Colaba

Mumbai's main hot spot is full of bars, restaurants, and a long stretch of street stalls with everything from clothing to black-market DVDs to brassware and handicrafts set in front of name-brand stores from Nike, Puma, Lacoste, and many others. It’s a bit of a one-stop shop for all of Mumbai. Beginning at Regal Circle, which is named for the 1930s art deco Regal Cinema, Colaba stretches southward, through winding lanes and bustling streets. You can stop by the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel for high tea and gaze out at the Gateway of India, standing sentinel over the sea, then wander up through cramped lanes filled with shops to the Colaba Causeway, South Mumbai's main drag. On the Causeway, you can haggle for knockoffs and bootlegs—start at one-third the asking price, at a maximum—or shop in the "official" stores if you're not in the bargaining mood, then stop in at Leopold Café or Café Mondegar for a beer, a snack, and some people-watching before heading deeper down into Colaba, where more stores, bargains, bars, and food await. Colaba is an easy place to end up spending an entire day just wandering, eating, drinking, and shopping with nothing particular in mind.