The area north of Mahim Creek is fast developing into Mumbai's most fashionable shopping zone. Running north from Bandra station, Linking Road is an endless strip of boutiques, department stores, Indian fastfood restaurants and brand-name franchises. Market stalls selling shoes and accessories are crammed into every back alley. Detour west to Turner Road for more upmarket fashions, or stroll along Waterfield Road to visit some of Mumbai's most exclusive gold and diamond emporiums.

This upmarket neighbourhood on the north side of Malabar Hill has numerous swish boutiques and shopping centres and one of Mumbai's best bookshops in Crossword, at Kemps Corner. Most of the action is concentrated around Kemps Corner and Peddar Road, but there are more malls and superstores along Tardeo Road, close to the Mahalaxmi Racecourse.

Sprawling through an almost Dickensian maze of alleyways between SV Patel Marg and Grant Road, Mumbai's Thieves' Market is jam-packed with vendors selling antiques and reclaimed bric-a-brac. It's a busy area and the crowds can be outrageous, but the souk atmosphere is very evocative of times past. Occasional gems of genuine Victoriana crop up amongst the junk and reproductions.

Running down to the south end of the peninsula, Colaba Causeway is a continuous string of souvenir emporiums and brand name outlets selling jeans, trainers and other urban fashions. Come here for some of the best handicraft shops in town, plus a lively street market selling crafts, t-shirts, jewellery and reproduction antiques. Travellers from the Persian Gulf visit Colaba for the perfume shops, selling attars and essential oils in exotic perfume bottles.

The largest municipal market in Mumbai, Crawford Market was founding in the British era ­ the outside is even decorated with bas-relief carvings by Lockwood Kipling, father of Rudyard Kipling. Inside the fortress-like compound, you'll find narrow aisles lined with stalls selling household goods, dried fruit and nuts and fresh tropical fruit, including Mumbai's famous Alphonso mangoes (May to July).