Mumbai

Mumbai is India's most energetic city and, with the right hotel, its most comfortable. The waterfront grand hotels in Colaba have hosted a century of arrivals; the newer towers in Bandra and Worli face the sea and the sea link. A guide is essential for the first day: the Gateway, the art deco of Marine Drive, the markets, Dharavi if you want to understand the city, and the Elephanta caves by boat. Evenings are for the restaurants that have made Mumbai a serious food city. Two or three nights, then Rajasthan, Goa or Kerala.