Things to do · Mumbai · India
19 best things to do in Mumbai
19 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Christian Haugen, CC BY 2.0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Mumbai are Gateway of India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Elephanta Caves. Of the 19 picks below, 13 are free, 4 work on a rainy day and 4 suit children. Allow about 4 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Gateway of India
- Free sights
- 13
- Good on a rainy day
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya
- Time to see the highlights
- 4 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway of India | Colaba | 30 minutes | Free |
| Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus | Fort and Kala Ghoda | 45 minutes | Free |
| Elephanta Caves | Elephanta Island | Half a day | Low cost |
| Marine Drive | Churchgate and Marine Drive | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Haji Ali Dargah | Lower Parel and Worli | 1 hour | Free |
| Shree Siddhivinayak Temple | Prabhadevi | 1 hour | Free |
| Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya | Fort and Kala Ghoda | 2–3 hours | Low cost |
| Kala Ghoda Art District | Fort and Kala Ghoda | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Mani Bhavan | Gamdevi | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Banganga Tank | Malabar Hill | 45 minutes | Free |
| Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Kanheri Caves | Borivali | Half a day | Low cost |
| Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat | Mahalaxmi | 30 minutes | Free |
| Crawford Market | Fort and Kala Ghoda | 1 hour | Free |
| Bandra Bandstand and Bandra Fort | Bandra West | 1 hour | Free |
| Juhu Beach | Juhu | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Girgaon Chowpatty | Churchgate and Marine Drive | 1 hour | Free |
| Global Vipassana Pagoda | Gorai | 1.5 hours | Free |
| Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum and Byculla Zoo | Byculla | 2–3 hours | Low cost |
| Bollywood studio tour | Goregaon | Half a day | Mid-priced |
The 19 best things to do
Landmark · Colaba
1.Gateway of India
This 26-metre basalt arch on the Apollo Bunder waterfront was completed in 1924 to commemorate the 1911 landing of King George V and Queen Mary. It faces the harbour beside the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, and ferries to Elephanta and Alibaug leave from the jetties below.
Come early in the morning for photographs without crowds, or at dusk when the arch and the Taj are lit up.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Photo spot
- After dark
Architecture · Fort and Kala Ghoda
2.Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
Designed by Frederick William Stevens and completed in 1888 as Victoria Terminus, this railway station is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that fuses Victorian Gothic Revival with Indian motifs: domes, turrets, gargoyles and stained glass. It still handles enormous numbers of suburban and long-distance passengers every day.
Photograph the facade from the crossing opposite, and return after dark when the building is illuminated.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Architecture
- History
- Free
- After dark
Historic site · Elephanta Island
3.Elephanta Caves
On an island about an hour by ferry from the Gateway of India, these rock-cut cave temples from around the 5th to 6th centuries are dedicated to Shiva. The highlight is the six-metre Trimurti, a three-headed carving in the main cave. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and reached by about 120 steps from the jetty.
Take an early ferry to beat the heat and the crowds, and carry water; ferries can be suspended in rough monsoon weather.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Art
Waterfront · Churchgate and Marine Drive
4.Marine Drive
A curving 3.6-km seafront boulevard around Back Bay, lined with Art Deco apartment buildings, from Nariman Point to Girgaon Chowpatty. At night its street lights form the 'Queen's Necklace', and the sea wall fills with walkers, joggers and couples at sunset.
Walk from Nariman Point to Chowpatty around sunset and finish with bhel puri on the beach; view the necklace from Malabar Hill after dark.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- After dark
- Couples
- Views
Religious site · Lower Parel and Worli
5.Haji Ali Dargah
This white mosque and tomb of a 15th-century Sufi saint sits on an islet in Worli Bay, reached by a narrow causeway that is submerged at high tide. Pilgrims of all faiths visit, and qawwali is often sung inside.
Check the tide times and go at low tide, dress modestly and cover your head inside the shrine.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Photo spot
Religious site · Prabhadevi
6.Shree Siddhivinayak Temple
Built in 1801 and later greatly expanded, this temple to Ganesh is one of the most visited in Mumbai, with a gilded inner sanctum and a black-stone idol. Film stars and politicians are among the devotees, and Tuesdays bring very long queues.
Avoid Tuesdays and festival days, leave bags and phones as directed, and remove shoes before entering.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Iconic
Museum · Fort and Kala Ghoda
7.Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya
Mumbai's main museum, opened in 1922 as the Prince of Wales Museum, occupies an Indo-Saracenic building by George Wittet set in gardens. Collections include Indus Valley artefacts, Buddhist and Hindu sculpture, Mughal and Rajput miniature paintings, and decorative arts.
Rent the audio guide and focus on the sculpture gallery and the miniature paintings on the upper floor.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Neighbourhood · Fort and Kala Ghoda
8.Kala Ghoda Art District
A small district of galleries, museums and heritage buildings, including the free Jehangir Art Gallery, the National Gallery of Modern Art, the David Sassoon Library and the sky-blue Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue. Boutiques and restaurants fill the lanes between them.
Visit during the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, usually in early February, for free street installations and performances.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Architecture
- Food
Museum · Gamdevi
1.Mani Bhavan
Mahatma Gandhi's base in Bombay from 1917 to 1934, this house on Laburnum Road is now a museum with his preserved room, a library, photographs and dioramas of key moments in his life.
