Mumbai is known as the city of dreams. From jam-packed railway platforms to the famous Dabbawalas, multi-millionaires to suburban slums, the dazzling Bollywood to the quintessential vada pav, Bhelpuri, and Sev puri, the uniqueness of Mumbai is beyond words. This cultural heritage is reflected in the wide variety of fascinating museums in the city. Here are some of the Best Museums in Mumbai.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) formerly named the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India. The Museum building is a fine example of the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. This Ido-Saracenic structure in Fort was designed by George Wittet and is easily among the most beautiful buildings in the entire city. This building is listed as a Grade I Heritage Building and has been awarded the ‘2010 UNESCO Asia – Pacific Heritage Award’ for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The museum is known for harbouring artifacts from the Mughal empire, as well as rare heirlooms from Europe, Nepal, Tibet, Japan, and China.

Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum

Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum formerly named the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Museum was established in 1872. As Mumbai’s first Museum, it showcases the city’s cultural heritage and history through a rare collection of Fine and Decorative Arts that highlight Early Modern Art practices as well as the craftsmanship of various communities of the Bombay Presidency. The permanent collection includes miniature clay models, dioramas, maps, lithographs, photographs, and rare books that document the life of the people of Mumbai and the history of the city from the late eighteenth to early-twentieth centuries.

Mani Bhavan

Mani Bhavan is a museum and historical building dedicated to Gandhi, situated at Laburnum Road in the Gamdevi precinct of Mumbai. Mani Bhavan was the focal point of Gandhi’s political activities in Mumbai between 1917 and 1934. Step inside to see pictures of Bapu at different stages in life, his spinning wheel and the rooms he lived in and worked out of. Apart from serving as a memoir for the Mahatma with his many personal items on display, it also demonstrates how Mumbai (then Bombay) was run under the British Raj. 

Nehru Science Centre

Nehru Science Centre is the largest interactive science center in India. It is located in Worli, Mumbai. The center is named after India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru Science Centre has more than 500 hands-on and interactive science exhibits on energy, sound, kinematics, mechanics, transport, etc.  installed in the science park.

RBI Monetary Museum

RBI Monetary Museum presents a fascinating insight into the world of money. It was inaugurated on 18 November 2004 by the then President of India, A.P.J. Abdul  Kalam Museum exploring the evolution of money through artifacts & exhibits of currency notes & rare coins.

B.E.S.T Museum

Mumbai’s public transportation history is the focus at this quaint museum with models & artifacts.This is a one-of-a-kind museum that houses miniatures of the BEST company’s buses and trams, and a collection of old bus tickets and old photographs of buses from when they were introduced to Mumbai. 

Red Carpet Wax Museum

 The Famous Wax Museum In Mumbai is known as Red Carpet Wax Museum. Life-size wax models of famous musicians, politicians & actors in themed settings at R City Mall.

National Museum of Indian Cinema

The National Museum of Indian Cinema was inaugurated on 19th January 2019  Located at the  Films Division Complex, Pedder Road, Mumbai. The Museum showcases the history of India Cinema and has ample artefacts,  digital elements including kiosks, interactive digital screens, information-based screen interfaces, etc. Also Film properties and costumes,   vintage equipment, posters, copies of important films,  promotional leaflets, soundtracks, trailers, transparencies, old cinema magazines, statistics covering film making &  distribution, etc. are displayed in a systematic manner depicting the history of Indian cinema in a chronological manner.  

CSMT Heritage Museum

There is a Museum inside the CSMT building, that not a lot of people know about but incorporates hidden historical treasures. Among its exhibits are replicas of drawings by CST chief architect F W Stevens, rare photographs, historic stamps, weights, a clock, a bell, and equipment, besides models of phased-out trains.

Also Read: Best Places to Visit in Mumbai 

National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA)

National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai was opened to the public in 1996. It hosts various exhibitions and art collections of famous artists, sculptors and different civilizations.