15 Free (or almost free) Things to See & Do in Mumbai

Overwhelming. Chaotic. Sensory overload. When asking fellow travelers what I was in for after landing in Mumbai, I was met with strong feelings. It seemed to be a city you either loved or hated. Even India itself is polarizing. Some swear they’ll never return and others join an ashram, grow out their hair and find ways to never leave. 

I love Mumbai. The chaotic streets jammed with rickshaws, meandering goats munching piles of trash, & the visible clash of ancient tradition with industrial innovation, all make it one of the most interesting cities in India. A city with just as many skyscrapers as Hindi temples, Mumbai is a city of contradictions. After all, it’s the home of Bollywood, the most expensive house in the entire world, & India’s business elite, but it’s also the home of Dharavi– Asia’s largest slum, and a vast world of street food. 

& Mumbai is packed with free things to do in the city.

Mumbai is also immense. It is so large it could be a country in itself. 20.1 million people and counting. The city even contains a national park complete with prowling wild leopards. I can see why so many travelers find it overwhelming & have a difficult time separating the worthwhile attractions from the waste of time. I’ll break it down for you.

Let’s start with some tidbits you should know about Mumbai before you dive right in. 

Haggling is key. 

Prices in India are not set in stone. Haggling is part of the culture here and you should expect to bargain with all vendors aside from those selling food. 

You will get attention as a foreigner.

There’s just no way around it. I was surprised that in a city where spotting foreigners seemed commonplace, locals seemed eager to snap a quick photo. If you don’t want to take photos with crowds of locals like a Hollywood celebrity, don’t be afraid to give a firm no. 

Be prepared with small bills. 

In any other country, I would discourage giving money to child beggars but in Mumbai (& the rest of India) it’s a tricky situation. The ethics are ambiguous, but after being followed across 7 train stations by a sobbing child, I learned it’s often just easier to hand over a few coins. The locals do it too. Small change is also handy for street vendors and performers that you’ll encounter throughout the day. 

Start small and work toward longer days

Mumbai is huge, and sensory overload is practically guaranteed. It helps to break the city into bite-sized pieces and start with the easier to swallow ones, like Southern Mumbai. It’s the most tourist-friendly area and will cause the least amount of culture shock fresh off the plane.   

Mumbai is more about the experience & less about checking off a bucketlist. 

Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty to see in Mumbai but it’s not really a “tourist-friendly” city. Attractions are spread out and often just seeing the city in action is far more impressive. Just learn to embrace the chaos.

15 Free (or Almost Free) Things to do in Mumbai

1. Eat Your Heart Out 

Compare every modern metropolis that travelers fall in love with & they all seem to have one thing in common…a killer food scene. & Mumbai is no different. 

The mish-mash of cultures and cuisines that create good food is always at its best in a big city. Here in Mumbai, you have your traditional Northern & Southern Indian styles meshing to become something all its own. Pakistani & Iranian cuisines have a stronghold in Mumbai as well, but really, you can find almost any type of cuisine done remarkably well in Mumbai. 

So eat. From the $0.25 street food bites to the local lunch spots to the Michelin starred meals, Mumbai undoubtedly has some of the best bites in India, and you should sample it all. 

Keep in mind India is a vegetarian paradise. So much, in fact, restaurants advertise “non-vegetarian” if they serve meat, otherwise assume veggie is the standard. I promise you won’t even miss the meat. 

2. Spend a Day in Dharavi

Asia’s largest slum. Dharavi is home to more than 1 million people, all crammed into an area smaller than central park. & you just might recognize it from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Self-built houses stack one on top of another in a maze of corrugated metal and 2 ft. wide walkways. With none of it officially built or inspected, it’s a bit of an invisible city within a city. But against all odds, it thrives. Every street is lined with food, markets, open-air leather making, and pottery shops. As well as being one of the most interesting neighborhoods in Mumbai to wander, it’s also one of the best for street art. 

How to visit with a group: One of the most popular (and controversial) tourist attractions in Mumbai is to take a “slum tour”. But visiting doesn’t have to be poverty porn. Some organizations are respectful and informative giving 95% of the profits to community development and the schools in Dharavi. Another good indicator of a respectful organization is if the group discourages bringing your camera. Just be sure to research the group before you sign up. 

