Travel Mumbai and experience a city of extreme contrasts, of great prosperity and abject poverty, of 21st-century technology and medieval squalor. Mumbai’s attractions include the finest collection of Victorian buildings found anywhere in Asia, Art Deco buildings, a myriad of temples and mosques, warrens of bazaars and markets, chic bars and the finest restaurants. Yet half of its population live in slums - the highest percentage for any large Indian city. Mumbai is also congested with people (it has a population of approximately 15 million, which is rising relentlessly) its streets are clogged with traffic, its air is foully polluted by the barely controlled emissions of its factories and vehicles, and many of its buildings are slowly crumbling. However, the city still has much to offer. Mumbai is a colourful (the saris, the bazaars, the Indian sunlight), vibrant, energetic and friendly city, with a varied and fascinating history, grand colonial relics, glistening towers and many reasons to face the future with confidence.

From its earliest days an important entry port, Mumbai today is the financial centre of India, home to the country’s largest stock exchange, the heart of its banking industry. It is an important centre of the gem trade and film industry - Bollywood - is a national institution. For many visitors, the city is only a point of arrival, a springboard for the south or the architectural glories of the north. But to pass through Mumbai without stopping a while is to miss one of the worlds great cities, as worthwhile and idiosyncratic as any on earth.

WHEN TO TRAVEL to Mumbai

The best time to travel Mumbai is between the months of September and April, when the weather is relatively dry and cool. To experience a big cultural event, make it Ganesh Chaturthi, an 11-day Hindu festival in August and September.