Marine Drive

Marine Drive is a 3.6-kilometre curved boulevard that hugs the shoreline of Back Bay in South Mumbai, stretching from Nariman Point in the south to Babulnath in the north. Built in the 1920s and 30s during the British colonial era, it is one of the most recognisable urban waterfronts in Asia — a graceful arc of Art Deco apartment buildings on one side and the open Arabian Sea on the other. Locals call it the Queen's Necklace, because when seen from the elevated vantage of Malabar Hill at night, the string of amber streetlights curving along the bay looks exactly like a strand of jewels.

Coming here, you walk — or simply sit on the broad concrete sea wall, legs dangling, watching the waves roll in. There are no entry gates, no queues, no tickets. People come to exercise in the early mornings, to eat bhel puri and corn from the vendors who materialise at dusk, to watch the sunset turn the sea pink and orange, to talk, argue, read, and do absolutely nothing. During the monsoon, when the waves crash spectacularly over the promenade, crowds gather just to be drenched. At night the Art Deco facades of Eros Cinema and the surrounding apartment blocks glow softly, and the whole stretch feels like a film set.

The best times to visit are early morning before 8am — when walkers and yoga practitioners have the place mostly to themselves — or at sunset, when the energy is electric and the light is extraordinary. The stretch near Chowpatty Beach at the northern end is livelier, with more street food and families; the Nariman Point end is quieter and more contemplative. It is entirely free, entirely open, and completely central — one of those rare urban spaces that manages to feel like it belongs equally to everyone.