Top 100 things to do in Bombay

1. Get high on qawwali at Haji Ali
2. Spot a celebrity at Juhu PVR
3. Sit down on the steps of Asiatic Society library
4. Crane your neck to see the Bombay Stock Exchange building
5. Spot a leopard in IIT Bombay campus. If you can’t, then settle for an IITian girl
6. Enjoy a play in Prithvi Theatre
7. Enjoy the NCPA in a play or opera
8. Find some calm around the Banganga tank
9. Haggle for non-antiques in Chor Bazaar
10. Face the high tide on Worli seaface
11. Bet money on race horses at the Royal Western India Turf Club, Mahalaxmi
12. Dangle your feet, lean back on your palms and enjoy the sea from the Marine Drive promenade
13. Go for a heritage walk in the Naval Dockyard (first Sunday every month, Indian nationals only)
14. Explore the Sanjay Gandhi national park. A national park in city limits? Oh yeah!
15. Soak in the Victoria Terminus
16. Watch DDLJ at Maratha Mandir
17. Party at Hard Rock Cafe and mourn for a minute the death of mills around Parel
18. Jog on Juhu beach
19. Sit on a tetropod at Nariman Point in midnight till police constables shoo you away
20. Stand still on flyover bridge at Dadar station and watch the crowd whiz by you
21. Find out who is grittier. You or Crawford market?
22. Find the Fort wall
23. Ride the Victoria on Marine Drive. Yeah, cheesy, we know
24. Discover the city’s Jewish connection at Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue
25. Watch sunset over Aksa beach in Madh Island
26. Discover the underbelly of Bombay in Dharavi
27. 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?
28. Catch the national madness of cricket in Oval Maidan
29. Read a Bombay book (Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City?) in Azaad Maidan
30. Cheer a football match at Cooperage ground
31. Bury your nose in books for hours at Strand
32. Stroll in Bombay University
33. Climb the airport wall in Kurla to gain phenomenal views of Boeings
34. Swoon at a concert in Bandra Kurla complex
35. Gaze at the Queen’s Necklace from the Hanging Gardens at dusk
36. Hunt for antique furniture (real or fake?) in Oshiwara
37. Hike up the Mazgaon Hill
38. Buy books from roadsides around Flora Fountain
39. Envy the private palaces of Malabar Hill
40. Party on a ferry in the Arabian Sea off Gateway of India
41. Take a break from the city. Vasai offers the ramparts of Bassein fort, ruins of Portugese churches and East Indian food
42. Trek in Sahayadris
43. Say hello to the fauna at Byculla zoo
44. Buy a camera from D N Road’s gray market
45. Dare the red light district of Kamatipura
46. Guess what RFID system they use to tag clothes at the Dhobi Ghat
47. Take a power nap at David Sassoon Library
48. Catch movies at art-deco cinemas: Regal (1933), Eros (1938), Metro (1938)
49. Bow your head before city’s famous deities: Mumbadevi, Mahalaxmi, Walkeshwar, Siddhivinayak, Iskcon
50. Dine where Shahrukh Khans and Ness Wadias dine: Olive, Indigo
51. Feel the sufi mysticism at dargahs of Haji Ali and Maqdoom Ali Mahimi
52. Shop at the Bandra boutiques or if they are too expensive, give Hill Road or Fashion Street a shot
53. Gape at famous residences: Shahrukh Khan’s Mannat, Amitabh Bachhan’s Jalsa
54. 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
55. Explore the Powai and Vihar lakes
56. Visit the museums: Prince of Wales, Monetary, Modern Art, Mani Bhavan
57. Admire the British era architecture in Fort: Churchgate station, Western Railway headquarters, High Court, General Post Office, Telegraph Office, Police Headquarters
58. Learn about the rock-cut architecture: Elephanta, Kanheri, Mahakali and Karla caves
59. 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
60. Check out an art exhibition: Jehangir Art Gallery, Fort; Tao Art Gallery, Worli; Piramal Art Gallery, Nariman Point
61. Buy fish at Sassoon Docks, Cuffe Parade or Dockyard Road, Mazgaon
62. 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
63. Buy a vintage bollywood poster in Mini Market or Lamington Road
64. Getaway to the beaches around Bombay: Alibag, Kashid, Murud, Nagaon
65. Travel to places overnight: Goa, Ajanta Ellora, Mahabaleshwar, Pune, Khandala and Lonavala
66. Discover the charm of marble tabletops, bentwood chairs and irani chai at Parsi cafes
67. Catch behind the scenes action at a Bollywood studio
68. Loft the ball for a six in your neighborhood ‘galli’ cricket but make sure you don’t break any window panes
69. Silently stare at the Towers of Silence and Agiaries
70. Shadow the dabbawalas for one full day
71. Walk through a koliwada
72. Ride a vintage lift in a 100 year old building
73. Travel in a local train. How about the Virar Fast?
74. Ride a double decker bus. Isn’t Bombay the only city where they still run them?
75. If you have made it to a penthouse in Bombay, you might as well enjoy the view
76. Drink cutting chai, eat vada pav
77. Gorge on late night sandwiches in Juhu
78. 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
79. Figure what all the fuss is about having a beer in Mondegar or Leopold
80. Jack you car bonnet using a cold-drink bottle and eat kebabs at Bade Miyan in Taj’s back alley
81. Savour a fine authentic meal of East Indian cuisine at Anant Ashram in Kotichawadi
82. Eat a Gujrati-Marwari thali at Friends Union Joshi club in Kalbadevi
83. Smoke a hookah at roof-top restaurant Koyla in the Arab quarters of Colaba
84. Eat South Indian fare in Matunga
85. Eat pav bhaji, pani puri, bhel puri, sev puri at Girgaum Chaupaati
86. Chew a paan outside Shoppers Stop, Bandra W
87. Indulge yourself with fruity flavors of Naturals ice cream. And if it’s summer, try a cup of alfonso mangoes with malai ice cream
88. Learn out the art of ordering tea in a streetside cafe. “Ek paani kum dena.”
89. Drink Kingfisher, Cobra or Zingaro in your neighborhood look-alike bar of Nightlovers
90. Try the green chilli ice cream at Bachelorrs
91. 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
92. Run the Bombay Marathon (Jan)
93. Enjoy the Kala Ghoda arts festival (Feb)
94. Cheer ‘Mumbai Indians’ in an IPL cricket match at Wankhede statdium (May-Jun)
95. Get drenched to the bone while biking in the monsoons (Jul-Sep)
96. Sing “Govinda aala re aala” as 40 feet high human pyramids take the prized matka (Aug-Sep)
97. Get lost in the crowds of Ganesh Chaturthi (Sep)
98. Watch thousands of pink flamingos in the mangroves at Sewri (Nov-May)
99. Eat nihari, kebabs and sweetmeats around Masjid on the eve of Eid (Ramzan)
100. Run a ‘free hug’ campaign. This is Bombay, meri jaan!