Top 10 Shopping Malls
What comes first to your mind when you hear the term «big city life»? Definitely there are several words but one of the most important is – shopping mall. Why shopping centers? Because they contain everything a person needs: restaurants, shops, cinemas, spa, gym, cafes etc. So you don’t have to go to each place separately as you can satisfy your necessity in one venue. Almaty has many shopping malls. However, not all of them are convenient for spending time and hanging out. Further you will be introduced to top 10 best shopping malls of Almaty city.
1. Esentai Mall
Esentai Mall is one of the unique places in Almaty, which was designed and developed to create a special atmosphere and conditions for shopping and entertainment. Here you can find a fitness club and spa, children's entertainment areas, and all these in easy access, both for transport and for pedestrians. Moreover, it also has The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Esentai Apartments with the greenest park nearby, as well as the Esentai Square pedestrian walkway. The shopping center consists of 6 floors, more than 100 luxury shops, 14 places for repast such as Korean House Restaurant, EAST, Esentai Gourmet Bar, Fellini Grill Pasta Bar, OZYURT, PAUL Café, SUSHI`N`ROLL etc. The venue is perfect both for kids and adults as it has various entertainments: Esentai Gallery - contributes to the development of the art market in Kazakhstan by organizing exhibitions of contemporary European and Kazakhstani artists, conducting lecture courses on the history of art and music, seminars for novice collectors and everyone interested in contemporary art; NEXT Esentai is the largest entertainment center, which is ideal for family leisure.
2. Dostyk Plaza
One of the must-see places in the country`s largest metropolis is definitely Dostyk Plaza. If you are a connoisseur of the high level of service and good interior then this mall welcomes you. The guests can enjoy their pastime by doing various types of entertainments such as shopping, watching movies, playing with kids in the playground, having meal etc. Moreover, the location is perfect for people to visit this mall as it`s right in the city center. It consists of 4 floors which have brand-name stores & an up-to-date look, plus a cinema & food court.
3. Mega Alma-Ata
Even though there are many shopping malls in Almaty city, Mega Alma-Ata is one of the oldest but the most visited and popular one. The shopping center’s site is number one for most of the world-famous companies represented in Kazakhstan. Worldwide popular brands such as ZARA, New Yorker, Armani Jeans, Marc O’Polo, Monsoon Accessorize, Baldinini, Starbucks, Burger King, KFC, Hardee’s and many others opened their first stores in Mega Alma-Ata. Except shopping stores, Mega Alma-Ata attracts people with its various art-objects such as lamp «The Sun», the 12-meter long “Wish Tree” apple tree made by the British company Scott Lighting, famous painter Marat Bekeev`s paintings, etc. The venue also marvels with the gallery of restaurants on the 3rd floor which has eating places like Crudo, SADU, ASSORTI Kazan, «Ресторанный дворик», and Korean House and «ВьетКафе». Ferris wheel, one of the highest in the city, also attracts visitors of the city which was built by Technical Park (Italy), a world leader in the production of attractions.
4. Mega Park
The name of this mall says to itself that it is the place of trees and greenery. In the territory of Mega Park there were planted about 700 trees and shrubs. Although it was opened only in 2014, the center always attracts Almaty residents and tourists. The difference between the infrastructure of this shopping center and the others is that it has a huge playground that was built for both children and adults. There are various facilities such as fields for mini-football (in winter – an ice rink) and basketball; Street Workout and Crossfit courts; playgrounds for children 2–6 years old and 6–12 years old; French carousel Rope Park; climbing wall and Treadmill.
5. Colibri
From the beginning, this mall was planned to be extraordinary and unique urban environment. Many of the stores represented in Collibri are exclusive. Specialists from all over Europe were invited to build and make a good interior for this shopping center: the decorator Ann-Charlotte Arnold (France) worked on the boutique windows; Mohammed Adib and Maria Escale (Spain) were invited to decorate the grocery store, and the entourage Cream Brule Gelato was the work of Italian Giovanni Gasta. All these work of the real professionals make this mall attractive and unusual. The ranges of presented facilities are very wide: more than 100 chic and fashionable stores, Cream Brule pastry and Barmaglot Bar, wine store Goodwine and several playgrounds for kids.
6. Moskva Metropolitan
It`s worth recognizing that numerous malls are situated in the downtown and it is not always comfortable for people who live in the countryside. However, Moskva Metropolitan is exactly that shopping center which is perfectly located for suburban residents. Despite the short period of existence, the infrastructure of this place is an integral part of the city. There are about 100 boutiques, a big cinema, 3 playgrounds for kids and food court with good restaurants. On top of that, on the center square there has recently been opened an ice rink and in winter time the atmosphere there is incredibly amazing.
7. Atakent Mall
It’s agreeable that location of the mall is a very important feature and Atakent Mall was built following that trait. This area is well known for its high-quality shops and restaurants. The neighborhood has the biggest university in Almaty – Kazakh National University, the greenest and most visited park – Atakent Park and many other necessary buildings. As it is near the university, many constructions were special built for students: gym, cafes with reasonable prices, cell phones` boutique «Student» etc.
8. Globus
Almaty is sometimes called as the city of knowledge and the number of students and universities here are high, respectively. That’s why many of the malls are next to the educational institutions or dormitories. With no doubts, Globus is the place in a perfect area for students as there are over three universities and two dormitories. Even though, the variety of facilities is not big but the quality of each is high enough. For instance, one of the best restaurants Tubeteika in Almaty has its branch in Globus, and visitors of the mall can enjoy their meal in this place. Moreover, a lot of business centers are located in this area and it is very convenient for employees at lunch time to come to Globus. Last but not least fact is that there are several fashionable shops, beauty salons, ATMs, dance studio and other necessary facilities.
9. Forum
The largest shopping and entertainment center of the latest generation, with a total area of over 155,000 sq.m. and five floors. Despite the very short period of the mall’s existence, it has every prospect to become a popular meeting and shopping place among Almaty residents and visitors. The infrastructure of Forum is not that good, but it is expected to be one of the best venues in Almaty city soon. A key advantage of Forum is its location. The center is at the intersection of the central streets of the city, within walking distance from major business centers (Nurly-Tau, AFD), hotels, the largest universities KazNU and KazNTU, residential complexes Keremet and AFD Plaza. All of these amenities make this place very comfortable where you can not only find stores of your favorite brands but also arrange a business meeting, gather with friends in a bar or restaurant, spend a weekend with your family and just relax in comfort.
10. ADK
ADK is the place where you can not only make a lot of useful and pleasant purchases but also provide yourself with leisure. At your service there are 6 – rooms of Chaplin Cinema, Kinderville Children’s Amusement Park and Savanka Children’s Town, grocery store A-Store and many eating places such as Pinta, KFC, Burger King, etc. As the mall is in the commuter town, there are a lot of residential complexes. Thus it’s very comfortable for residents of the area.
