Activities

Maidan cricket is a Mumbai institution; generations of Mumbaikers have grown up aiming leather at willow on the green expanse of the Oval Maidan. It's not unheard of for players to welcome strangers to join informal games in progress; spectators are always welcome.

Points of interest

Indigo

Indigo remains the Mumbai restaurant par excellence, offering inventive European cuisine, a fine wine list, sleek ambience and a fairy-lit roof deck. Bookings are essential but if it's full you can always hang out with Mumbai's finest at the bar.

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Mahesh Lunch Home

This is the place to try if you're after delectable Mangalorean seafood. Renowned for its ladyfish, pomfret, lobster and crabs, its rawas tikka (marinated white salmon) and pomfret tandoor are superb, stand-out dishes.

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Peshawri

Make this Indian northwest frontier restaurant, conveniently located just outside the international airport, your first or last stop in Mumbai. You will not regret forking out for the sublime leg of spring lamb and amazing dhal Bukhara (a thick black dhal cooked for over a day).

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Eros Cinema

A gorgeous Art Deco cinema with a glorious rocket-shaped facade. Punters come here for Bollywood smashes and a smaller number of Hollywood imports. Stand for the national anthem, but don't feel you have to maintain a respectful hush during the film - your fellow filmgoers won't.

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Olive Bar & Kitchen

Located in the chi-chi Pali Hill area, this Mediterranean-influenced restaurant and bar is just what the doctor ordered. The food is light and delicious, the DJ spins soothing sounds and decor is pure Ibiza, complete with a comfy, cushioned chill-out area tucked away in the back. Bookings essential; dress well to get past the style police on the door.

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Seijo & the Soul Dish

Probably Mumbai's most space-age bar, upstairs in a office block and decorated with Manga comicbook art on the walls. Expect ambient house, r'n'b and soul, plus neon lights shining at spacy angles. And don't miss the toilets, hidden in rounded alien pods.

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St Thomas' Cathedral

This charming church is the oldest English building in Mumbai. Construction began in 1672, but the church remained unfinished until 1718. It was restored in 2004 (winning a Unesco World Heritage award in the process) and its airy, whitewashed interior is full of colonial memorials and ornately carved gravestones.

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Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum

Also known as the Prince of Wales Museum, this institution is set in an ornamental garden and boasts a galleried central hall topped by a huge dome, said to have been inspired by the Golgumbaz in Bijapur. The gallery's collection includes impressive sculptures, terracotta figurines, miniature paintings, porcelain and weaponry.

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Mani Bhavan

The building where Mahatma Gandhi stayed during his visits to Bombay is now a small, but engrossing, museum that shouldn't be missed. Gandhi's simple room remains untouched and there's a wonderful photographic record of his life, along with dioramas and original documents such as letters he wrote to Hitler and US President Roosevelt.

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Admission

Nehru Planetarium and Nehru Centre

The most striking thing about this cultural complex is the bold modern architecture. The tower looks like a giant circular honeycomb and the planetarium looks like a UFO. There's a theatre and restaurant here plus an interesting, and free, history exhibition.

Don't miss the fantastic free Discovery of India exhibition, which uses audiovisual displays, photographs, cut outs, dioramas and mock-ups of famous monuments and temples to tell the national story.

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Chowpatty Beach

Chowpatty is still a favourite spot for anyone out to enjoy what passes for fresh air. Get the full experience by strolling through the many beachside stalls for some bhelpuri or a head massage. The water is not the cleanest but the beach is litter-free, patrolled by lifeguards and lit up at night. Visiting Chowpatty in the evening is an essential part of any trip to Mumbai.

The highlight of the year at Chowpatty is Ganesh Chaturthi (August/September), when huge crowds gather to watch images of the elephant-headed god of good fortune, Ganesh, paraded through the city streets and immersed in the sea.

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Events

In February or March, followers of Vishnu go into celebration overdrive for the annual festival of Holi, celebrating the defeat of the demon king Hiranyakashipu by Narasimha (Lord Vishnu in his man-lion incarnation). Huge quantities of water and coloured powder are thrown around and everyone gets a drenching, including tourists. Many visitors buy some cheap clothes to wear and throw away at the end of the festival.

The Elephanta Festival is a classical dance and music event held on Elephanta Island, usually in February.

The highlight of the religious calendar is Ganesh Chaturthi, an 11-day Hindu festival held in August or September to honour Ganesh, the elephant-headed god of wisdom and prosperity. Hundreds of colourful images of Ganesh are sculpted from mud and displayed in pavilions around the city, before being ritually immersed in the ocean. At about the same time of year, Naag Panchami sees offerings made to snake images; snake charmers flock into the city with the real thing to celebrate the serpent Ananta, upon whose coils Vishnu rested. Snakes are believed to have power over the monsoon rains and can keep evil from homes, but animal welfare groups have raised concerns about the treatment of snakes during this festival.

On the last day of the monsoon, in a ritual called Nariyal Poornima, Mumbai's fisherfolk offer coconuts and flowers to the sea god Varuna to calm the turbulent monsoon waters on the last day of the rainy season. Freshly painted boats are launched and a new fishing season begins. This festival is best seen at fishing communities in Colaba and Versova.

Every September, Mumbai's Christians celebrate the Feast Day of the Virgin Mary at the Bandra Fair, centred on the Basilica of Mount Mary in Bandra.

Each year, Muslims celebrate the end of the fasting month of Ramadan when the new moon appears at Id-ul-Fitr. The festival moves back 11 days every year - it will take place in October in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Celebrated in Mumbai during October or November, Diwali - the festival of lights - goes off with gusto. Commemorating Rama's return from exile, families place butter lamps in doorways and windows and a barrage of fireworks explode across the city. For a quieter spectacle, watch the traditional Diwali lamps being floated on the Banganga Tank.

The Gregorian New Year's Eve is also celebrated: effigies of old men symbolising the dying year are paraded through the street accompanied by fervent drumming and dancing. At the stroke of midnight the effigies are set alight and bombarded by firecrackers. This whooping event is best witnessed on Colaba's harbour front between the Taj Mahal Hotel and Arthur Bunder Rd.

official holidays

Books

The standard historical work on the city.

Mumbai features strongly in a book that was almost banned locally.

Mumbai-born Mistry's novel concerns a man struggling with ill health and the effect of this on his family.

Mehta returns to his native city after 21 years away and chronicles the changes of this clogged city through an examination of organised crime, the sex trade and Bollywood.