00 and shut early. Haggling is expected and export rules bite on genuine antiquities.
The stall run at the start of the Darband hiking trail sells mountain souvenirs — dried mulberries, salted plums, walnut brittle and rosewater — alongside tea houses on the stream. Best at dusk when the trail crowds arrive.