Mumbai , which was formally Bombay, under British occupation, is the largest city in India and the capital of Maharashtra state. The city has an estimated metropolitan population of 21 million , making it one of the world's most populous cities, and one with lot’s of budget hotel selections from Travel Clearance.
Mumbai is the commercial capital of India and is one of the major port cities in the country. Mumbai's nature as the most eclectic and cosmopolitan Indian city is symbolized in the presence of Bollywood within the city, the centre of the globally-influential Hindi film and TV industries, acting as the backdrop for the award-winning Slumdog Millionaire as well. It is also home to India's largest slum population. There are many fascinating attractions and things to do, starting with a long list of temples that you can take in on your visit.
Mumbai has temples, mosques, churches, Parsi agiaries, and even a few synagogues reflecting the diversity of its citizens. While these are naturally of interest if you are a believer, some, like the Portuguese church at Dadar are worth visiting just for their unique architecture alone.
The magnificent city built by the British within the walls of Fort St. George, which lies at the southern edge of the city, is a splendid collection of the Colonial era buildings and provides an excellent hands-on experience with India's history, culture, and architecture. Some fine examples of the Gothic revival, Neo-classical style and Indo-Saracenic style are also seen within this area.
A good way to get a feel for the beat of this port city is to stroll around the wide streets of the area right from Churchgate to Colaba, where markets such as the Colaba Causeway are a melting pot of tourists and locals, buying and selling Indian wares.These areas are all beautifully planned and have wide and clean pavements unlike the rest of the city. Famous monuments to be seen in this area are the Gateway of India, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus) building, the Municipal Corporation and Police Headquarters and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sanghralaya (formerly, the Prince Of Wales museum).
The city offers an excellent array of museums and art centres as well, such as The Kala Ghoda area in South Mumbai, and the National Gallery of Modern Art. Most of them are concentrated in South Mumbai. The area known as Marine Drive is home to a large number of buildings built in the Art Deco style. Mumbai is second only to Miami in the number of Art Deco buildings and some famous buildings in this style are the Eros and Regal cinemas.
For visitors looking for some peace and quiet during their vacation, the Mumbai beaches also provide a great place to relax away from the bustle of the city, and some city parks are very well-maintained and combine history as well. The "Hanging Gardens" on Malabar Hill offers stunning vistas of the Marine Drive. Opposite the Hanging Gardens, there is another park which is known as Kamla Nehru Park, famous for the striking shoe-shaped structure which has been filmed in various Bollywood movies. If you just want to sit back and relax after all your city-touring, then you can always just take in a Bollywood film in the movie capital of India.