Sand, bhel and the sea at the top of the bay.
Girgaon Chowpatty is right across the road: a city beach where evenings mean bhel puri, kulfi and families on the sand. At the end of Ganesh Chaturthi this is where the biggest immersion processions arrive.
The guide
12 places worth getting off the train for. See the whole guide
Walk
The city beach at the top of the bay. Evenings are for families, balloon sellers and the long view back down Marine Drive.
Short walk from the stationMap for Girgaon Chowpatty (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
Eat
Bhel puri, pav bhaji and kulfi from the row of stalls at the edge of the sand. This is where the city comes to eat them.
On the plate: Pav bhaji, Bhel puri, Kulfi
Short walk from the stationMap for Chowpatty food stalls (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
See
India's only surviving opera house, built in the 1910s and reopened in 2016 after a long restoration. It stages concerts and plays again.
Short walk from the stationMap for Royal Opera House (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
Walk
A lane of old wooden houses with verandahs and painted balconies, hidden behind Girgaon's main road.
Short walk from the stationMap for Khotachiwadi (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
See
The house Gandhi worked from on his visits to Bombay between 1917 and 1934, now a quiet museum and library.
15 to 20 minute walkMap for Mani Bhavan (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
See
An old Shiva temple on a small hill just past Chowpatty, reached by a flight of steps.
15 to 20 minute walkMap for Babulnath Temple (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
Eat
A vegetarian restaurant facing Chowpatty since 1958. The chole bhature is what most tables order.
15 to 20 minute walkMap for Cream Centre (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
Eat
A corner counter at Chowpatty that sells kulfi by weight, cut into slices on a plate.
On the plate: Kulfi
15 to 20 minute walkMap for New Kulfi Centre (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
Walk
Terraced gardens on top of Malabar Hill, laid out in 1881 over a water reservoir. Known for hedges clipped into animals and for the evening breeze.
Short taxi ride from the stationMap for Hanging Gardens (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
Walk
Across the road from the Hanging Gardens, with the giant shoe every Mumbai child has climbed. The railing gives the classic view down over Chowpatty and Marine Drive.
Short taxi ride from the stationMap for Kamala Nehru Park (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
See
A stepped freshwater tank at Walkeshwar, first built in the 12th century and ringed by temples. It is a village-quiet corner a few metres from the sea.
Short taxi ride from the stationMap for Banganga Tank (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
See
The Babu Amichand Panalal temple of 1904, on the Malabar Hill ridge road. Carved marble, painted ceilings and two stone elephants at the entrance.
Short taxi ride from the stationMap for Jain Temple, Walkeshwar (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
Something missing or wrong around Charni Road? Tell us
On foot
5 stops · Three hours
From the temple at the foot of the hill to the old tank at its far tip.
The city’s year
Then and now
1890sGirgaum Road · Photo by Photoglob Co., Library of Congress, Public domain
TodayGirgaon Chowpatty · Photo by Historical Trains, CC0
Tram tracks down the middle, low tiled houses and more palms than people. Girgaon is one of the most tightly packed neighbourhoods in the city now; the sand at its edge is where it goes to breathe.
From the people who were there
Nobody has sent one from here yet.
