Top 10 tourist places to visit in Mumbai
Mumbai is a dreamland destination for Indians as well as foreigners visiting India. A city adorned with rich culture, beautiful seashores, amazing beaches, parks, monuments, museums, great shopping places, ultramodern clubs, holy places and famous for its movie making industry has numerous visual wonders for tourists. Learn ten such places to visit in Mumbai.
Introduction
Mumbai is one of the most beautiful cities of India well known for its industries, cinemas, studios, tourism, sea transport and is popularly known as the economic capital of the country. Mumbai is a cosmopolitan city where people of different cultures coexist in a beautiful and peaceful way. Tourism earns much revenue for Mumbai as it attracts tourists of foreign origin as well as local Indians throughout the year. Families can have fun and can carry life long memories with them after visiting Mumbai city. Gateway of India
The Gateway of India, Mumbai (Courtesy:-wikipedia.org)
It was built by George Willet in 1924 in memory of the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to then Bombay city. 'First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry' was the first event recorded at this iconic site. The last main event that took place at this monument was when British troops and its divisions left India on February 28, 1948, post-independence. The Gateway of India is located opposite the Arabian Sea and next to the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. It is a favourite spot for tourists nowadays and even attracts vendors, photographers and food sellers in droves. To see the beauty of this monument from the sea, tourists have the facility to go for a ferry ride and one should not miss that opportunity. Taking photographs in front of this iconic monument is one thing that one should not miss to store a beautiful memory of this visit. We can have the opportunity to spend some quality time around this monument by visiting Taj Mahal Palace and the beautiful statues installed around this place and have nice photographs taken to keep our memories alive. It is located in Apollo Bandar, Colaba, Mumbai and no entry fee to visit this place. This place can be visited at any time of the day. The most pleasant time to visit this place is early in the morning or in the evening. 
Iconic Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai (Photograph by the author)Marine Drive
It is a 3.6 Km long C-shaped six-lane concrete road along the coast. The road links Nariman Point to Babulnath and Malabar Hill. Marine Drive is also known as 'Queen's Necklace' because if we view this place at night from an elevated position, the street lights appear to resemble pearls in a necklace. This is a popular place to visit, relax and enjoy at night. Delicious street food is also available around this place. The location of this place is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road, Chowpatty, Mumbai. There is no entry fee to visit this place. The best time to visit this place is late evening and night time.
Marine Drive, Mumbai (Photograph by the author)Juhu Beach, Mumbai
It is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea. It is a 6 Km long beautiful beach stretching up to Versova. It is a much sought-after destination for film shooting by moviemakers and videographers. Delicious Mumbai style food like bhelpuri, pani-puri and shivpuri are the popular food items available around this place. Horse-pulled carriages, cricket matches, toy sellers, dancing monkeys make the environment enjoyable. Watching the crimson Sun in the luminous blue sky in the early morning and evening is a wonder to enjoy. It is located in Juhu Tara Road, Mumbai. There is no entry fee to visit this place. The best time to visit this place is early morning and late evening.
Juhu Beach, Mumbai (Photograph by the author)Elephanta Caves
It is one of the most visited places in Mumbai. These caves are located in the Western Islands or Island of Gharapuri in Mumbai Harbour, 10 Km away to the east of the city. To reach the caves, tourists have to take a one-hour ferry ride from Gateway of India. During this ferry ride, you can enjoy the scenic beauty of Mumbai. The wonderful rock caves of the islands that belong to Second Century BC make it worth visiting. They were reconstructed in mid-fifth to sixth century. All the archaeological components of Elephanta Caves are preserved in their natural settings. It has five caves dedicated to Lord Shiva and two caves dedicated to Buddhist architecture. The temple has a big entrance hall, two side halls and two temples. At the entrance of Cave 1, we can find a 7 mtr high architectural masterpiece, 'Sadashiva'. A 20 feet high Trimurti sculpture that includes the heads of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara in unison will attract visitors the most. Elephanta Caves are identified and recognized by the UNESCO as a World Heritage site. Elephanta Caves are located in Gharapuri, Mumbai. The timings to visit this place is 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM on all days of the week, but closed on Monday. Entry fee is Rs.10 for Indians and Rs.250 for foreigners.
