Marine Drive
मरीन ड्राइव
A 3.6-km C-shaped seafront boulevard lined with Art Deco apartments and palm trees; at night its streetlights form the 'Queen's Necklace', and it is where Mumbaikars come to watch the sunset.
Officially named Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road, Marine Drive is a 3.6 km seafront boulevard built on reclaimed land in the 1920s and 1940s. It runs from Nariman Point at the southern end, curving north to Chowpatty Beach and the foot of Malabar Hill. Along the road stands a row of 1930s Art Deco apartment buildings, part of the World Heritage ensemble in South Mumbai, said to be the second-largest Art Deco ensemble in the world after Miami. In the evenings, thousands of locals sit on the sea wall to watch the sunset and eat grilled corn and bhel puri. At night, the streetlights that line the curve look like a string of pearls from Malabar Hill, hence the nickname 'Queen's Necklace'. At the northern end, Girgaum Chowpatty is a night market and snack area for locals. Each year on the last day of Ganesh Chaturthi in September, idols are immersed in the sea here, drawing huge crowds. Free and open all day. Tips: from Churchgate station it is a five-minute walk to the sea. Walking north along the promenade to Chowpatty takes about 40 minutes. Arrive around 17:30 to see the sunset, then eat pav bhaji at Chowpatty. For a full view of the 'necklace', go to the Hanging Gardens on Malabar Hill or Kamala Nehru Park. Caution: the gaps between the tetrapods on the sea wall are wide, so do not climb them. During the monsoon (June–September), big waves can spill over onto the road, so keep away from the edge. The water at Chowpatty is polluted, so swimming is not advised.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Girgaon Chowpatty
- Mumba Devi Temple
- Crawford Market (Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai)
- Chor Bazaar
- Mani Bhavan Gandhi Museum
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
- Flora Fountain (Hutatma Chowk)
- Hanging Gardens (Pherozeshah Mehta Gardens)