Greatest Shopping Centres In The World

What was once a market in 1154, the site now houses a very contemporary shopping centre. What’s most striking about the centre is the department store, Selfridges, which its exterior is covered in 15,000 shiny aluminium discs. The amount of concrete used to make it is enough to stretch between Birmingham and Oban in Scotland, ten times! As it’s located in the city centre, you have some of the best Birmingham restaurants to eat at after a tough day of shopping. Life’s hard sometimes.

Even the name suggests it deserves its place among the elite of shopping centres. With over 500 stores, 50 restaurants and 7 nightclubs, you could easily spend a whole day here. In fact, if you spent 10 minutes in every store, it would take you longer than 86 hours! You could fit 7 Yankee Stadiums inside too. It even has enough space for an aquarium! Split into 4 zones, each has it's own decoration. Something else that is unique to this shopping centre is the Nickelodeon Universe theme park - it's the largest indoor of it's kind. 

Dubai is undergoing a transition of mammoth proportions, so naturally they need a massive shopping centre to go with the redevelopment. It’s the world’s largest shopping centre based on total area which includes 1,200 shops (fitting 50 football pitches inside comfortably). It initially opened with 635 retailers - making it the biggest shopping centre opening ever. It's one of the most visited shopping centres in the world. It too has an aquarium, but also an underwater zoo. You would be so tired after visiting! No worries, there are 250 luxury hotel rooms where you can rest up.

The Grand Canal Shoppes may not be the biggest shopping centre like the others on this list, but it has a very unique feature – a canal! While the retail shops may be a little out of most people’s price range, a ride on the gondola down the canal is worth the trip! Yes, you read that right. It's like a little Venice, full of performers to go with it. Opera singers dance and sing on stilts while you stroll down the 'streets'. The shops have a facade of the streets to resemble the romantic city - the ceiling is also painted to look like the sky.

As the largest shopping centre in North America, it also has the World’s largest indoor amusement park. The entertainment doesn’t stop there: it's home to the largest indoor wave pool; an underwater aquarium; an ice rink; 3D theatres and mini golf. Phew! Is it a shopping centre with a theme park, or a theme park with a shopping centre? Either way, it seems like the ultimate haven for entertainment.

Do you have any shopping centres that should be included on the list? Tell us in the comments section below!