Want to visit on your own? Personally, I think visiting Dharavi independently is the best way to interact with the locals, give back to the community, & get a look at what life in Dharavi is like. Without the filtered lens of an organized tour. 

Tips for visiting Dharavi Independently 

• Take the train to Mahim station and then begin your tour on foot. A visit via rickshaw will not suffice. 
• Get lost and wander down every narrow alleyway. The street art is mostly on the perimeter of the town but all the action happens deep inside. 
• Talk to locals and buy local goods! It’s a great way to support the economy. 
• Don’t be nervous! If you visit on your own accord just don’t bring a large camera or snap photos of people without permission. Be respectful and friendly and you’ll be met with smiling faces.

3. Buy Back Your Stuff at Chor Bazaar or the Thieves Market

As the story goes, if you ever lose something in Mumbai you’ll likely find it here– at the Thieves Market. Specializing in antiques and home goods, you’ll also find entire cars stripped piece by piece, and tucked into the center is a huge indoor wet market. You can easily spend an entire afternoon wandering the coiling streets just “window” shopping. 

& while you’re at it browse some of Mumbai’s other impressive markets. 

• Bhuleshwar Bazaar is a massive wholesale market known for its cheap jewelry in Southern Mumbai.
• Linking Road Market. Take a peek at the residential alleyways of Bandra where clothing shops slowly turn into fruits and vegetable stands. 
• Matunga East. From saris to snacks this market is where most of Mumbai’s southern Indian population shops. 

4. Marvel at Dobi Ghat

Step off the Mahalaxmi train platform and take in all of Mumbai’s laundry hung out to dry. Dobi Ghat is an outdoor laundry run entirely by men. From this vantage point, you’ll see rows upon rows of color-coded uniforms from all Mumbai’s hospitals and hotels. Beneath the spider-web of clotheslines are the Dhobis themselves, diligently stomping dirty clothes into the washing pits and then wringing out the murky water garment by garment. The entire process is played out beneath you and you might be thinking…why would I want to watch someone do laundry? But just trust me, it’s worth a look. 

5. See the Most Elaborately Designed Train Station

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is both a mouthful and an eyeful. Whoever designed this train station must have thought it was going to be used by royalty. You have to go across the street to see it in all its glory. It’s a Gothic Victorian design that’s all spires and dramatic archways. & a fully functional railway station to boot. 

6. Take a Walk Past the Oval Maiden

Here you can see two of the national pass times in action. Cricket & fútbol. Universally loved and religiously followed, cricket and fútbol are as much a part of Mumbai culture as Ganesh and Naan. 

7. Be a Spectacle at the Gateway of India

The jewel of Southern Mumbai. The elaborately designed archway sitting on the Arabian sea is worth a visit just to snap a few photos. Since it’s the top tourist destination in Mumbai for Indian nationals as well as travelers, it’s a madhouse of activity. & weirdly enough a lot of attention will be focused on you. Locals love to take photos with foreigners and if you happen to have red-hair or some other exciting physical attribute the attention will be even more pronounced. 

8. Visit the Temples on Elephanta Island

From the moment you arrive at the gateway of India, you’ll be bombarded by local touts selling tickets to the cave temples just 10km offshore. As off-putting as the eager salesman can be, the UNESCO-World Heritage site crafted in 5-8 CE and dedicated to the god Shiva, is a really impressive cave temple complex. 

9. Join the Evening Prayer at the Haji Ali Dargah 

There are loads of holy sites worthy of your time in Mumbai, but none are as interesting as the Haji Ali Dargah. Sitting off the West coast of Mumbai, like a buoy floating in the sea, the mosque is only accessible at low tide when a small pathway becomes exposed. Join the throngs of pilgrims on Thursdays and Fridays that flock to the mosque to pay their respects. Just be sure to bring a headscarf if you are a woman. 

Other Mumbai Temples Worth A Visit

• ISKCON Temple. Best temple to visit for Meditation enthusiasts. 
• Siddhivinayak Temple. Visit on a Tuesday for the most action. 
• Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue. Enjoy its elaborate stained glass and vibrant blue exterior. 
• Babulnath Temple. An ancient temple. You can take the stairs all the way to its summit at 1,000ft above sea level. 

