Proof of the city’s maturing art scene, this gallery moved from a humble 200-square-foot space to its current location, a Victorian-era warehouse, in 2007. Owned by husband and wife duo Mortimer Chatterjee and Tara Lal, the gallery works with an impressive roster of emerging talent including performance artist Nikhil Chopra, Berlin-based Sophie Ernst and influential Pakistani artist Rashid Rana.

The history of this family-owned art space goes back to 1940s when the Gandys, who ran a frame manufacturing business, realized there was no real venue for contemporary artists to display their works. Many of these artists, such as S. H. Raza and M.F. Husain, had been coming into the original Chemould Frames store to purchase frames for their canvases. And so, the first Gallery Chemould was established within the Jehangir Art Gallery and then relocated to this present-day expansive space. The Gandys’ daughter, Shireen, joined on in 1988 and began bringing young emerging artists to the gallery, hosting Subodh Gupta’s first solo show. Also among the artist roster: Atul Dodiya, Jitish Kallat, Nilima Sheikh and Vivan Sundaram.

Mumbai’s lunch box delivery system has been canonized in the recent hit movie The Lunchbox and reviewed as a Harvard Business School Case study for its incredibly low error rate. Every workday, more than 20,000 hot, homemade lunches are delivered to offices around the vast financial capital by approximately 5,000 dabbawalas (which translates to “those who carry a box”). With a complex coding and sorting system, the error rate is said to be as low as one mistake in 6 million. To see the sorting in action, it is necessary to go to the central pick-up area near the train station (Churchgate or Victoria) between 11:30 and noon. Contact the Indagare Bookings Team to arrange for a city tour, which includes a visit.

The largest open-air laundry in the world, Mumbai’s Dhobi Ghat Laundry lies in the Mahalaxmi area, and it is estimated that roughly half a million pieces are cleaned a day by close to 500 dhobis, or washermen. Garments and linens arrive from hotels, individuals and retail operations that have their fashions pre-washed here. Then, they are sorted, dried and ironed by different workers in a highly efficient system that thrives because the human labor remains cheaper than using a washing machine would be. The best views are from a highway overpass that allows you to look into the acres of concrete washing tubs lined with shanties where dhobis and their families live, but if you want to descend for an up-close tour you can. Contact the Indagare Bookings Team to arrange for a city tour, which includes a visit.

Reopened in 2008 after a painstaking restoration (that earned it a UNESCO award), this 134-year-old city museum showcases Indian objects of art and 19th-century photographs of the city. Even if you’re not as interested in the collection, the building itself, with its ornate ceilings, cast ironwork and tiled staircase is worth a visit.

This UNESCO World Heritage site is a boat ride away from the city but well worth the trip. Once you arrive at the small island, you have a walk of about a half mile that includes 120 steps (most of which are lined with souvenir sellers) before you reach the magnificent temple to Shiva that is carved out of the rocks. The fabulous structure, with Hindu and Buddhist figures that date between the 5th and 8th centuries, is a reminder of an ancient and lost civilization. The highlight is the central three-headed Shiva with aspects of the creator, preserver and destroyer. The ferries that leave from the  Gateway to India take about an hour each way, but our Bookings Team can arrange for a private motor boat to cut the travel time to around 20 minutes. The ideal way to visit is to leave the Gateway to India by private boat at 8:15 am and arrive before anyone else so you can explore the temple with only the resident monkeys.

Ranjana Steinruecke ran a contemporary Indian art gallery in Berlin before returning to Mumbai to start this space, right behind the Taj hotel, with her mother in 2006. The gallery works with several emerging to mid-career artists from India and beyond.

During the days of the British Raj, dignitaries including King George V and Queen Mary, arrived and were met at this 33-foot-tall basalt arch. After India got its independence in 1947, the last British troops also departed through here.

Situated 1,500 feet off of Mumbai’s shores, in the middle of the Arabian Sea, this early 20th-century mosque is dedicated to Iranian saint Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, who is celebrated for spreading knowledge about Islam and rests in a white marble tomb within. The pathway leading to the mosque can only be used in low tide, as high tides and heavy monsoon rain often submerge it in water. The exterior of the mosque, along with its miniarets and domes, is lit nightly.

This Hindu temple, built in the 1830s and dedicated to namesake deity Mahalakshmi (the goddess of wealth and good fortune), is one of the most important religious sites in all of Mumbai.

Located right on the water, this is Mumbai’s (and arguably all of India’s) premier venue for concerts, dances, theater and more; and proof of how much the city is rooted in the arts. Watch for performances by the Symphony Orchestra of India, English-language productions that often cast Bollywood stars as well as annual festivals like Centrestage and MumbaiLit.

Located in Prabhadevi, this five-story marble and pink granite temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh is one of Mumbai’s most impressive. The black stone statue of Ganesh within, dating to the original temple from 1801, is only about two feet tall, and his trunk faces the right (usually it’s the left). Among the 47 gold plated crowns on the roof of the building is one that’s 12 feet tall. It is said that when devotees aren’t able to visit the temple on crowded days, they may just pray by looking at the golden dome. The entire lane leading up to the temple is flanked with vendors selling sweets and flower garlands to be offered to Lord Ganesh.

Though the official name of this historic train station is now Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, most people still refer to it as Victoria Station. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is an extravagant masterpiece of Victorian architecture that was built in 1878. Designed by F.W. Stevens, it mixes Gothic Revival styles with Indian motifs and covers more than six acres. Thousands of workers stream in and out of the station throughout the day and yet the façade projects a bygone grandeur worth seeing.