Modern Mumbai Photos

Photograph by Michael Rubenstein

The National Gallery of Modern Art, located in Kala Ghoda, displays the works of famous Indian artists like M.F. Husain, whose works range from controversial paintings of Hindu deities to a series on Mother Teresa. Art lovers can check out the works of artists selling prints outside neighboring galleries.

Read more about Mumbai in the City Life section of the October 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Michael Rubenstein

Visitors have their photo taken outside the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel. Opened in 1903, this luxurious hotel has hosted guests ranging from Mick Jagger and Andrew Lloyd Weber to Margaret Thatcher and Jacqueline Onassis.

Read more about Mumbai in the City Life section of the October 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Michael Rubenstein

Bombay Electric boutique stocks Indian designer labels by the likes of Manish Arora and Gaurav Gupta, as well as whimsical accessories like this CD player topped with a modern interpretation of the Hindu elephant-headed god Ganesh.

Read more about Mumbai in the City Life section of the October 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Michael Rubenstein

The recently restored Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum (formerly the Victoria & Albert) is Mumbai's oldest museum. It chronicles Mumbai's history with souvenirs from the British Raj like a statue of Prince Albert and 19th-century maps showing locations of Mumbai's old cotton mills.

Read more about Mumbai in the City Life section of the October 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Michael Rubenstein

A young girl finds it hard to choose among the rainbow of flavors at a shaved ice stand at Chowpatty Beach. Chowpatty is Mumbai's street-stall hub, where you can get fresh coconut water, bhel puri (a snack of puffed rice, crisp graham-flour noodles, potatoes, and chutney), and much more.

Read more about Mumbai in the City Life section of the October 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Michael Rubenstein

Popular lounge-bar Shiro, with its elaborate decor, is quiet and relatively empty during the week, but on the weekends it is hopping with activity. It's located in the Bombay Dyeing Mill Compound, in Worli.

Read more about Mumbai in the City Life section of the October 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Michael Rubenstein

In Mumbai, taxis are readily available and reasonably priced. Yellow and black taxis have no air-conditioning, the more expensive blue/silver Cool Cabs do. Traffic is usually bad so leave a lot of time to get around.

Read more about Mumbai in the City Life section of the October 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Michael Rubenstein

This elegant dining room is part of the $7,800-a-night Rajput Suite at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel in Mumbai. According to staff lore, when John Lennon and Yoko Ono stayed here, they didn't leave the suite for five days.

Read more about Mumbai in the City Life section of the October 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Michael Rubenstein

One of the iconic mosques in Mumbai is the Haji Ali-Dargah, a beautiful white building with domes and minarets built on a rock off the mainland, accessible by foot only during low tide.

Read more about Mumbai in the City Life section of the October 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Michael Rubenstein

In Mumbai's Chor Bazaar, hundreds of vendors sell everything from chandeliers to tea sets to old clocks to vintage phones. Shoppers should prepare for hard bargaining and should know their artworks—some vendors sell fakes.

Read more about Mumbai in the City Life section of the October 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler.