Hotels in Mumbai

Mumbai runs on more energy than anywhere else in India — it is the country's financial engine and the home of Bollywood, and it wears both openly. The set-piece is the Gateway of India on the Colaba waterfront, a short walk from the antiques and street stalls of Colaba Causeway, while Marine Drive's night-lit curve along the Arabian Sea earns its Queen's Necklace nickname.

Ride the suburban trains and you meet the dabbawalas, who hand-deliver hundreds of thousands of hot lunches a day, and the Victorian-Gothic Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, a UNESCO World Heritage railway station. Eat a vada pav on the street. Be honest about the flip side: it is crowded, costly and gridlocked, and the June-to-September monsoon floods the streets. Stay in Colaba or Fort for the landmarks, or Bandra for restaurants and nightlife.