Chor Bazaar or Stolen Goods Market: Visit The Infamous Area of Mumbai (2024)
Chor Bazaar, the name translates as the Stolen Goods Market or Thieves Market, is an infamous place in the Southside of the Mumbai city. The Chor Bazaar is in Grant Road. The destination has become synonymous with urban crime and finds a reference in several movies and other fiction, like novels that talk about the crime scene in Mumbai. How much of the Chor Bazaar fantasy is true, what is not? To know all about the Chor Bazaar of Mumbai, read this article.
Experience of Visiting Chor Bazaar of Mumbai
The Chor Bazaar is the largest flea market in Mumbai. People swear by the clothes collection that you see at Chor Bazaar. The products at Chor Bazaar are usually rip-offs of popular products. You get everything from shoes, shirts, to wallets and perfumes. Recently, the flea market has become a home to shops that deal with electronics as well.
The Chor Bazaar is infamous for fashion and electronics, but what it also is, is an excellent destination for anyone looking to buy beautiful furniture and home accessories acquired over time. The art and architecture available here make it the favorite haunt of some art directors of movies as well. You will also see a string of shops that sell musical instruments and home decor.
Chor Bazaar is not just the place to buy fashion or artifacts. It is also one of the largest markets for car and bike parts and accessories. Many bike and car enthusiasts make it a point to visit this place to get spare parts and automobile accentuations here. The automobile market here sometimes modifies bikes and cars as well.
The deals here can only be described as a ‘steal’. Maybe that is the reason it is dubbed the Chor Bazaar. There is a legend that when Queen Victoria was in Mumbai, some of her luggage was stolen and found its way to Chor Bazaar.
If you are wondering about the prices of the products, then yes, the prices here are rock bottom. But if you find it too difficult to come here, you can shop at any of the other flea markets in Mumbai, and the price difference will not be that great.
What Chor Bazaar is infamous for, are the scammers who are here today gone tomorrow. Another pro tip while buying products in Chor Bazaar is to buy only accessories, clothes, etc. Even if you are buying electronics items from these shops, make it a point to check the warranty and the guarantee.
Chor Bazaar or Stolen Goods Market is an iconic location in Mumbai because it is everything that Mumbai has to offer – including the opportunity to hit it big. Even if you do not buy anything, stroll around, and you will see how bargainers are making the best of the day.
In other words, you will find these ‘steal deals’ all over Mumbai, including Hill Road, Andheri Market, and any other Municipal Market that you can visit in Mumbai. The only difference is that you can buy a variety of stuff from the Chor Bazaar – it is your one shop stop for everything that you can get for cheap.
One pro-tip, if you are planning to visit Chor bazaar, remember that this is a bargainer’s paradise. The more you bargain, the more you stand to gain in such a scenario. Also, there is an urban legend of someone stealing the stuff that you carry to or buy from Chor Bazaar, and you will find it once again at the shop that you originally bought it. In other words, be careful about your personal belongings and do not plan to carry wads of cash. Of course, it is not safe to carry your debit card, or all your debit and credit cards in one wallet at Chor Bazaar as well.
There is a little bit of history of Chor Bazaar as well and that connects it to the aspect of India being a closed economy. Before the nineties, when Indians could not buy foreign products over the counter, places like Chor Bazaar and other flea markets used to thrive with stolen and smuggled goods. Today, with that part of history gone, Chor Bazaar is just a flea market.
Another pro-tip, Grant Road is also infamous for being the hub of sexual workers. A few years ago, the sex workers used to move around on the main streets and hassle people. That might have stopped now, but you still need to be a bit careful as the sex workers can be irritants on an otherwise great day.
Places to Visit Near Chor Bazaar in Mumbai
Chor Bazaar is in Grant Road, Mumbai, and you can spend a couple of hours there, trying to buy things that you need and get into sweet deals. Once you have had your fill, head over to Churchgate, and spend some time at the tourist locations there.
You can visit the Gateway of India, an iconic destination in Mumbai, where you will always see tourists. If you have a weekend at hand, you can visit the Elephanta Caves on one day and Alibaug on the other and leave the visit to Chor Bazaar for an afternoon. 
Reaching Chor Bazaar is simple. You should get down at Grant Road Station, which is near the Southern side. So, if you are traveling from Borivli, you need to travel towards the South. If you are traveling from Churchgate, it is just a matter of a few railway stations. From Churchgate, you can also board a cab to Chor Bazaar.
