Mumbai · Art

Fort & Kala Ghoda

Gothic & Galleries

Victorian Gothic universities and banks, the galleries and museums of Kala Ghoda, pavement book stalls. February brings a big art festival.

The Victorian business quarter: Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (UNESCO), the High Court, the university with the Rajabai clock tower, all Gothic grown in the tropics. Inside it, the Kala Ghoda art precinct: galleries, the former Prince of Wales Museum, design shops and the best breakfasts in the south. Walk everywhere: every second facade is a monument.

Who it suits

Victorian architecture Kala Ghoda galleries coffee and bookshops

Staying here

Few hotels; better to stay in neighbouring Colaba and walk in.

In the evening

Fort goes quiet after office hours, and evenings live in Kala Ghoda's cafes and bars.

Getting there

Ⓜ CST Metro (Aqua) · suburban rail to CSMT and Churchgate

What to see

Jehangir Art GalleryFree entry, and the walls change every few days: Indian art without the museum ticketDetails →

Chhatrapati Shivaji TerminusUNESCO-listed Victorian Gothic that is also one of India's busiest working stationsDetails →

Keneseth Eliyahoo SynagogueIndigo, white and stained glass behind a gate that almost everyone walks pastDetails →

CSMVS MuseumMumbai's great museumDetails →

St Thomas' Cathedral (C.N.I.), MumbaiDetails →

Where to eat

Cafe MilitaryOne of Fort's last surviving old-school Irani cafes, beloved for honest, generous Parsi comfort food.

Kala Ghoda CafeGenuinely work-friendly (plugs, calm, long sits and Wi-Fi outside the midday block) and an iconic anchor of South Mumbai's cafe scene.

Ideal CornerA dependable, spotless Parsi kitchen serving some of the best home-style Bawa food in South Bombay.

Jimmy BoyA famous, traveller-friendly Parsi spot in Fort that serves the wedding-feast menu and accepts cards, the practical complement to cash-only Britannia.

Mahesh Lunch HomeThe city's most reliable Mangalorean coastal house since 1977; seafood is the entire proposition, so a vegetarian eats better elsewhere.

TrishnaMumbai's most internationally famous coastal room, discreet in Kala Ghoda; it rests on one dish, and that dish is seafood.

ChetanaA Kala Ghoda classic celebrated for its abundant, richly spiced Rajasthani and Gujarati thalis.

Shopping

Fashion StreetBudget street fashion where the first price quoted is only an opening offerDetails →

ChimanlalsBlock-printed handmade paper that packs flat: the lightest good gift in the cityDetails →

Kitab KhanaAn independent bookstoreDetails →

Where to stay

Residency Hotel FortClean, friendly value in the historic Fort district

Other areas of Mumbai

Colaba Marine Drive & Chowpatty Bandra Juhu Dhobi Ghat & Lower Parel Elephanta Island Crawford Market & Zaveri Bazaar Dadar & Shivaji Park Matunga

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