For ten years now, Louis Vuitton has been sharing its passion for a unique urban immersion. As we all know, this year Louis Vuitton released a series of 2009 City guides, which must have been mentioned in previous posts. These books perfectly capture the spirit of cities with words and imagination. In this collection Louis Vuitton has developed its collection of guides and for the first time-presents five individual volumes devoted to five cities of the world: Mumbai, Miami, New York, Paris and Tokyo. Now follow me to appreciate them one by one. Mumbai is a fascinating, bewitching megalopolis. Known as Bombay until 1995, it is a great port city, situated on the west coast of the Indian peninsula. It is one of India’s dominant urban centers and, indeed, is one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the world. Deriving its name from Mumba Devi, a goddess of the local Koli fishing peoples, Mumbai grew up around a fort established by the British in the mid-seventeenth century to protect their trading interests along India’s western coast. The city’s superb natural harbor provided a focal point for sea routes crossing the Arabian Sea, and Mumbai soon became the main western gateway to Britain’s expanding Indian empire. The city emerged as a center of manufacturing and industry during the eighteenth century. Today, Mumbai is India’s commercial and financial capital, as well as the capital city of Maharashtra State. In its debut edition, the Louis Vuitton City Guide to Mumbai explores every facet of this dynamic metropolis through 450 exclusive addresses: luxury hotels and guesthouses, spice-scented restaurants, artisanal fashion and design with a contemporary edge, stunning jewelry, exceptional museums and temples, and fabulous Bollywood stars. This astonishing guide also offers the opportunity to discover three legendary Rajasthan cities – Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur – which offer a haven of rest after the hectic pace of Mumbai.

Mumbai Guide is compiled by a team of independent journalists and illustrated by Ruben Toledo. Special sections on Mumbai by Princess Sangita Singh Kathiwada, stylist and on Jodhpur by Maharajah of Jodhpur are included. Now it is available in both English and French with a price of $34. More Louis Vuitton Products are available on Top1handbag.net