Sights in Mumbai (Bombay)
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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.
These days, the gateway is a favourite gathering spot for locals and a top spot for people-watching. Giant-balloon sellers, photographers, beggars and touts rub shoulders with Indian and foreign tourists, creating all the hubbub of a bazaar. Boats depart from the gateway's wharfs…
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Colaba
The unofficial headquarters of Mumbai's tourist scene, Colaba sprawls down the city's southernmost peninsula. It's a bustling district packed with street stalls, markets, bars and budget to midrange lodgings. Colaba Causeway (Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg) bisects the promontory and is the traffic-filled artery connecting Colaba's jumble of side streets and gently crumbling mansions.
Sassoon Dock, south of the main tourist action, is a scene of intense and pungent activity at dawn (around 05:00) when colourfully clad Koli fisherwomen sort the catch unloaded from fishing boats at the quay. The fish drying in the sun are bombil, the fish used in the dish Bombay duck. Photography…
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Chowpatty Beach
Chowpatty is still a favourite spot for anyone out to enjoy what passes for fresh air. Get the full experience by strolling through the many beachside stalls for some bhelpuri or a head massage. The water is not the cleanest but the beach is litter-free, patrolled by lifeguards and lit up at night. Visiting Chowpatty in the evening is an essential part of any trip to Mumbai.
The highlight of the year at Chowpatty is Ganesh Chaturthi (August/September), when huge crowds gather to watch images of the elephant-headed god of good fortune, Ganesh, paraded through the city streets and immersed in the sea.
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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.'
It's a meringue of Victorian, Hindu and Islamic styles whipped into an imposing, Daliesque structure of buttresses, domes, turrets, spires and stained-glass windows. Be sure to get close to the jungle-themed façade, particularly around the reservation office: it's adorned with peacocks, gargoyles, cheeky monkeys and lions.…
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Malabar Hill
Mumbai's most exclusive neighbourhood of sky-scratchers and private palaces, Malabar Hill is at the northern promontory of Back Bay and signifies the top rung for the city's social and economic climbers. Surprisingly, one of Mumbai's most sacred and tranquil oases lies concealed among apartment blocks at its southern tip.
Banganga Tank is a precinct of serene temples, bathing pilgrims, meandering, traffic-free streets and picturesque old dharamsalas (pilgrims rest houses). The wooden pole in the centre of the tank is the centre of the earth - according to legend Lord Ram created the tank by piercing the earth with his arrow. The classical music Banganga Festival is held h…
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Marine Drive
Built on land reclaimed from Back Bay in 1920, Marine Drive (Netaji Subhashchandra Bose Rd) arcs along the shore of the Arabian Sea from Nariman Point past Chowpatty Beach (where it's called Chowpatty Seaface) to the foot of Malabar Hill. Lined with flaking Art Deco apartments, this is one Mumbai's most popular promenades and sunset-watching spots.
It's twinkling night-time lights earned it the nickname 'the Queen's Necklace'.
Chowpatty Beach remains a favourite evening spot for courting couples, families, political rallies and anyone out to enjoy what passes for fresh air. Eating an evening time bhelpuri (crisp fried thin rounds of dough mixed with puffed rice, lentils, l…
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Elephanta Island
In the middle of Mumbai Harbour, 9km northeast of the Gateway of India, the rock-cut temples on Elephanta Island are a Unesco World Heritage Site and worth crossing the waters for. Home to a labyrinth of cave-temples carved into the basalt rock of the island, the artwork represents some of the most impressive temple carving in all of India. The main Shiva-dedicated temple is an intriguing latticework of courtyards, halls, pillars and shrines, with the magnum opus a 6m-tall statue of Sadhashiva – depicting a three-faced Shiva as the destroyer, creator and preserver of the universe. The enormous central bust of Shiva, its eyes closed in eternal contemplation, may be the mos…
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Museum Ship Vikrant
Built in 1945 and bought by the Indian Navy in 1957, the massive aircraft carrier INS Vikrant now serves as a fascinating museum. Admission includes the ferry ride out to the ship, then a walk through the various quarters, the hold (displaying diving bells, submarines and various aircraft) and finally the enormous deck with take-off and landing strip.
The Vikrant served in the India-Pakistan War of 1971, and in the liberation of Goa from the Portuguese, providing a sea base for Harrier jump jets, Seahawks and helicopters, some of which are still on board.
