Mumbai (Bombay) Nightlife

Four Seasons know how to do things in style, and the rooftop bar at the their Mumbai hotel certainly delivers. As the sun dips over Back Bay, Aer's sculpted tables are the best place to watch Marine Drive's lights come on. Set on the 34th floor, the bar is cool as a sapphire pendant and very exclusive, so wear your best Ritu Kumar kurta.

Not quite as painfully cool as Aer, but still perfectly poised for the Marine Drive sunset, Dome creates a miniature version of Rome atop the Intercontinental Hotel, with long loungers, potted foliage and a Pantheon-style dome. Come for cocktails in front of spectacular displays of colour over the Arabian Sea.

Olive created quite a wow when it first opened in Mumbai, and this calm, cool Mediterranean bar and café is still a huge hit with the Bollywood set. It morphs from eatery to nightspot as the evening wears on, and by midnight, the dancefloor is full and the DJs are pumping. Glam up.

A hip hangout for the young and fashionable, with a rooftop terrace and rooms that shake to the latest dance tunes, electronic music and underground beats. It attracts a modern crowd with eclectic musical tastes, and for that alone it deserves extra credit in a city besieged by filmi soundtracks.

This colossal nightclub offers palatial décor dripping with chandeliers and spangles and plenty of space to strut your stuff. Formerly owned by actress Shilpa Shetty, it is still in the hands of Bollywood royalty and attracts a glam crowd who like to dress up and show off. Expect the odd big EDM name.

A wave of coloured lights greets arrivals at this upbeat nightclub near the sand in Juhu Beach. It's every inch the modern nightclub experience, down to the drinks specials, resident DJs and multiple dancefloors. Expect to be grooving to hip hop, electronica, big room house and commercial music.

The city's premier live music venue has hosted an impressive line up of global acts since it opened in 2007, covering everything from jazz and blues to hard rock and cutting edge electronica. The Mumbai branch has proved so successful that blueFrogs have opened in Bengaluru and Pune. It also serves fantastic food.

Mumbai's National Centre for Performing Arts, a huge complex of five theatres, puts on a widely varying programme of plays, musicals and dance, including the occasional English-language performance. Many shows are free, particularly if they have strong cultural merit.

A striking piece of 1970s architecture, the Nehru Centre Auditorium regularly stages theatre, dance and music, alongside its normal programme of daytime shows and exhibitions. Its onsite art gallery promotes the work of young artists.