Mumbai is a big experience. The sounds, the smells, the sights – everything is larger than life. It’s a massive city too, spread out on reclaimed land, with over 19 million inhabitants, it’s India’s biggest port. Hard to believe it was once an archipelago of seven sleepy islands and trading posts.

MSC Cruises excursions offer plenty of exciting things to see including:

• The Gateway of India
• The Prince of Wales Museum
• The Elephanta caves

Mumbai is known for its impressive neo-Gothic and Indo-Saracenic colonial-era buildings, and on an MSC excursion you’ll see many fine examples. Flora Fountain, an ornamentally sculpted architectural heritage monument built in 1864, to provide hygienic drinking water. The Gateway of India built to commemorate the first British monarch to visit India, King-Emperor George V, and the Prince of Wales Museum, a Grade 1 Heritage building in Indian, Mughal and British engineering styles holding over 50,000 artefacts relating to the history of India.

Lalbagh Spice Market isn’t far away. Your senses will be overwhelmed by the variety of spices here. Most vendors let customers use their equipment to grind their own spices or mix masalas.
For a different experience take an MSC excursion from Mumbai’s Gateway of India to board a ferry to Gharapuri, “the City of Caves”. A group of five devoted to the Hindu religion were carved out of basalt solid rock sometime between AD 450 and 750 and stone rock-cut sculptures created. Another two caves with Buddhist Stupas date much earlier to the 2nd century BC. The caves and carvings were damaged by the Portuguese who named the site Elefante – which morphed to Elephanta – when they found elephant statues. Restored in the 1970s and now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site it’s one of India’s most impressive temple carvings.

One of Mumbai’s less ancient buildings is the ISKCON Temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness that opened in 1979. The city’s bustling markets are another experience that you’ll treasure forever.
Famous for its Norman and Flemish style architecture, Crawford Market sells fruit, veg, poultry cheese and chocolate.
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