Must-see attractions in Kolkata (Calcutta)

  • Belur Math in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. (Photo by: IndiaPictures/UIG via Getty Images)

    Belur Math

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Set very attractively amid palms and manicured lawns, this large religious centre is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, inspired by 19th-century…

  • Victoria Memorial, Kolkata

    Victoria Memorial

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    The incredible Victoria Memorial is a vast, beautifully proportioned festival of white marble: think US Capitol meets Taj Mahal. Had it been built for a…

  • Botanical Garden

    Botanical Gardens

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Despite being an awkward journey by public transport, Kolkata’s lovely 109-hectare Botanical Gardens makes for a great place to escape from the city’s…

  • Idol Crafting

    Kumartuli Idol-makers

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Countless clay effigies of deities and demons immersed in the Hooghly during Kolkata’s colourful pujas (offering or prayers) are created in specialist…

  • Marble Palace

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Built in 1835 by a raja from the prosperous Mallick family, this resplendent mansion is as grand as it is curious. Its marble-draped halls are overstuffed…

  • Indian Museum

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    India's biggest and oldest major museum celebrated its bicentenary in February 2014. It's mostly a lovably old-fashioned place that fills a large…

  • Tagore’s House

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    The stately 1784 family mansion of Rabindranath Tagore has become a shrine-like museum to India’s greatest modern poet. Even if his personal effects don’t…

  • KOLKATA, INDIA - 2015/04/17: On the evening of Chaitra Sankranti the last day of Bengali calendar resident of Kalighat dress up like Hindu deities popularly known as Sang (Pantomime ) for a procession in the surrounding of Kalighat Temple. (Photo by Saikat Paul/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

    Kalighat Temple

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This ancient Kali temple is Kolkata’s holiest spot for Hindus, and possibly the source of the city’s name. Today’s version is the 1809 rebuild, with…

  • Facade of a Planetarium, B.M. Birla Planetarium, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Birla Planetarium

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Loosely styled on Sanchi’s iconic Buddhist stupa, this 1962 planetarium presents slow-moving, half-hour audiovisual programs on the wonders of the…

  • Detail of the Standard Charter building.

    Chartered Bank Building

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    The 1905 former Chartered Bank Building is a five-storey red-and-white block with side turrets, domes and a vaguely Moorish touch to the design. Higher…

  • Maidan

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    A vast expanse of green in the heart of the city's brick-and-mortar matrix, the Maidan is where Kolkata's residents congregate for walks, spirited cricket…

  • New Market

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Marked by a distinctive red-brick clocktower, this enormous warren of market halls dates to 1874, but was substantially rebuilt after a 1980s fire. By day…

  • BethEl Synagogue

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Literally meaning 'House of God', this atmospheric synagogue's front facade looks a little like a 1930s cinema. Within the building (dating back to 1856),…

  • Howrah Bridge

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Howrah Bridge is a 705m-long abstraction of shiny steel cantilevers and rivets, which serves as a carriageway of nonstop human and motorised traffic…

  • Alipore Zoo

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Kolkata’s 16-hectare zoo opened its doors in 1875 as one of British India's showpiece zoological gardens, but has gradually dropped in stature and…

  • Armenian Church of Nazareth

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Hidden away amid the bustle of Old China Bazaar St, the 1707 Armenian Church is considered to be Kolkata’s oldest place of Christian worship. It has a…

  • Dakshineswar

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    The heart of this vibrant riverside complex is the cream-and-red, multiturreted 1847 Kali Temple shaped like the Sacré-Cœur. The site is where the Bengali…

  • Indian Coffee House

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    It’s fascinating to look inside this unpretentious high-ceilinged restaurant that was once a meeting place of alternative Kolkata. The cheap, dishwater…

  • St John’s Church

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This stone-spired 1787 church is ringed by columns and contains a small, portrait-draped room once used as an office by Warren Hastings, India’s first…

  • Harrington Street Arts Centre

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Exhibitions of contemporary artworks by Indian and international artists in diverse media are spread through four spacious rooms of this classic Kolkata…

  • Birla Mandir

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    A graceful 20th-century structure built in cream-coloured sandstone, this temple is consecrated to the Hindu gods Narayan (Vishnu) and his wife Lakshmi…

  • Shahid Minar

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Dominating the upper Maidan near Esplanade bus station, Shahid Minar is a 48m-tall round-topped hollow column commemorating martyrs of the Indian…

  • Netaji Bhawan

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Celebrating the life and vision of controversial Bengali leader and pro-Independence radical Subhas Chandra Bose is this house-turned-museum, which also…

  • Rabindra Sarovar

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    The lakes here prettily reflect hazy sunrises, while middle-class Kolkatans jog, row and meditate around the tree-shaded parkland that was once the site…

  • St Paul’s Cathedral

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Arguably Kolkata's most iconic Gothic superstructure, decorated with a central crenellated tower, St Paul’s would look quite at home in Cambridgeshire but…

  • Ashutosh Museum of Indian Art

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Priceless antique Indian sculptures, brasswork and terracotta objects of art are mundanely displayed along with a diverse array of collected treasures in…

  • South Park Street Cemetery

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Active from 1767 to about 1840, this historic cemetery remains a wonderful oasis of calm, featuring surreal mossy Raj-era graves from rotundas to soaring…

  • Town Hall Building

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    The imposing colonnaded cube of the former Town Hall Building dates from 1814. It now hosts Kolkata Panorama, an introduction to the city’s heritage…

  • Nakhoda Mosque

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Located amid the din and chaos of Rabindra Sarani, the 1926 red-sandstone Nakhoda Mosque rises impressively above the bustling shopfronts of its…

  • Metropolitan Building

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    With graceful corner towers and large window arches, the 1905 Metropolitan Building was originally the Whiteway and Laidlaw department store. It takes its…

  • Mausoleum of Job Charnock

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    At the rear northwest corner of St John's Church grounds, there's a small gated cemetery partly paved with 18th-century grave stones. The centrepiece of…

  • Hooghly Riverbanks

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    All along the Hooghly riverbanks, strung along leafy cobbled promenades, lie a number of ghats or piers, which make for an excellent outing in the early…

  • CIMA

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    A cutting-edge contemporary-art gallery located on the 2nd floor of an upmarket South Kolkata building complex, CIMA is a great place to check out works…

  • Sri Aurobindo Bhawan

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Revolutionary nationalist-turned-guru Sri Aurobindo – who later went on to establish the famous ashram at Auroville near Pondicherry – was born in…

  • Mother Teresa's Motherhouse

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    A regular flow of mostly Christian pilgrims visits the Missionaries of Charity’s 'Motherhouse' to pay homage at Mother (and now Saint) Teresa’s large,…

  • Horticultural Gardens

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    A hidden island of tranquillity in the heart of Kolkata, this delightful garden complex offers visitors an opportunity to acquaint themselves with…

  • High Court

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    One of Kolkata’s greatest architectural triumphs, the High Court building was built between 1864 and 1872, loosely modelled on the medieval Cloth Hall in…

  • Birla Academy of Art & Culture

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    This multistorey gallery displays frequently changing exhibitions from contemporary Indian and international artists. There's also an auditorium to the…

  • Mullik Ghat Flower Market

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Near the southeast end of Howrah Bridge, this flower market is fascinatingly colourful virtually 24 hours a day. However, if you visit at daybreak, you'll…

  • Raj Bhavan

    Kolkata (Calcutta)

    Somewhat resembling the US White House, the grand Raj Bhavan was designed in 1799 along the lines of Kedleston Hall, the Derbyshire home of the Curzon…