Combine it with Banganga Tank and the Malabar Hill viewpoints on the same morning.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Historic site · Malabar Hill
2.Banganga Tank
A rectangular stone water tank on Malabar Hill, first built around the 12th century and rebuilt in the 18th, surrounded by temples, steps and old houses. It is one of Mumbai's oldest continuously used sacred sites and a quiet escape from the city.
Visit in the early morning when ducks paddle across the water and residents perform rituals on the steps.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Off the beaten path
- History
- Photo spot
Nature · Borivali
3.Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Kanheri Caves
Covering about 100 km² of forested hills in Mumbai's northern suburbs, the national park shelters leopards, deer and many birds. Deep inside, the Kanheri Caves are more than 100 Buddhist rock-cut cells, halls and stupas carved between roughly the 1st century BCE and the 10th century CE.
Go early on a weekday, take a vehicle or bus from the park gate to the caves, and stay on marked paths.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Low cost
- Nature
- History
- Outdoors
- Active
Experience · Mahalaxmi
4.Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat
An open-air laundry where hundreds of washermen (dhobis) scrub, beat and dry clothes in rows of concrete wash pens, serving hotels and households across the city. The best overview is from the bridge outside Mahalaxmi station.
View from the bridge for free; if you go inside, do so with a guide and ask before photographing people at work.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Photo spot
Market · Fort and Kala Ghoda
5.Crawford Market
Officially Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai, this 1869 market hall has stone friezes designed by John Lockwood Kipling, Rudyard Kipling's father. Stalls sell fruit, spices, dried fruit and household goods, and Badshah, founded in 1905, serves falooda across the road.
Go in the morning for the fruit market, then walk to the nearby lanes towards Mohammed Ali Road for street food.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Food
- Shopping
- History
Waterfront · Bandra West
6.Bandra Bandstand and Bandra Fort
A seafront promenade below the ruins of Bandra Fort (Castella de Aguada), built by the Portuguese in 1640, with views across the bay to the Bandra–Worli Sea Link. Film-star homes line the road, and fans gather outside them.
Come at sunset when the Sea Link is lit up, then walk to Bandra's cafés and bars.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Couples
- After dark
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Beach · Juhu
7.Juhu Beach
Mumbai's best-known beach is a long stretch of sand in the western suburbs, busiest in the evenings when families come for sunsets, kite flying and street food such as pav bhaji, bhel puri and kulfi from the stalls at its northern end.
Come for sunset and street food rather than swimming; the sea is polluted and currents can be strong.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Food
- After dark
Beach · Churchgate and Marine Drive
8.Girgaon Chowpatty
The sandy beach at the northern end of Marine Drive is famous for its bhel puri and pav bhaji stalls, and for the huge crowds that immerse Ganesh idols in the sea at the end of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Visit in the evening after a sunset walk on Marine Drive and eat at a busy stall.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Food
- After dark
- Kids
Religious site · Gorai
9.Global Vipassana Pagoda
Completed in 2009 and modelled on Yangon's Shwedagon Pagoda, this golden meditation hall near Gorai has one of the largest stone domes built without supporting pillars, with room for thousands of meditators inside.
Combine it with a short guided meditation offered for visitors, and allow travel time to Gorai in the far north-west.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- Off the beaten path
Museum · Byculla
10.Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum and Byculla Zoo
Mumbai's oldest museum, founded in 1855 and restored to its ornate Victorian interiors, tells the city's history through models, dioramas and decorative arts. It stands in the Jijamata Udyan botanical garden, home to the city zoo and its Humboldt penguin enclosure.
Visit the museum first, then let children see the penguins in the air-conditioned enclosure in the zoo.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Kids
- Art
Experience · Goregaon
11.Bollywood studio tour
Guided tours of Film City (Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari) in Goregaon show sets, studios and, with luck, a shoot in progress, with explanations of how Hindi-language cinema is made.
Book through the official Film City tour or an established operator, and set aside half a day for the travel to Goregaon.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Elephanta Caves, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Kala Ghoda Art District and Mani Bhavan |
| History | Gateway of India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Elephanta Caves and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya |
| Views | Marine Drive and Bandra Bandstand and Bandra Fort |
| Outdoors and nature | Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Kanheri Caves |
| Food and markets | Kala Ghoda Art District, Crawford Market, Juhu Beach and Girgaon Chowpatty |
| After dark | Gateway of India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Marine Drive and Bandra Bandstand and Bandra Fort |
| With children | Juhu Beach, Girgaon Chowpatty, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum and Byculla Zoo and Bollywood studio tour |
| On a rainy day | Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mani Bhavan, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum and Byculla Zoo and Bollywood studio tour |
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Mumbai?
Gateway of India. This 26-metre basalt arch on the Apollo Bunder waterfront was completed in 1924 to commemorate the 1911 landing of King George V and Queen Mary.
+What can you do for free in Mumbai?
Gateway of India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Marine Drive, Haji Ali Dargah and Shree Siddhivinayak Temple. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Mumbai when it rains?
Head indoors to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mani Bhavan, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum and Byculla Zoo and Bollywood studio tour.
+What is there to do in Mumbai at night?
Gateway of India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Marine Drive and Bandra Bandstand and Bandra Fort are best after dark.