Mumbai is also known as ‘India’s crown jewel’ and is among the most visited city by tourists from all over the world. This city boasts of having a population of over 18 million belonging to all walks of life and from all parts of the country. People come here for various reasons. It can be to get a good job, start business, make it big as a hero or heroine in the Bollywood movies or serials, medical or as a tourist, etc. Whatever be it, with so many things to engage with, it is quite natural to get distracted easily during the vacation. Hence, planning ahead and booking the best hotels like Hyatt Regency Mumbai will ensure you stick to the set itinerary.
Top reasons to visit Mumbai
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum: It is also called Western India’s Prince of Wales Museum. It comprises three large sections to display natural history, architecture and art. The huge art collection provides amazing story of the country’s major painting schools. It also includes works crafted in Deccani, Pahari, Rajasthani and Mughal styles. The architecture exhibition offers an insight into the different religious sculptures, terracotta figures including ornaments collected from the erstwhile Indus Valley Civilization, dating back to over 3,000 B.C.E. Moreover, the museum’s natural history wing captures few amazing wildlife like tigers, Indian bison and flamingos in dioramas.
- Gateway of India: It is also popularly referred to as the Mumbai’s ‘Tajmahal’. It was constructed as a monument for commemorating Queen Mary and King George V’s visit in 1911. This monument is located at Chhatrapati Shivaji Marg besides Mumbai harbour. This basalt arch is designed about 26m high. The place appears much like a fair type atmosphere as street hawkers, vendors, locals and tourists flock the place.
- Camy Wafers: It is among the popularly consumed sweets and snacks in Mumbai. If you are a diehard crisp fan, then you should have the paper-thin variety. You can also sample other wafers like raffle, jali, kela including gathiya, seve, chiwada etc.
- Crawford Market: It has derived its name after Mumbai’s first municipal commissioner, Arthur Crawford. This humongous market covers an area of about 22,471 sq. m. Here, you can come across varieties of vegetables, fruits, cosmetics, poultry, gifts and household items. Also is present a pet store. There are fountains constructed within the premises designed by writer Rudyard Kipling’s father, Lockwood Kipling.
- Elephanta Island: From Gateway of India, you need to travel by ferry for about an hour to reach Elephanta Island. This island is located east of Mumbai by about 10 km. (6 miles). It was the capital of some ancient local kingdom and popular for Elephanta Caves. These are cave temples where you can come across beautiful looking figurines and sculptures of those bygone eras. Legend states that it was the Portuguese explorers who had given this name. They had viewed an elephant figure in the basalt sculpture and tried to take it with them. However, the carved rock’s sheer weight did not allow them to carry out their plan. Hence, they had to drop it into the sea. Later it was pulled out from the water and is presently located at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai. Other amazing figures can be noticed on Elephanta Islands sculpted artistically from rocks.
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus: It is also popularly called the Victoria Terminus. It is also the country’s busiest train station, established in 1887. The objective was to commemorate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee. Frederick William Stevens, the architect of this terminus was influenced by Mughal buildings and Victorian-Italianate Gothic Revival. You can come across palatial details throughout the structure like grand staircases, wood carvings, brass railings, etc. You can get long distance and local commuter trains at this terminus to visit the surroundings or other cities.
- Masala Library: An interesting menu was created by Chef Jiggs Kalra which combined traditional cooking with molecular gastronomy. It became popular as ‘Indian cuisine ver. 2.0’ and was described in ‘New York Times’. The impressive offerings came with a delicious wild mushroom ‘chai’. It was served along with tea ceremony, where consommé is drizzled above dried truffle oil and dehydrated mushrooms. There are also served other tasty dishes like the deconstructed version of pav bhaji, the favourite street food of the Mumbaikars. It is vegetable curry consumed with buttered roll.
- Marine Drive: It is a six lane drive that curves along the coast taking a C-shape. It is also popularly called ‘Queen’s Necklace’ as the road’s streetlights at night resemble that of hanging pearls. There is a promenade just parallel to this drive lined beautifully with palm trees. Also are present numerous restaurants and street food along the drive. This place is a hot spot for locals and tourist alike to watch the stunning sunset over the vast Arabian Sea of to enjoy their early morning stroll. It also boasts of being among the posh areas of Mumbai and has office towers like Air India and reputed hotels like the InterContinental. The road links to Malabar Hill and Babulnath from Nariman Point. Runners belonging to the Bombay Marathon assemble here in February every year to race along the drive.
- Dhobi Ghat: This amazing ‘outdoor laundromat’ has featured in numerous regional and Bollywood movies’ and is a part of most Mumbai travel itinerary. Although not much of an exalted vision, it is undoubtedly a wonderful sight to check out. This open-air laundry as per Globe & Mail newspaper is home to 700+ washing stone platforms. Around 200+ washer families’ clean clothes collected from nearby hotels. Approximately, 8,000 ‘dhobis’ can be noticed working throughout the day on a raised platform.
- Dome: This popular bar allows you to enjoy the spectacular views of the Arabian Sea and the Marine Drive. It is located at the top of Mumbai’s InterContinental Marine Drive hotel. You can relax on the sofa, have tasty Japanese bar snacks and sip cocktails. If you love smoking cigars, they do have an impressive collection to try out.
The trip can become all the more interesting by booking your room at hotels like Hyatt Regency Mumbai.
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