Tickets are available from the booking offices near the Gateway.
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Mani Bhavan
As poignant as it is tiny, this museum is in the building where Mahatma Gandhi stayed during visits to Bombay from 1917 to 1934. The museum showcases the room where the leader formulated his philosophy of satyagraha (nonviolent protest popularised by Gandhi) and launched the 1932 Civil Disobedience campaign that led to the end of British rule. Exhibitions include a photographic record of his life, along with dioramas and original documents, such as letters he wrote to Adolf Hitler and Franklin D Roosevelt. Nearby, August Kranti Maidan is where the campaign to persuade the British to ‘Quit India’ was launched in 1942.
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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 neo-Gothic 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. You are permitted (and it is highly recommended) to walk around inside the building and check out the pandemonium and pageantry of public cases that are in progress.
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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.
A long concrete causeway reaches into the Arabian Sea, providing access to the mosque. Thousands of pilgrims cross it to make their visit, many donating to the beggars who line the way, but at high tide water cover the causeway and the mosque becomes an island.
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Sanjay Gandhi National Park
It’s hard to believe that within 90 minutes of the teeming metropolis you can be surrounded by this 104-sq-km protected tropical forest. Here, bright flora, birds, butterflies and elusive wild leopards replace pollution and crowds, all surrounded by forested hills on the city’s northern edge. Urban development and shantytowns try to muscle in on the edges of this wild region, but its status as a national park has allowed it to stay green and calm.
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St Thomas’ Cathedral
Recently restored to its former glory, this charming cathedral is the oldest English building standing in Mumbai (construction began in 1672, though it remained unfinished until 1718). The cathedral is an interracial marriage of Byzantine and colonial-era architecture, and its airy, whitewashed interior is full of exhibitionist colonial memorials. A look at some of the gravestones reveals many colonists died young of malaria.
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Monetary Museum
While you’re in the area, pop into this tiny and thoughtfully presented museum, run by the Reserve Bank of India. It’s an engrossing historical tour of India through coinage: from early concepts of cash to the first coins of 600 BC, through Indo-European influences, right up to today’s Gandhi-covered notes. Also on display is the world’s smallest coin, probably found in the crack of an ancient couch.
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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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Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (Prince of Wales Museum)
Mumbai’s biggest and best museum, this domed behemoth is an intriguing hodgepodge of Islamic, Hindu and British architecture displaying a mix of dusty exhibits from all over India. Opened in 1923 to commemorate King George V’s first visit to India (back in 1905, while he was still Prince of Wales), its flamboyant Indo-Saracenic style was designed by George Wittet – who also did the Gateway of India.
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Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue
Built in 1884, this impossibly sky-blue 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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Kanheri Caves
The 109 Kanheri Caves lining the side of a rocky ravine 5km from the northern park entrance is a big draw. They were used by Buddhist monks between the 2nd and 9th centuries as viharas (monasteries) and chaityas (temples), but don’t compare to the caves at Ajanta, Ellora or even Lonavla, all in neighbouring Maharashtra.
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Nehru Centre & Nehru Planetarium
The most striking thing about the Nehru Centre & Nehru Planetarium cultural complex, which includes a decent planetarium and the serpentine-but-interesting history exhibition Discovery of India is the bold modern architecture of the buildings. The tower looks like a giant cylindrical pineapple, the planetarium a UFO. There's also a theatre here .
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Nehru Centre
This cultural complex includes a decent planetarium, theatre, gallery and the serpentine but interesting history exhibition Discovery of India. The architecture is striking: the tower looks like a giant cylindrical pineapple, and the planetarium resembles a UFO.
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Mahalaxmi Racecourse
Mumbai's horse-racing season runs from November to the end of April. Races are held on Sunday and Thursday afternoons (Saturday and Sunday towards the end of the season) at Mahalaxmi Racecourse. Big races, such as the Indian Derby in February, are major social occasions.
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Jehangir Art Gallery
Jehangir Art Gallery hosts interesting shows by local artists; most works are for sale. Rows of hopeful artists often display their work on the pavement outside.
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National Gallery of Modern Art
The National Gallery of Modern Art has a bright, spacious and modern exhibition space showcasing changing exhibitions by Indian and international artists.
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