Have your breakfast and prepare for a full-day sightseeing tour of Mumbai.
Dhobi Ghat, Gateway of India, Mumbai Fort, Flora Fountain, Victoria Terminus, Rajabai Clock Tower, Mumbai High Court, Chowpatty Beach, and Marine Drive are to be visited today.
No wonder Marine Drive is the most iconic spot of Mumbai. Locals and travelers come here for a sip of coffee and to swallow peace. Often it is called a Queen's Necklace as the lights flickering through the coastline at night look like a string of pearls. A busy road passes along the Marine Drive, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road. Skim through the skyline and it would remind you of NYC cityscape. A lot of attractions and prominent offices of the city are located around Marine Drive.
Just a few kilometers away at Marine Drive's northern end, Chowpatty Beach is located, which is a popular beach in Mumbai. The beach is usually flocked with visitors and you may find many vendors selling panipuri, bhelpuri, pav bhajis, ragda patties, etc. Especially during Ganesh Chaturthi festival the beach gets even more thronged by devotees. Even during the Dussehra festival, an effigy of Ravan (devil from the epic of Ramayana) is set to fire.
Gateway of India is yet another popular attraction and icon of Mumbai. This monument was built by the British to commemorate the visit of Their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary at Apollo Bunder, in 1911. However, back then the structure wasn't ready so the foundation stone was laid. The construction was finally over in 1924.
Flora Fountain or Hutama Chowk is a fountain located at the heart of the city. It was erected in 1869 in honor of Sir Bartle Frere, a British Governor. The fountain is decorated with mythological figurines and at its top Roman Goddess of Flowers is chiseled.
Victoria Terminus (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) doesn't look like a railway station, as its architecture is somewhere beyond brilliance. It is built in an Italian-Gothic style with a frontage of more than fifteen thousand feet. Three sides of this rectangular edifice are enclosed by manicured gardens. Its façade has a 160-feet-high dome, on which a statue lady bearing a torch stands. The station is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built-in 1887 to commemorate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria. Today, it is amongst the busiest railway stations of India and serves as a terminal for Mumbai Suburban Railway.
Rajabai Clock Tower is often compared to the Big Ben of London. The clock tower is located near the University of Mumbai Campus. Its total height is 85 m. In the past, a lot of people used it as a suicidal point and thus it had to be then closed for visitors. It is named after the mother of its sole finance contributor Premchand Roychand. His blind mother was a Jainism follower and used to have dinner before late evening and the bell of the clock helped her get the idea of the time.
Bombay High Court is among the oldest courts of India and indeed a highly distinguished one of the countries. The structure is built in the Gothic-Revival style and was inaugurated in 1862. Though the name of the city changed from Bombay to Mumbai, the name of this court remained the same.
Dhobi Ghat of Mumbai has special significance. Dhobi means laundryman and laundries are called ghats. You can take a stroll and watch these people at work. Mumbai Fort is an area in North of Colaba and is named so because an Old British Fort was located here once. The area is dotted with many structures that remind of Mumbai's golden period; like St. John's Church which is dedicated to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the First Afghan War of 1843 and the Singh Campaign of 1838.
Overnight stay at the hotel in Mumbai.