10 Best Things To Do In Mumbai, The Center Of Bollywood

Like Paris, Mumbai is also a lovely city to explore. There are lots of electrifying things to do in Mumbai. The city is cited as the “Hollywood of India” because of the obvious reason that it is home to Bollywood, that world-renowned entertainment Indian movie industry that produces a massive number of Hindi films. Moreover, Mumbai is also where the posh houses of Bollywood’s biggest celebrities are, from Alia Bhatt’s to Sidharth Malhotra’s. Aside from those facts, Mumbai is also India’s financial capital, where businesses find so many opportunities. 

But there are so many things to do in Mumbai beyond just Bollywood. Formerly known as Bombay, Mumbai is the country’s business and fashion powerhouse, if not of the world. It is also India’s most cosmopolitan city with its urban sprawl extending beyond its seven islands. South Mumbai is where most of the tourist spots are, and it is also where you can find the city’s architectural marvels – from Victorian gothic to art deco. 

Bollywood And Beyond: Get To Know The Best Things To Do In Mumbai

Mumbai may be the home of the flamboyant Bollywood industry, but know that there are several other things to do in Mumbai than just this. Let’s go and explore. 

1. Experience Bollywood

With the city being the proud center of the world-famous Bollywood, it is just right that you start off your things to do in Mumbai list with an experience of this radiating film industry. Specifically, you can get started by availing one of the many Bollywood tours being offered around. Perhaps among the best is the World of Bollywood tour. This tour is managed by former Bollywood actor Rahil Khan, offering a six-hour introduction to the popular SJ Studios that already gives you access to cinema shoots, TV tapings, and a visit to a recording studio.

Other Bollywood experiences in Mumbai include marveling at the houses of Bollywood celebrities in places like the Bandstand Promenade and Juhu, the latter being also a popular filming venue. Then, you can also head to Colaba and who knows? You can be featured in a Bollywood movie. Local scouts head straight to Colaba to seek out foreigners who will act as extras. 

Otherwise, if you wish to experience more of Bollywood but do not want the limelight, you can go ahead and watch a Bollywood movie on screen. One of the best places for this would be the old school – and slightly decrepit – G-7 multiplex in Bandra or Maratha Mandir at Mumbai Central. Experiencing Bollywood is one of the most unforgettable things to do in Mumbai.

2. Be Awed By The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai’s Most Famous Landmark

India’s star attraction, the Taj Mahal, may not be located in Mumbai per se, but in Agra, which is usually a flight’s distance away from each other, but its namesake is in this city. 

Mumbai’s most popular landmark, the stunning Taj Mahal Palace, is a hotel that features a fairy-tale blend of Islamic and Renaissance styles, making this one of the most-photographed monuments in the country. 

It was in 1903 when Parsi industrialist (Parsi, referring to a descendant of Zoroastrians who fled to India from Muslim persecution in Persia during the seventh to eighth centuries) JN Tata built this hotel supposedly after he was denied entry to nearby European hotels because he was a “native.” 

In 2008, the interiors of this hotel became the ground of a terrorist attack that killed dozens, but it has since been restored and reopened two years later. You can see or visit the Taj Mahal Palace once again. You can also include this on your list of things to do in Mumbai. 

There are more on our blog than just this “things to do in Mumbai” guide. How about getting to know the best photography spots in India? Click here for the story. 

3. Stop By The Monumental Train Station Of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus

India’s train systems have become an indispensable part of its people’s way of life – so are the country’s train stations. And here in Mumbai lies the imposing and exuberant Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. 

Often overflowing with people, this monumental train station is also Mumbai’s most profligate Gothic building that is an aphorism of the country’s colonial era. It is a meringue of Hindu, Victorian, and Islamic styles whipped into a conspicuous Dalí-esque structure consisting of buttresses, turrets, domes, spires, and stained glass. Because of the beauty of this place, it deserves a place in your photograph gallery. This is also one of the best things to do in Mumbai.

4. Don’t Forget To Visit The Iconic Gateway Of India

The ever-iconic Gateway of India also deserves a place on your things to do in Mumbai list. It is a bold basalt of arch that tells a lot of history. For one, it is an arch of colonial feat that faces out to Mumbai Harbour from the Apollo Bunder’s tip. Its architectural design incorporates Islamic styles of Gujarat 1500s, and was constructed mainly to commemorate the United Kingdom’s King George V’s royal visit. However, it was not actually completed until 1924. Ironically, its British builders used it 24 years later to parade the last British regiment as India marched toward its independence. 

Imperialists who saw this arch recalled the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to the colony in 1911. However, Indian nationalists who witnessed this landmark were reminded of the end of British rule. Your perspective could be anything of these two today, but whatever your view is, you can now freely wander down to the gate at sunset, or have some gin and tonic in the bar of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, which lies just next door. Or, you can have the Gateway of India as a starting point to more things to do in Mumbai, which you will learn about up next.

Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace shares its namesake with Agra’s star attraction. Explore more than just the best things to do in Mumbai. Get to know the best things to do in Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal, here. 

5. Be Fascinated By The Cave Temples At Elephanta Island

Wondering what that faint gray island you see through the Gateway of India is? You are looking at Elephanta Island. 

