Indian, Mumbai, Chowpatty Beach, people on the beach at sunset

Getty Images/Dorling Kindersley

Girgaum Chowpatty

Mumbai (Bombay)


This city beach is a favourite evening spot for courting couples, families, political rallies and anyone out to enjoy what passes for fresh air. Evening bhelpuri (puffed rice tossed with fried rounds of dough, lentils, onions, herbs and chutneys) at the throng of stalls at the beach’s southern end is an essential part of the Mumbai experience. Forget about taking a dip: the water’s toxic.

On the 10th day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival millions flock here to submerge huge Ganesh statues: it’s joyful mayhem.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Mumbai (Bombay) attractions

2. Khotachiwadi

0.47 MILES

This storied wadi (hamlet), a heritage village nearly 180 years old, is clinging onto Mumbai life as it was before high-rises. A Christian enclave of…

3. Bombay Panjrapole

0.64 MILES

In the middle of bustling Bhuleshwar bazaar is, of all things, this shelter for 350 homeless cows. Ducks, parrots, rabbits, pigeons and other small birds…

4. Mumba Devi Temple

0.78 MILES

Pay a visit to the city’s patron goddess at this 18th-century temple, about 1km north of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Among the deities in…

5. Mani Bhavan

0.88 MILES

As poignant as it is tiny, this museum is in the building where Mahatma Gandhi stayed during visits to Bombay from 1917 to 1934. The leader formulated his…

7. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus

1.25 MILES

Imposing, exuberant and overflowing with people, this monumental train station is the city’s most extravagant Gothic building and an aphorism of colonial…

8. Chemould Prescott Road

1.29 MILES

One of Mumbai's oldest established art galleries, founded in 1963. It's always a safe bet for diving into India's contemporary art scene.