A Mumbai day from Dhobi Ghat to Bandra's village lanes

A 1953 Parsi bakery in the Fort district. Brun maska (hard bread with butter) and Irani chai. Stand at the counter. The twenty-rupee breakfast Bombay still runs on. Cash only, open until it sells out.

The open-air laundry where over 2,500 washing platforms are still worked by dhobis beating clothes against stone. Best viewed from the Mahalaxmi railway station overpass — the full sea of grey concrete pens below.

Take a second-class ladies' carriage if you're female, general for men. Twenty minutes of pure Mumbai chaos; bags on laps, hands on poles. Everyone exits at Dadar onto the famously crowded platform.

An upscale Gujarati and Udupi canteen since 1963. Panki chatni (batter steamed in banana leaves), pav bhaji, fada lapsi. Air-conditioned, reliable, tourist-friendly — order whatever is being cooked at the front counter.

Mumbai's premier commercial art gallery in the Kala Ghoda district. Rotating contemporary Indian artists. Walk the Kala Ghoda streets afterwards — galleries, second-hand bookshops, the Elphinstone College building.

Bandra's East Indian Catholic village lanes. Portuguese-style bungalows with wrought-iron balconies, street murals, tiny cafés. Walk Waroda Road and Chapel Road slowly — every corner has a shrine.

The National Centre for the Performing Arts — India's premier Hindustani classical music and theatre venue. Evening concerts of sitar, vocal, or tabla most nights. Book online; tickets from 300 rupees.