100 Things To Do in Bombay

Uber cool list compiled by Zishaan

Get high on qawwali at Haji Ali
Spot a celebrity at Juhu PVR
Sit down on the steps of Asiatic Society library
Crane your neck to see the Bombay Stock Exchange building
Spot a leopard in IIT Bombay campus. If you can’t, then settle for an IITian girl
Enjoy a play in Prithvi Theatre
Enjoy the NCPA in a play or opera
Find some calm around the Banganga tank
Haggle for non-antiques in Chor Bazaar
Face the high tide on Worli seaface
Bet money on race horses at the Royal Western India Turf Club, Mahalaxmi
Dangle your feet, lean back on your palms and enjoy the sea from the Marine Drive promenade
Go for a heritage walk in the Naval Dockyard (first Sunday every month, Indian nationals only)
Explore the Sanjay Gandhi national park. A national park in city limits? Oh yeah!
Soak in the Victoria Terminus
Watch DDLJ at Maratha Mandir
Party at Hard Rock Cafe and mourn for a minute the death of mills around Parel
Jog on Juhu beach
Sit on a tetropod at Nariman Point in midnight till police constables shoo you away
Stand still on flyover bridger at Dadar station and watch the crowd whiz by you
Find out who is grittier. You or Crawford market?
Find the Fort wall
Ride the Victoria on Marine Drive. Yeah, cheesy, we know
Discover the city’s Jewish connection at Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue
Watch sunset over Aksa beach in Madh Island
Discover the underbelly of Bombay in Dharavi
Stay for a night at Taj Mahal Palace hotel. You definitely want to tick off this luxury address for the oh-I-stayed-there-for-a-while conversations, don’t you?
Catch the national madness of cricket in Oval Maidan
Read a Bombay book (Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City?) in Azaad Maidan
Cheer a football match at Cooperage ground
Bury your nose in books for hours at Strand
Stroll in Bombay University
Climb the airport wall in Kurla to gain phenomenal views of Boeings
Swoon at a concert in Bandra Kurla complex
Gaze at the Queen’s Necklace from the Hanging Gardens at dusk
Hunt for antique furniture (real or fake?) in Oshiwara
Hike up the Mazgaon Hill
Buy books from roadsides around Flora Fountain
Envy the private palaces of Malabar Hill
Party on a ferry in the Arabian Sea off Gateway of India
Take a break from the city. Vasai offers the ramparts of Bassein fort, ruins of Portugese churches and East Indian food
Trek in Sahayadris
Say hello to the fauna at Byculla zoo
Buy a camera from D N Road’s gray market
Dare the red light district of Kamatipura
Guess what RFID system they use to tag clothes at the Dhobi Ghat
Take a power nap at David Sassoon Library

Catch movies at art-deco cinemas: Regal (1933), Eros (1938), Metro (1938)
Bow your head before city’s famous deities: Mumbadevi, Mahalaxmi, Walkeshwar, Siddhivinayak, Iskcon
Dine where Shahrukh Khans and Ness Wadias dine: Olive, Indigo
Feel the sufi mysticism at dargahs of Haji Ali and Maqdoom Ali Mahimi
Shop at the Bandra boutiques or if they are too expensive, give Hill Road or Fashion Street a shot
Gape at famous residences: Shahrukh Khan’s Mannat, Amitabh Bachhan’s Jalsa
Discover theatre scene in the city at venues other than Prithvi and NCPA: Sophia Bhabha Hall, Breach Candy; St Andrews, Bandra W; Rangsharda Auditorium, Bandra W; Ravindra Natya Mandir Hall, Prabhadevi; Gadkari Rangayatan, Thane W; Shivaji Mandir; Bhartiya Vidhya Bhavan, Chaupaati; Tejpal Hall, Grant Road
Explore the Powai and Vihar lakes
Visit the museums: Prince of Wales, Monetary, Modern Art, Mani Bhavan
Admire the British era architecture in Fort: Churchgate station, Western Railway headquarters, High Court, General Post Office, Telegraph Office, Police Headquarters
Learn about the rock-cut architecture: Elephanta, Kanheri, Mahakali and Karla caves
Explore the churches: Gloria Church, Byculla, Portugese; Mt Mary Church, Bandra W, Portugese, 1640; St Michaels Church, Mahim, 1565, rebuilt 1973; St Thomas Cathedral, Flora Fountain, 1718; Wodehouse Church, Colaba, 20th century; Afghan Church, Navy Nagar, Colaba, 1858; Our Lady of Salvation Church, Dadar W, Portugese, 19th century; St John Baptist, Seepz, 1579; St Peter’s Church, Bandra, 1852, rebuilt 1938; St Andrew’s Church, Bandra, Portugese, 1575
Check out an art exhibition: Jehangir Art Gallery, Fort; Tao Art Gallery, Worli; Piramal Art Gallery, Nariman Point
Buy fish at Sassoon Docks, Cuffe Parade or Dockyard Road, Mazgaon
Find the forts of Bombay: Bombay Castle, Fort; Castella de Aguada, Bandra; Madh Fort, Versova; Mahim Fort, Mahim; Sion Fort, Sion; Sewri Fort, Sewri; Worli Fort, Worli
Buy a vintage bollywood poster in Mini Market or Lamington Road
Getaway to the beaches around Bombay: Alibag, Kashid, Murud, Nagaon
Travel to places overnight: Goa, Ajanta Ellora, Mahabaleshwar, Pune, Khandala and Lonavala

