India GOMarkets in Mumbai
Mumbai shops by specialism: one street for cheap clothes, another for shoes, a whole covered market for cloth by the metre and a lattice of lanes for gold. Most of the old markets sit together in the bazaar quarter north of the Fort, around Crawford Market, while the street-fashion strips are in Fort and Bandra. The markets are listed above; here is which one to go to for what, and how to bargain.
Which market for what
Cheap clothes: Fashion Street, Fort
About a hundred and fifty stalls along MG Road opposite the maidans, selling export-surplus tees, jeans and jackets for the price of a coffee. Quality swings from decent to disposable and labels are often imitations, so check the stitching. More: Fashion Street.
Shoes: Linking Road, Bandra
Pavement stalls and brand showrooms side by side; the footwear rows, from Kolhapuri chappals to this season's flats, are the reason to come, and most pairs cost a few hundred rupees. A weekday afternoon is far easier than a weekend evening. More: Linking Road.
Cloth by the metre: Mangaldas Market, Kalbadevi
A covered cloth market trading since the 1890s, with roughly three thousand stalls of silk, cotton, denim, sari and suiting fabric at wholesale rates; the Mulji Jetha market next door extends the maze. Compare a few stalls before buying: tailors nearby will stitch what you carry out. More: Mangaldas Market.
Gold and silver: Zaveri Bazaar
India's largest jewellery bazaar, lanes barely two metres wide where something like two-thirds of the country's gold trade moves, from century-old family houses to silver stalls the size of a cupboard. Worth the walk even to buy nothing. More: Zaveri Bazaar.
Antiques and vintage: Chor Bazaar
The 'thieves' market', where the fun is in the hunt: everything is piled together and every stall hides something if you dig. Today it sells mostly second-hand goods, antiques, old Bollywood posters and furniture, and haggling is expected. More: Chor Bazaar.
Souvenirs: Colaba Causeway
South Mumbai's main tourist market: clothing, jewellery, accessories, souvenirs, leather goods and books along the Causeway. Haggling is expected. More: Colaba Causeway Market.
A gift that packs flat: Chimanlals, Fort
A paper shop trading since the 1950s and one of the last places making block-printed letter papers, wrapping sheets, boxes and cards on Indian handmade paper. It weighs nothing in a suitcase. More: Chimanlals.
Brands under one roof: High Street Phoenix & Palladium, Lower Parel
The mall that began Mumbai's mill-to-mall era, built from the late 1990s on the 46-acre Phoenix Mills cotton compound, with the old mill chimney left standing.
The bazaar quarter in one day
North of the Fort the old city still trades the way it did a century ago, and the main markets are close enough to walk between. Start at Crawford Market, officially Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai, just north of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. The building was completed in 1869 to a design by William Emerson, and the carved panels at the entrance are by John Lockwood Kipling, Rudyard Kipling's father. It sells spices, tea, dried fruit, fabric and household goods; the wholesale fruit trade moved to Navi Mumbai in 1996.
From there the lanes lead north to Zaveri Bazaar and the Mumba Devi temple, the goddess the city is named after, and on to Mangaldas Market in Kalbadevi. Zaveri Bazaar, Mangaldas and Crawford Market close on Sundays (a few Crawford shops open in the morning), so plan the quarter for Monday to Saturday. Chor Bazaar is a few kilometres away, on Mutton Street near Bhendi Bazaar, whose food lanes belong to the same quarter; most of its shops close on Fridays.
The guide's advice for the whole quarter is short: dense, loud, bag in front, and bargain. Nobody stays here; it is a day trip from Colaba or Fort.
Before dawn: Dadar flower market
From about four in the morning the wholesale flower market (Phool Galli) spreads around and under the Dadar flyover, supplying marigold, rose, jasmine and lotus to the city's temples and weddings. It peaks between five and seven; by mid-morning the wholesale wave thins and retail stalls carry on. Ask before photographing anyone.
How to bargain
In the street markets haggling is expected, and the guide's place notes give a rough scale.
- Treat the first price as an opening move — At Fashion Street it usually halves. On Linking Road, open near half the asking price and meet in the middle.
- Carry small notes — Small notes and a little patience go a long way at the stalls.
- Check before you pay — Look at stitching and labels on street fashion, and compare a few cloth stalls before committing.
- Bag in front — In the crowded bazaar lanes, keep your bag where you can see it.
FAQ
What is the cheapest shopping street in Mumbai?
Fashion Street on MG Road in Fort, where export-surplus clothes sell for the price of a coffee and the first price usually halves.
Where should I shop for clothes in Mumbai?
Fashion Street for cheap street fashion, Linking Road in Bandra for shoes and clothes, Mangaldas Market for fabric to have stitched, and High Street Phoenix for brands.
What can you buy at Crawford Market?
Spices, tea, dried fruit, fabric, leather goods, kitchenware and festival decorations, in a Victorian market building of 1869.
Is Chor Bazaar really a thieves' market?
The name means 'thieves' market', but today it sells mostly second-hand goods, antiques and vintage items. Haggling is expected.
Sources (3)
Facts checked: 15 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.
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