10. Check Out Some Bollywood Classics

Mumbai is the entertainment capital of India. Bollywood is to India what Hollywood is to the USA and it’s equally as glam and adored. It’s a big deal. & Mumbai has loads of Cinemas to catch a showing of a traditional Bollywood production. 

• Regal Cinemas. One of the oldest theaters in Mumbai. 
• Maratha Mandir. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge has been screening here daily since it’s release in 1995!

11. Take a Beachy Stroll Along the Coast

Juhu beach is often recommended but I found it to be fairly dirty and crowded with pushy beggars and salesmen. The Bandra coast is best when it comes to an idyllic evening stroll along the Arabian Sea. However, if Bandra doesn’t float your boat, slip outside the city to try one of these other beaches instead. 

• Uran Beach. Well-maintained and quiet beach with strikingly scenic views. 
• Gorai Beach. Quiet and under-visited on the Northwestern side of Mumbai. A great alternative to Juhu beach. 

12. Be Awed by Two Different Kinds of Mumbai Art

Bandra tops the list as one of my favorite Mumbai neighborhoods. Where narrow residential streets, that seem to be more of a maze than a typical city grid, are covered in elaborate street art murals. Specifically, chapel road. You don’t need to join a walking tour just give yourself an afternoon to get a little lost. 

Kala Ghoda on the other hand is for the real art aficionados. Packed with art galleries and still adorned with a smattering of street art, you can get a taste of Mumbai’s creative side here. The crown jewel of this neighborhood isn’t the modern art museum, the stunning gothic architecture, or the rare books in the David Sassoon Reading Room, but the Kala Ghoda Pavement Gallery. Cluttering the sidewalks of MG Road aspiring artists display, create, and sell their works of art. 

13. Witness the Magic of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link 

Bandra-Worli Sea Link is a modern architectural marvel. Perch up at the sea-link viewpoint in the evening to watch the 6 km long futuristic bridge glow with the taillights of traffic while the waves lap at its concrete feet. 

14. Spot Leopards at Sanjay Gandhi National Park 

Mumbai is so massive that it has an entire 34 square mile national park sitting inside it. This sprawling green-space even has 35 resident leopards in its midst, as well as the Kanheri caves dated to 1 BCE. Only the luckiest travelers will spot the prowling predators but everyone can enjoy the hikes and viewpoints within the park. 

Travel Tip: The caves are closed on Mondays and the park charges an entrance fee of 58 Rupees per person. 

15. Visit a local fishing market

Mumbai’s original inhabitants were fishermen. The city’s roots are in the sea. And there are plenty of local fish markets that pay homage to that history. If you’ve visited the beaches of Sri Lanka, you’ll probably have seen these fishy outdoor markets before.

• Worli Fishing Village. Walking through this colorful little fishing town is like stepping back in history. 
• Sassoon Docks Fish Market. One of the oldest and craziest fish markets in Mumbai. Visit before 6:30 AM to see the Koli fisherman and women at work. 
• Crawford Market. The early bird gets the best fish. Make sure to get here at 6-7 AM to see the fish auctions in all their glory.

Bonus Activity: Celebrate Holi in March

If your visit to India coincides with the Hindu celebration of Spring you are in for a technicolored treat. 

A near country-wide water & neon paint fight that’s contagiously fun. You can take to the streets and smear strangers with pastel powder or you can join in a small organized event often held at hostels and bars or one of the massive Holi festival parties complete with world-famous DJs and unlimited Bhang Lassi. Bhang Lassi is an intoxicating yogurt beverage infused with THC or Marijuana. & it packs a punch so indulge lightly. The date changes every year so be sure to check before you book your trip. 

Mumbai is unlike any other city in the country. & with this itinerary, you’ll be able to capture the city in all its diverse glory. From its seaman roots to the heavy colonial influence still plainly visible today, you’ll get a little bit of everything. You can spend as little as $20 per day on a bare-bones budget trip to the city. So if you’re looking for amazing food, architectural wonders, and a city as authentically Indian as it gets, you’re in the right place. 

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