Dominating the upper Maidan near Esplanade bus station, Shahid Minar is a 48m-tall round-topped hollow column commemorating martyrs of the Indian Independence Movement, though it had originally been built in 1828 to commemorate a British military commander named David Ochterlony. It's no longer possible to climb the upper ramparts of the tower. Circus performers, political firebrands and dealers in mystic medicines frequently entertain crowds around the column's base. Things pick up at this flea market especially on Saturday afternoons.
Shahid Minar
Kolkata (Calcutta)
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.31 MILES
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…
3.87 MILES
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…
4.81 MILES
Set very attractively amid palms and manicured lawns, this large religious centre is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, inspired by 19th-century…
2.68 MILES
Countless clay effigies of deities and demons immersed in the Hooghly during Kolkata’s colourful pujas (offering or prayers) are created in specialist…
-
1.49 MILES
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…
-
1.64 MILES
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…
-
0.35 MILES
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…
-
0.97 MILES
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…
Nearby Kolkata (Calcutta) attractions
0.15 MILES
In the northeastern corner of the Maidan, this chunky cenotaph formed of brown-stone blocks commemorates Calcuttans who fell in WWI.
0.16 MILES
With graceful corner towers and large window arches, the 1905 Metropolitan Building was originally the Whiteway and Laidlaw department store. It takes its…
0.19 MILES
For 34 years after a decisive election victory in 1977, West Bengal was a stronghold for the Marxist Communist Party of India – CPI (M). Although the…
0.26 MILES
This fanciful multidomed mosque was built in honour of nawab Tippu Sultan by his son during the 1830s.
0.31 MILES
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…
0.33 MILES
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…
0.35 MILES
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…
0.35 MILES
New Market has a grand colonial clocktower, but by day it's a nest of handicraft touts. Come before 8am, while the touts are sleeping, to calmly…