Discover the charm of marble tabletops, bentwood chairs and irani chai at Parsi cafes
Catch behind the scenes action at a Bollywood studio
Loft the ball for a six in your neighborhood ‘galli’ cricket but make sure you don’t break any window panes
Silently stare at the Towers of Silence and Agiaries
Shadow the dabbawalas for one full day
Walk through a koliwada
Ride a vintage lift in a 100 year old building
Travel in a local train. How about the Virar Fast?
Ride a double decker bus. Isn’t Bombay the only city where they still run them?
If you have made it to a penthouse in Bombay, you might as well enjoy the view
Drink cutting chai, eat vada pav

Gorge on late night sandwiches in Juhu
Sip some wine at an expensive seaside restaurant: Vie Lounge, Juhu; Dome, Intercontinental, Marine Drive; Aurus, Juhu; Salt Water Grill, Girgaum Chaupaati; Bayview Bar, Nariman Point
Figure what all the fuss is about having a beer in Mondegar or Leopold
Jack you car bonnet using a cold-drink bottle and eat kebabs at Bade Miyan in Taj’s back alley
Savour a fine authentic meal of East Indian cuisine at Anant Ashram in Kotichawadi
Eat a Gujrati-Marwari thali at Friends Union Joshi club in Kalbadevi
Smoke a hookah at roof-top restaurant Koyla in the Arab quarters of Colaba
Eat South Indian fare in Matunga
Eat pav bhaji, pani puri, bhel puri, sev puri at Girgaum Chaupaati
Chew a paan outside Shoppers Stop, Bandra W
Indulge yourself with fruity flavors of Naturals ice cream. And if it’s summer, try a cup of alfonso mangoes with malai ice cream
Learn out the art of ordering tea in a streetside cafe. “Ek paani kum dena.”
Drink Kingfisher, Cobra or Zingaro in your neighborhood look-alike bar of Nightlovers
Try the green chilli ice cream at Bachelorrs
Swing to some live music as you enjoy your continental meal at Not Just Jazz By The Bay. Do pay attention to the witty hoarding outside as you leave the place

Run the Bombay Marathon (Jan)
Enjoy the Kala Ghoda arts festival (Feb)
Cheer ‘Mumbai Indians’ in an IPL cricket match at Wankhede statdium (May-Jun)
Get drenched to the bone while biking in the monsoons (Jul-Sep)
Sing “Govinda aala re aala” as 40 feet high human pyramids take the prized matka (Aug-Sep)
Get lost in the crowds of Ganesh Chaturthi (Sep)
Watch thousands of pink flamingos in the mangroves at Sewri (Nov-May)
Eat nihari, kebabs and sweetmeats around Masjid on the eve of Eid (Ramzan)
Run a ‘free hug’ campaign. This is Bombay, meri jaan!
I personally think that there are 14 million reasons to be in Bombay and over a million things to do here.