Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai

No, they haven't gone and turned the original Taj Mahal into a hotel — but this place is so impressive that it would be easy to forget about its namesake altogether. Conventional wisdom holds that this is the finest hotel in India, the equal of any luxury hotel in New York or Paris, and given Indian architecture's flair for the dramatic, it is no surprise that from the outside, this hotel could pass for at least the ninth or tenth wonder of the world. But that's actually the back of the hotel you are seeing from the harbor — legend has it that the architect drew up the plans from abroad, and didn't visit the site until construction had been completed. Supposedly as his boat approached, he saw that the hotel had been built the wrong way around, and was so frustrated that he threw himself overboard. Whether or not this is true, there are benefits to the odd layout; the “back” of the hotel is all guest rooms, with no grand entrance taking up space, and more rooms thus overlook the harbor — and what may have been intended as a driveway and entrance is instead the swimming pool and courtyard, while the actual entrance is a discreet, out-of-the-way affair.

Mumbai, formerly Bombay, is a bustling and chaotic city, home to (among others) the film industry, and is, like much of India, a study in contrasts, from the opulence of the Taj Mahal hotel to the noise and pollution of the city streets. The better rooms have magnificent ocean views, while the lesser look down on Mumbai's dilapidated rooftops — still a stunning panorama, if not exactly postcard-worthy. The somewhat newer Tower Wing, though still luxurious, is a bit antiseptic compared to the Heritage Wing, dating back to 1903, where this hotel's history was written, its guestbook comprising a Who's Who of travelers to (and within) India for the last hundred years.

There are no fewer than five restaurants and three bars, as well as every in-house convenience imaginable — but to stay in would be criminal. Mumbai's nightlife is legendary, and even the most jaded traveler can find something worth seeing in this extraordinary city, whether the vast Victoria gardens or just a game of cricket.