Here’s the best way to spend a day in the old heart of Mumbai, Fort, from visiting Victorian masterpieces to a date with a Bollywood film and the Gateway of India.
1. Gateway Of India
Start your day under the impressive arch of the Gateway of India, finished in 1924 to greet important officials to the country. It was planned to welcome the Emperor and Empress of India, King George V and Queen Mary in 1911, but construction didn’t begin until 1915.
2. Regal Cinema
You can’t come to Mumbai without watching a Bollywood movie surrounded by fans of the genre. All the top films are shown at the Regal Cinema, its Art Deco façade a welcome relief from all the Victorian masterworks.
3. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya
Surrounded by palm-tree studded gardens, this museum has that quintessential old-world feel and is full of curiosities, ancient relics and stunning art from the Indian subcontinent.
4. Fashion Street
Pick up a silk scarf at this colourful street market for the rest of your travels around the temples and sights of the city. Practise your bargaining skills as you haggle over everything from saris to Persian-style slippers and jewellery.
5. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
Catch a train from this World Heritage Site (pictured top left) just to experience the hustle and bustle and organised chaos of Mumbai. Completed in 1888 it’s a striking Gothic, Victorian edifice.
6. Minara Masjid
Occupying a corner of Mohammed Ali Road, the lanes outside this mosque are also a bustling food market, with stalls operating late into the night. Come here for chicken and quail, the smell of which fills the air from countless tandoors.
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