Mumbai is a shopper’s paradise. The shops and bazaars offer a truly amazing diversity of goods, as well as being worth a visit in their own right. Mumbai sells everything from expensive European antiques to local spices by way of electrical goods and silks. In particular, it is the centre of the Indian clothing trade and caters for all tastes and budgets. ‘Fashion Street’, on M Gandhi Road between Cross Maidan and Azad Maidan, is a row of market stalls where some very good bargains can be found. At the other end of the spectrum, Mumbai is also home to a number of tailors who will make clothes quickly at a reasonable cost. For the more adventurous shopper, there is a large amount of Indian furniture for sale in Mumbai, both at dealers and in the bazaars. Caveat emptor is very much the rule and the age or worth of purchases cannot be guaranteed – visitors should trust to luck and their eye, haggle fiercely and hope to be rewarded with an exceptional bargain. Likewise, Mumbai is a major centre of the diamond trade and for those with strong nerves and long pockets, who know what they are doing, it is possible to pick great bargains. For inexpensive yet attractive wooden and other presents, the Central Cottage Industries Emporium, Shivaji Marg, between Apollo Bunder and Regal, is open Monday-Saturday.

For those who like to shop in comfort, the Oberoi and Taj Hotels both boast air-conditioned shopping malls with an interesting range of boutiques. No trip to Mumbai is complete, however, without a visit to the bazaars – Chor Bazaar, Mutton Street, near Sir JJ Road, for bric-a-brac, furniture and junk, Zaveri Bazaar, off Abdul Rahman Street, for jewellery, Dhaboo Street Bazaar, Dhaboo Street, for leather goods and Crawford Market, Dr D Navroji Road/Carnac Road, for fruit and vegetables. Markets are generally open from 0900-1900. In most shops and bazaars, bargaining is the norm, particularly for more expensive items. For shoppers of a more literary bent, there are a number of open-air second-hand bookstalls on the streets near the university, around Chowk Fountain, where a persistent search may reveal interesting volumes among the pulp thrillers.

Generally, shops do not open until 1000 or 1030 but tend to remain open until about 1900. Sales tax varies between 4-15%.

Shopping Downtown

Most of the Handicrafts emporia and bazaars are located in the downtown area. Crawford Market, famous for flowers, fruits, meat and fish, is certainly a place worth capturing on your camera; its sheer colour and variety will not fit into one screen.

The main areas for bargain clothes are around Colaba Causeway and Fashion Street, which stretches along the Cross and Azad Maidans. More trendy and costly shopping is found at Breach Candy and Kemps Corner, down the hill from the Hanging Gardens. Chor Bazaar is an antique-hunter's delight, while nearby Zaveri Bazaar is famous for its diamond, gold and silver jewellery.

The shopping arcades of almost all five-star hotels such as the Oberoi and the Taj Mahal offer a good variety of up-market shops. In central and suburban Mumbai, the Dadar, Bandra-Linking Road, and Juhu Road areas are good spots to shop.

Shopping Arcades Of The Hotels

If one wants to take the leisurely option for your shopping trips, go for a stroll around the air- conditioned shopping arcades of the main hotels, the Taj, the Oberoi Towers and the new Oberoi, all in south Mumbai, and shop for clothes, shoes, leatherwear, jewellery, and good quality handicrafts.
Prices will be higher than outside, but the choice in these shopping arcades is excellent, and if one is a canny shopper, one can always window shop there, before heading off to the markets.
Some shops however are exclusive to the hotels in the Oberoi Shopping Centre, for example, there is a wonderful shop called "Christina", selling bags, purses, scarves and silk blouses. Designs are never repeated, and one has to be quick off the mark if one sees something one likes, for the little shop is always busy, often with airline crew.

Chor Bazaar

Its name literally means "thieves market," as this was where stolen goods were once sold. Today, it is best known for antique furniture and quaint collectors’ items sold at throwaway prices. Daily from 10 am. Between Sardar V. Patel and Grant Road, Mumbai.

