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Mumbai is the city that never sleeps - with a night life that is only limited by the imagination of the visitor: night clubs, discotheques, world-class restaurants, cinemas and pubs leave no doubt in the minds of visitors that this is very much a city riding high on the cosmopolitan wave.
Mumbai is also a city that is blessed with historic highlights befitting of a city whose origins stretch back to ancient times. Here visitors will find ancient places of worship and British colonial architecture combining effortlessly to create an ambience that is as unique as it is charming. The major attractions include Gateway of India a 262 ft high gateway of overlooking the sea, Rajabai Clock Tower, Hanging Gardens, the Aquarium and Marine Drive.
Gate way of India, Mumbai
The Gateway of India is one of the most iconic structures in India. This 26 metre high structure, which recalls the 16th Century Gujarati architecture, was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to India in 1911. Since then, its stature both as a historical and cultural attraction has only grown amongst visitors and residents alike.
Prince of Wales Museum
This was an additional structure built to commemorate the visit of King George V. The building is in the midst of a fantastic landscaped garden. The Museum was opened in 1923 and includes an art and archaeological collection.
Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus
This imposing building has a long history - it was from the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus that the first train rolled out towards Thane - and with its celebrated Gothic architecture, it manages to transport visitors to a bygone era.
Hanging Gardens
The Hanging Gardens history dates back to 1981, when it was laid on top of a reservoir on Malabar Hills. It is very popular with courting couples, affording a spectacular view of the Marine Drive and Chowpatty Beach.
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Mumbai Travel Guide
There's plenty to see in Bombay, but not generally in the form of stationary monuments like those in London, Paris, or even Delhi. The art of experiencing Bombay lies in eating, shopping, and wandering through strikingly different neighborhoods and markets. The best way to see Bombay is to immerse yourself in the city's pulsing life and soak up the aspects that blend and clash to make the city utterly unique. Bombay is essentially a 30-mi-long open-air bazaar.
Churchgate and Nariman Point are the business and hotel centers. Major bank and airline headquarters are clustered in skyscrapers on Nariman Point. The district referred to as Fort -- which includes Bombay's hub, Flora Fountain, in a square now called Hutatma Chowk -- is the city's commercial heart, its narrow, bustling streets lined with small shops and office buildings, as well as a number of colleges and other educational facilities. Farther north, Kemps Corner is a trendy area with expensive boutiques, exclusive restaurants, and high-priced homes. Another upscale residential neighborhood, Malabar Hill, is older -- leafy, breezy, and lovely, with fine, old stone mansions housing wealthy industrialists and government ministers.
Shopping and people-watching are most colorfully combined in Bombay's chaotic bazaar areas, such as Chor Bazaar, Zaveri (Jewelry) Bazaar, and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule (Crawford) Market. More recently, Bombay's suburbs have seen explosive business and residential development, as more and more people move out of Bombay center to escape its soaring real-estate prices and simple lack of space. Many of the city's newest and trendiest shops and restaurants are out here. A number of travelers opt to stay in Juhu Beach, a popular coastal suburb between Bombay and the airports (about 20 km/12 mi north of the city center).
Alas, Juhu's beaches are polluted and unsafe for swimming, and the general look of the place is scruffy and honky-tonk, but staying out here is a nice way to observe everyday Indian life outside the shadow of Bombay's skyline. Sunday nights bring families down to the beach for an old-fashioned carnival, complete with small, hand-powered Ferris wheels, and lantern-lit snack stalls hawking sugar cane.
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