Showing 1-8 of 8 results
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Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus)
Imposing, exuberant and overflowing with people, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus) is the city's most extravagant Gothic building, the beating heart of its railway network, and an aphorism for colonial India. Historian Christopher London uttered 'the Victoria Terminus is to the British Raj, what the Taj Mahal is to the Mughal Empire.'
Read more about Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus)
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Elephanta Island
Every day except Monday, a flotilla of tourist boats heads out from the Gateway of India to this magnificent island, home to the most famous cave temples in Maharashtra. Carved into the solid rock of the island are a series of ornate Shaivite temples, covered in ornate carvings of Hindu deities.
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Gateway of India
The bold basalt Gateway of India arch faces out to Mumbai Harbour at the tip of Apollo Bunder. Derived from the Islamic styles of 16th-century Gujarat, it was built to commemorate the 1911 royal visit of King George V. It was completed in 1924: ironically, the gateway's British architects used it just 24 years later to parade off their last British regiment, as India marched towards independence.
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Haji Ali Mosque
Floating like a sacred mirage off the coast, the Haji Ali Mosque is one of Mumbai's most striking shrines. Built in the 19th century, it contains the tomb of the Muslim saint Haji - legend has it that Haji Ali died while on a pilgrimage to Mecca and his casket miraculously floated back to this spot.
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High Court
A hive of daily activity, packed with judges, barristers and other cogs in the Indian justice system, the High Court is an elegant 1848 neogothic building. The design was inspired by a German castle and was obviously intended to dispel any doubts about the authority of the justice dispensed inside, though local stone carvers presumably saw things differently: they carved a one-eyed monkey fiddling with the scales of justice on one pillar.
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Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue
Built in 1884, the impossibly sky-blue Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue still functions and is tenderly maintained by the city's dwindling Jewish community. One of two built in the city by the Sassoon family (the other is in Byculla), the interior is wonderfully adorned with colourful pillars, chandeliers and stained-glass windows - best viewed in the afternoons when rainbows of light shaft through.
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Taj Mahal Palace
The sumptuous Taj Mahal Palace hotel is a fairy-tale blend of Islamic and Renaissance styles jostling for prime position among Mumbai's famous landmarks. Facing the harbour, it was built in 1903 by the Parsi industrialist JN Tata, supposedly after he was refused entry to one of the European hotels on account of being 'a native'.
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University of Mumbai
Looking like a 15th-century French-gothic masterpiece plopped incongruously amongst Mumbai's palm trees, University of Mumbai, still commonly known as Bombay University, was designed by Gilbert Scott of London's St Pancras Station fame. It's possible to take a peek inside both the exquisite University Library and Convocation Hall, but the 80m-high Rajabai Clock Tower, decorated with detailed carvings, is off limits.
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Showing 1-8 of 8 results
