Shopping in Sri Lanka can be great fun as the cities are filled with markets and malls bursting with interesting goods. Popular purchases include clothes, handicrafts, tea and souvenirs.
Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo is an ideal place for shopping where one can see so many different items with the cheapest price. Most malls are more than just shopping destinations. They’ve got huge food, gaming, and entertainment zones as well, offering fun for the whole family.
Here are the best places to go shopping in Sri Lanka.
1. Majestic City- The multi storey Majestic City is an air-conditioned shopping mall that provides maximum and modern conveniences to shopaholics. Offering everything from clothes, electronic items and various handicrafts and furniture items, visitors to Majestic City are sure to find everything that they could possibly seek. It features supermarket on the ground floor, pool hall, a food court and a state-of-the-art cinema which can accommodate up to 450 people.
2. Crescat Boulevard – Crescat Boulevard is one of the finest up market shopping malls in Colombo. The air conditioned Crescat is also popular for its food court with food counters of diverse cuisine. They offer delicious and affordable foods that will truly satisfy everyone’s tastes buds.
3. Liberty Plaza – Liberty Plaza is a multi-storey shopping complex located in Colombo 03; it offers a range of retail stores selling some attractive products at affordable prices. There are also ideal souvenir items found here that will be a perfect gift for your friends and family back home.
4. House of Fashion – House of Fashion is located in Colombo, where the most affordable ready-to-wear clothes are found. There are huge choices for teen clothes and adult clothes that are both casual wear and formal wear. This is a very ideal place for shopaholics for clothes and accessories.
5. The Pettah Market – In Pettah market you will find all kinds of things from fruits to clothes to electronics if you want to buy at wholesale prices. You have to bargain extensively and it is recommended that you take a local you trust along with you. Even if you don’t buy anything, Pettah, or Colombo 11 is an experience in itself being a very typical, busy, loud and crowded oriental market place full of all sorts of odds, ends and junk.
6. Duplication Road, Colombo – Where a vast collection of men’s and women’s clothes are found together with shoes, bags, purses, and even toys are found. There are discounts stores that sell designer items with its very low prices ever!
7. Laksala – A perfect place to buy souvenirs and handicrafts from all over Sri Lanka. Prices are very reasonable and fixed. Laksala is a state corporation under the Ministry of Rural Industries and Self Employment Promotion is set up to preserve and develop traditional skill of the craftsmen. They accept credit cards here making everyone’s shopping very accessible.
8. Odel Department Store– It is a mansion made into a shopping store in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The department store is complete with cafés and bars where shoppers can rest for a while after a whole day of busy shopping. Odel offers an unrivalled choice of fashion and lifestyle products in an ambience that is elegant, cosy, casual and definitely stylish. Odel offers an extensive range of clothes, accessories, bags, perfumes, cosmetics and shoes for the ladies. The gents too have a good selection of branded clothing of shirts, casual wear, sportswear, suits, watches and shoes. There are also special sections for winter clothes and swimwear for children, ladies and gents.
9. Ratnapura – Ratnapura is the best place in Sri Lanka to buy jewels and gem for this place is the gem-mining capital of Sri Lanka. This town has the most well known gem shops in the country. One can also watch how the traditional gem mining and cutting is made. This is definitely a haven for all gem enthusiasts.
10. Sri Lankan Streets – Sri Lankan Streets are probably the easiest way to search for shopping items. City streets are filled with sidewalk vendors selling the items similar to those that are sold in department stores and malls, only the prices outside are extremely more affordable. This is the most practical place to shop for everyone who is on a tight budget but still wants to enjoy shopping in Sri Lanka.