Situated northeast of the Gateway in Mumbai Harbour are the rock-cut temples on Gharapuri, better known as Elephanta Island. This adds to the long list of India’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It was created between 450 and 750 ADs as a labyrinth of cave temples that represent some of the country’s most astonishing temple carvings. 

To get here, you can climb aboard an hour-long ferry trip that starts at the Gateway at around 9 a.m. This is also one of the best things to do in Mumbai that you should not dare miss.

6. Behold Some Indian Masterpieces At Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, The Biggest Museum In Mumbai

What’s a trip to this great city without having a museum tour on your things to do in Mumbai itinerary? If there’s just one museum you can visit, that has to be the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, the biggest museum in this Indian city. 

It is also the best museum around that displays a myriad of India-wide exhibits. The collection includes beautiful Hindu and Buddhist sculptures, terracotta figurines from the Indus Valley, some fierce-looking weapons from the past, and Indian miniature paintings.

They are all housed inside the domed behemoth of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, whose architectural design is an intriguing hodgepodge of Hindi, Islamic, and British design. Categorized as Indo-Saracenic, this design is by George Wittet, the Scottish architect who also designed the Gateway of India. 

7. Then, Head Over To The Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum, Built In Renaissance Revival Style 

Have more time in the city for museum tours? Don’t miss the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum on your list of things to do in Mumbai. The place is gorgeous.

While you’re here, aside from its collection, you can’t resist admiring its Renaissance revival design style which it was built from during the late 19th century. It was renovated in 2008, with its chandeliers, Minton-tile floors, gilded ceiling moldings, ornate columns, and staircases restored to their former glory.

Here, you can see thousands of objects that highlight the history of this city, spanning photographs, maps, books, textiles, manuscripts, bidriware (metal handicraft originating from Karnataka’s Bidar city), lacquerware, weaponry, and pottery. Marvel.

Enjoying the things to do in Mumbai? Continue your journey to New Delhi, India’s capital. Click here for the guide.

8. Discover The Secrets Of The Dabbawallahs, India’s Lunchbox Delivery And Return System 

If those trendy online shopping deliveries fascinate you in Southeast Asia, in India, probably the biggest delivery system – that’s gaining worldwide attention, too – is the dabbawala. 

The dabbawallahs are a lunchbox delivery and return system delivering hot and fresh lunches from homes and restaurants to people’s workplaces in India, especially in Mumbai. Their lunchboxes are picked up in the morning from workers’ homes, delivered predominantly using bicycles and railway trains to workplaces, and returned empty in the afternoon. 

To make all these things possible, an army consisting of thousands of logistic experts with memories like elephants (as they should have) work together for this. Did you know that one of the things to do in Mumbai is actually riding along with the people behind this delivery system? You read that right.

There are tours that allow you to meet up with the experts at Churchgate railway station, ride the rails along with them to Mahalaxmi station in Mumbai’s central business district, and learn the secrets of this flawless and amazing delivery system. Hold on tight for more things to do in Mumbai, coming up next.

9. Go On An Award-Winning Private And Customizable Tour Of Mumbai

Being among the world’s fastest-paced cities, Mumbai is filled with standout sights. Most travelers only stay in the city for a week, but they want to maximize their time to see all the highlights. Try the best things to do in Mumbai with this private and customizable tour.

This award-winning tour takes you to an insider’s look at India’s thriving cultural capital. You can freely choose from various itineraries that are customizable according to what’s comfortable with you. Front-door pickup at your hotel via a private car is included, of course.

10. Tour The Dharavi Slum

You’re not being too controversial if you include touring the Dharavi Slum on your things to do in Mumbai itinerary, as this area, touted as one of the largest slums in the world, has gradually become a tourist attraction in itself.

Led by a knowledgeable guide, this private tour teaches you the history and culture of this derelict area, as well as the daily lives of its residents through your guide’s enlightening commentary. You will also get to see the Dharavi marketplace – where the slum’s inhabitants get their daily needs – four different schools, and a neighborhood of pottery workshops, the Kumbharwada. 

If you are liking this “things to do in Mumbai” guide, you might want to discover another spectacular city in Asia, Osaka. Here’s a guide.

Things To Do In Mumbai: Interesting Facts About This City

To let you experience the best things to do in Mumbai to the fullest, arm yourself with some tidbits of interesting trivia about this city. 

• Mumbai is India’s most electric city. Being the country’s most cosmopolitan city and center of finance, it just has to be. Mumbai offers a lot of opportunities for both locals and travelers.
• Mumbai was formerly known as Bombay when the Portuguese ruled the city back in the day.
• Initially, the city was composed of seven different islands – Colaba, Isle of Bombay,  Little Colaba, Mahim, Mazagaon, Parel, and Worli – but British engineers thought about just bringing all these islands together in one large landmass during the 18th and 19th centuries. 
• The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai is India’s first five-star hotel.

Visit The Lovely Indian City Of Mumbai 

So many things to do in Mumbai, right? Be prepared to get jostled, hurried, and incessantly chatted to (like seriously) as you soak in the city’s trendy yet traditional aura. Twenty-four hours is definitely not enough to catch the flavors of Mumbai, from a historic tour in its grand museums to an experience of Bollywood. Make memories in Mumbai.