Mumbai
India's port city of the sea, the cinema and the crowd.
Mumbai is a peninsula city on the Arabian Sea, built by the British as Bombay on seven islands joined together, and grown since into the commercial and film capital of India. Its Victorian Gothic core faces the harbour at the Gateway of India; Marine Drive curves along the bay; and the suburbs run north for hours.
Why go
For the energy, first: the local trains, the street food, the markets, the sea walls at sunset with the whole city out for air. Then for the architecture — the railway terminus, the High Court, the art deco line of Marine Drive — and the caves on Elephanta island in the harbour.
It is also a cosmopolitan city, with restaurants, galleries and nightlife to match, and a good first or last stop on a longer journey through the country.
Highlights
What people go for, in no particular order.
01The Gateway of India and Colaba
The arch on the harbour front, with the old hotel beside it, the boats to Elephanta leaving from the steps and the causeway market behind.
02Marine Drive and Chowpatty
The bay-side boulevard called the Queen's Necklace for its lights at night, ending at Chowpatty beach where the city eats bhel puri at dusk.
03Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
The Victorian Gothic railway station, still handling the suburban lines, with the Fort district's banks, courts and university around it.
04Elephanta Island
Rock-cut cave temples with a monumental three-headed Shiva, an hour by boat across the harbour from the Gateway.
05The markets and the street food
Crawford Market for fruit and spice, Chor Bazaar for antiques, the flower market at Dadar before dawn, and vada pav, pav bhaji and kebabs on every corner.
06Kala Ghoda and the museums
The arts district with its galleries and cafés, the collection of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (the former Prince of Wales Museum), and the Jehangir gallery. Bandra to the north has the newer creative scene.
07Dharavi and the dabbawalas
Community-led walks through the workshops and homes of Dharavi, and the lunchbox carriers who move meals across the city by train each day, are the two tours worth taking.
Areas
Where to base yourself, and what each area is like.
Colaba and Fort
The historic south: the Gateway, the museums, the cafés and the grand hotels. The classic base.
Marine Drive and Churchgate
Sea-front art deco with the promenade on the doorstep and the Fort district a walk away.
Bandra
The western suburb of the film industry, with restaurants, boutiques and the sea link to the south. Younger and livelier.
Juhu and the airport suburbs
The beach, the film-star bungalows and the hotels near the airport, well north of the old city.
When to go: Mumbai
- WinterNovember – February
- Dry, warm and relatively cool in the evenings: the season for walking the city. Also the festival and wedding season.
- SummerMarch – May
- Hot and humid, building towards the monsoon. Early mornings on Marine Drive and the sea breeze at Chowpatty help.
- Wet seasonJune – October
- The monsoon: heavy rain, flooded streets, dramatic seas over the walls, and the city carrying on regardless. Green, and quieter.
Getting there
Airports
One airport in our search serves Mumbai. Distances are measured in a straight line.
- BOMChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International
Distance from
- DXBDubai1,930 km
- SINSingapore3,920 km
- JNBJohannesburg6,960 km
- CDGParis7,000 km
- LHRLondon7,210 km
- SYDSydney10,160 km
- JFKNew York12,530 km
Getting around: Mumbai
The suburban trains are the city's arteries and its spectacle; the newer metro lines and the sea link are the comfortable alternatives. Black-and-yellow taxis and ride-hailing cover the south; auto-rickshaws work in the suburbs.
Traffic is heavy and distances long; allow time. The southern peninsula, from Colaba to Marine Drive, is walkable in the cooler hours.
Practical facts
The country, its currency and languages, the time zone and the time there now.
- Country
- India
- Currency
- INR · Indian Rupee
- Languages
- Marathi, Hindi and English
- Time zone
- India Standard Time
- Local time now
- Calling code
- +91
The atlas
Mumbai in figures
The figures under this guide: the climate on modelled 2001–2020 averages, how far it is from the UAE, and the places around it.
Climate
The weather in Mumbai, month by month
- Jan31°
- Feb34°
- Mar37°
- Apr38°
- May37°
- Jun32°
- Jul28°
- Aug28°
- Sept29°
- Oct31°
- Nov31°
- Dec30°
- Mild to warm and dry
- Mild to warm, humid or showery
- Hot
- Cool
- Wet
- Cold
Good for going, on these averages: October to January.
Mean highs run from 28°C in August to 38°C in April, with about 2,509 mm of rain in a year.
These are modelled averages for 2001–2020; the seasons described above are our own reading of a typical year.
Month-by-month climate for MumbaiModelled averages for an area about 50 km across, not a weather station's record: NASA POWER climatology, 2001–2020.
Airports
How far it is from the UAE
From DXBMumbai
1,930 km
3 hrs · Estimate
From AUHMumbai
1,970 km
3 hrs 5 mins · Estimate
The great-circle distance, and a rough flying time: the distance at an average 850 km/h plus 45 minutes for take-off and landing. Real flights follow airways, meet headwinds and wait for traffic, so schedules differ.
On the map
Places near Mumbai
In pictures: Mumbai
Plan this trip: Mumbai
Open the trip builder with Mumbai already filled in. Flights, stays and everything else are priced together in one quote, prepared by a person on our team.
