Mumbai needs no introduction. It is one of the most popular Indian cities and is best known for being the commercial, entertainment, and financial hub of India. Formerly named as Bombay, it is the city that was ruled by the Portuguese, given away as dowry to the British, and became a major centre in India's struggle for independence. It is one of the most glamorous cities and just often referred as the “City of dreams”.
Contemporary Mumbai is the country's representation of growth. Equipped with every single aspect of modernization, the city is the “commerce capital of India”. It has every major national as well and international banks and is home to a mass of companies, schools, colleges, shopping malls, super markets, entertainment centres, libraries, art and cultural centres, and more. It has the most number of millionaires and billionaires living in India and is also home to a big population living below poverty line. However, the city's GDP is highest not just in India but also in South, Central, and West Asia. The city has been ranked as the Alpha World City 2009. Mumbai also ranks amongst the most populated cities in the world.
The city is always in motion and literally never sleeps. It is continuously climbing the ladder of growth. The transformation of the city is pretty prominent in its infrastructure. The increasing number of plush residences, shopping malls, multiplexes, night clubs, bars, sleek office complexes, IT parks, restaurants, hotels in Mumbai, etc. consolidates the fact. It is the city of exclusivity where locals have a certain taste of luxury.
Mumbai's journey towards prosperity began when the British decided to transform Mumbai, which was then a cluster of seven islands in the western coast of India into a major port city. After the region was given as a dowry to the British when King Charles II married the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza, during the mid-18th Century the British decided to reshape the seven islands into one major port city under the Project entitled Hornby Vellard Project. The project got completed in 1845 with the formation of a transformed Bombay as a major seaport on the Arabian Sea. During the 19th Century the city became an important centre of education and commerce. The influence of the British today exists on a very small-scale but is a significant aspect of the city's past.
Home to the people from different region, religion, and background the city is a melting pot of multiple cultures. The richness of Mumbai's culture reflects in its temples, mosques, churches, festivals, art and craft centres, and cuisines. If one is a culture-buff Mumbai is the place to visit.
The list of city's sightseeing is rather long and completely exploring and unraveling every aspect of the city may take a lifetime. Still, the most significant places of Mumbai tourism include: Essel World, Brabourne stadium, High Court, Cathedral of the Holy Name, Film City, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Bombay Natural History Museum, Fashion Street, Dharavi, Elephanta Island, Bandra, Chowpatty Beach, Gateway of India, Haji Ali Mosque, Flora Fountain, ISCKON temple, Juhu Beach, Kamala Nehru Park, Marine Drive, Nehru Planetarium, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Worli Fort, and Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai shares excellent connectivity to rest of the nation. The Mumbai to Delhi flightsand vice-versa is one of the busiest and most preferred modes to access Mumbai. Besides, there are frequent daily flights to and from Chennai, Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Chandigarh.