Crawford Market

Built in 1871, and also known as Mahatma Phule Market, this is where you'll find the best Alphonso mangoes in the city along with hundreds of varieties of fruits and vegetables. The flower market is a riot of red, yellow, pink, marigold and purple. Less pretty is the nearby meat market: It's fascinating but definitely not for the squeamish. Bargaining is expected, and you can take home most items at 50% of their quoted price. Daily from 10 am. Lokmanya Tilak Road and MRA Road (north of Victoria Terminus), Mumbai.

Mangaldas Market

A massive indoor market selling every conceivable type of cloth. Look for the bolts of beautiful Indian silk and cotton. The key to success there is patience and astute haggling. Daily from 10 am. Off Sheikh Memon Street, Mumbai.

Zaveri Bazaar

Primarily a retail outlet, this is the epicenter for most of India's jewellery trade. Visit the glamorous shops if you are looking for gems, gold or diamonds. Daily from 10 am. Sheikh Memon Street, Mumbai.

Fashion Street

For shirts, tee-shirts and wonderful cotton clothes for children, all at rock bottom prices, visit "Fashion Street" a street market opposite one of Mumbai's exclusive clubs, the Bombay Gymkhana, but known to everyone as the Bombay Gym.
Fashion street sells export rejects, and export "over-runs" which are often excellent quality clothes at knock down prices. Bargain very hard, and with any luck one can reduce the sales man's opening offer down to a more realistic price.

Colaba And Flora Fountain

Colaba and Flora Fountain (Hutatama Chowk) in the heart of south Mumbai and at walking distance from Bombay VT and Churchgate railway stations are full of shops of all kinds, mainly ethnic artefacts and departmental stores. It is a good place to find shoes, cotton clothes, Kaftans and children's clothes.

Dadar

Another major shopping area is around Dadar T.T, and if you go there in the evening, the place is packed. Good cotton clothes, saris, children's clothes galore and a general atmosphere of fun shopping. Given the space constraints in Mumbai, the further one goes from the over crowded southern tip, the bigger and better the shops become. Departmental stores are virtually unheard of in south Mumbai, whilst just a short drive away, uptown, are large complexes.

Bandra

Bandra, the so-called "Queen of Suburbs" is the residential abode of film stars, industrialists and the likes, of Mumbai. Linking Road joins Bandra to Khar and is lined up on both sides with showrooms for the elite. But the striking contest here is the pavement selling, a world of contrast from a posh showroom.

Shopping At Eternia And Shopper's Stop

Two mentionable places to shop in Mumbai are Eternia at Breach Candy and Shopper's Stop on S.V. Road in Andheri. Eternia is indeed an international shopping experience for women - a part of the Premsons Bazaar, one of the trendiest addresses in Mumbai. Eternia caters to the growing demands of the contemporary women and stocks everything she could ask for. Shopper's Stop has burgeoned into a 75,000 square feet shopping experience, covering three floors. It has every thing that women, men and children could ask for. In fact, the kid's section is an experience by itself.

Shopping For Books

For the book lovers, there are several excellent bookshops, and street stalls galore, many of the latter concentrated around Flora Fountain. "Crossword" on Warden Road sells books, magazines, records, CDs, greeting cards - the lot.
One of Mumbai's most popular bookshops is the tiny "Strand Book Stall" which has helpful knowledgeable staff, a comprehensive range of books, and if they don't have something, they will order it within a day or so. It is quite an achievement to leave the shop without buying something!

Shopping For Handicrafts

Very close to Gateway of India, there is the main government emporium, Cottage Industries, which is reasonably well stocked with a cross section of handicrafts and clothes, and prices are fixed. In the little streets immediately opposite to the government emporium, there are lots of handicraft and silver shops, and a couple of good, but pricey, antique shops.

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