Trimurthi Sculpture of Elephanta Caves, Mumbai Courtesy:-wikipedia.org)Mumbai Film City
In Aarey Colony of Goregaon East, Mumbai, we can find a 10,000 Sq.ft. wonderland, the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari, that is popularly known as Film City. In this film city, we can find amazing gardens, theaters, lakes, recording rooms, spacious grounds, popular sitcoms, huge movie settings that will make the visitors awestruck. Movie shootings are the most common at one or the other places in this film city. Visiting time for this place is 10 AM to 5 PM every day. Entry Fee for visiting this place starts from Rs. 599.Taraporewala Aquarium, Mumbai
It is known to be one of the oldest aquaria of India. In this aquarium, marine and freshwater fishes and also coral fishes brought from Lakshadweep Islands can be found. The fish will be kept in a large glass tank and the viewing of the fish will be enhanced by LED lights. Variety of fishes that include sharks, starfishes, moray eels, turtles and stingrays attract the visitors. Some specimens of preserved fishes and some rare varieties of seashells can be found in a separate room. This aquarium has an Oceanarium that gives a feeling of walking under the sea while the exotic fish float above you. It is a must visiting place for children as it serves an educative purpose. This aquarium is located in Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road, Marine Drive, Mumbai. The timings to visit this place is 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM on all days of the week, but closed on Monday. The entry fee for adults is Rs.60 and for children Rs.30.
Taraporewala Aquarium, Mumbai (Photograph by Author)Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai
One of the amazing places to visit in Mumbai is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. The museum was formerly known as Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, because it was constructed in memory of King George V who visited as Prince of Wales at that time. The construction of this building started in 1905 and was completed by 1915. In 1998, the museum was renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. The museum is identified as a Grade 1 museum in Mumbai city. The museum is constructed in 3 acres of land and a beautiful garden with palm trees and flower beds surrounding it further enhances the beauty of this museum. The museum primarily started with a huge collection of 50,000 artefacts. The collection of the museum is organized into three main sections - art, archaeology and natural history. The main art collection of this museum includes palm leaf manuscripts dating to the 11th-12th centuries, 17th-century manuscript of the Hindu epic Ramayana from Mewar, 19th-century Pahari paintings, art collections of Sir Ratan Tata and Sir Dorab Tata, donated in 1921 and 1933. Artefact collections of Gupta, Mughal and Akbar era can be found in this Sangrahalay. Art collections of China, Japan, Nepal and Bhutan can be found in this museum. Precious sculptures and epigrams can be found in the archaeological section. The main attraction of this museum include Artefacts collected from the excavation of Indus Valley Civilization. Buddhist stupa, collections from Gupta, Chalukyan and Rashtrakuta periods can be seen in this Grade 1 heritage museum. The collections of Bombay Natural History Society that includes dioramas, diagrams, and charts to illustrate wildlife adds flavour to the authenticity of this museum. Later, some more galleries like a print gallery, Krishna gallery, textile gallery, jewellery gallery were added to its huge collection. The visiting time is 10.15 AM to 6.00 PM on all days of the week. The entry fee to visit this museum is Rs.100 for adults, Rs.30 for children and Rs.650 for foreigners.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai (Photograph by author)Fashion Street, Mumbai
It is the most widespread shopping destination in Mumbai city for the tourists. Fashion Street is located just opposite to M.G. Road near Azad Maidan. Over 385 shops in Fashion Street provide trendiest and latest clothes to visitors at the lowest cost. Export quality garments, designer branded clothes, coats, leather belts, shirts, denims, accessories, footwear, hats are available in Fashion Street. You can bargain a lot in this market and one can buy the clothes and accessories at an affordable price. The visiting time is from 11 am TO 9 pm.Mahalaxmi Temple
It is one of the most famous Hindu temples located in Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai. Dhakji Dadaji, a Hindu merchant built this temple in the year 1831. Images of Tridevi Goddess Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati can be seen here in this temple. Nose rings, pearl necklaces, and gold bangles can be seen in all the three images of this deity. Navaratri festival during the Dussehra season will be celebrated by the temple authorities with great pomp and gaiety.Haji Ali Dargah, Mumbai
It is one of the famous mosques and dargah on the coast of Worli in Sothern part of Mumbai. It was constructed in memory of a rich merchant Sayyed Peer Ali Shah Bukhari in 1431. He donated all his possessions before leaving for the pilgrimage of Mecca. The Dargah was constructed in Indo-Islamic style. People of all faiths visit this beautiful Dargah in large numbers every day. It is situated close to Mahalaxmi Temple. The timings to visit this Durgah is from 5.30 AM to 10 PM. No entry fee to visit this place and open on all days of the week for visitors.
Haji Ali Dargah, Mumbai (Photograph by author)
There are more to visit and see in Mumbai. It is one of the must visit places for all Indians and for foreigners too. Here are my similar articles on Top 10 tourist places to visit in Goa and
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