Must Visit Places in Kolkata
Victoria Memorial
The Victoria Memorial Hall is one of the most Iconic landmarks of the city of Kolkata, located in the heart of the city. It showcases the British architecture and planning and resonates its influence on the city’s architecture. The Hall was constructed in memory of the deceased Queen Victoria by Viceroy Lord Curzon and dedicated to art history. The monument is constructed entirely of white marble and is also one of India’s largest and oldest museum libraries. Home to 28,934 artefacts and 3900 paintings, the hall is also surrounded by 21 gardens. The monument allows the tourists to absorb the city’s heritage and discover echoes of the history. It is also a perfect spot for families to enjoy picnics local street food, horse carriage rides among several other activities.
Eden Garden
The Eden Gardens is the mecca of cricket in East India. Established in 1864, it is the oldest and second-largest cricket stadium in India and third largest in the world. The stadium currently has a capacity of 66,000. It is widely acknowledged to be one of the most iconic cricket stadiums in the world. It has been called “cricket’s answer to the Coliseum. It has a reputation of staging the most passionate and vocal crowd and has almost become like a place of pilgrimage for most international cricketers.
Howrah Bridge
Howrah Bridge is a balanced cantilever bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal. Commissioned in 1943, the bridge was originally named the New Howrah Bridge, because it replaced a pontoon bridge at the same location linking the cities of Howrah and Kolkata. The bridge is one of four on the Hooghly River and is an iconic landmark of Kolkata and West Bengal. It carries a daily traffic of approximately 100,000 vehicles and possibly more than 150,000 pedestrians, easily making it one of busiest cantilever bridge in the world. The bridge has an over-all length of 2150 feet with a single span of 1500 feet. The new Howrah Bridge was designed by M/s. Rendell, Palmer and Tritton, consulting Engineers. It took around 8 years to complete the bridge and 26,500 tons of steel including 18,200 tons of high tensile quality.
Marble Palace
Marble Palace is a palatial nineteenth-century mansion in North Kolkata. It is one of the best-preserved and most elegant houses of nineteenth-century Calcutta. The mansion is famous for its marble walls and floors, from which its name derives. The house was built in 1835 by Raja Rajendra Mullick, a wealthy Bengali merchant with a passion for collecting works of art. The house continues to be a residence for his descendants, and the current occupants are the family of Raja Rajendra Mullick Bahadur.
Fort William
Built in the late 17th century by the banks of River Hoogly, this magnificent fort overlooks one of the biggest urban parks of the city, Maidan. Named after King William III of England and Ireland and II of Scotland, Fort William was the British stronghold Kolkata before Independence and has also been the main center for Indian Army operations post independence.
Indian Museum
Indian Museum is the ninth-oldest museum in the world and the largest museum in India. It features a wide range of exhibits that showcase the country’s rich history and cultural heritage. Some of the highlights of the museum include the Egyptian mummy, the Buddhist stupa, and the Indian Gallery, which displays a wide range of ancient artifacts and sculptures. The museum also has a natural history section, which features a collection of rare and exotic animals and plants. The Museum also features some of the unique one of the most unusual collections of Indian sculptures and coins from the second century AD. Overall, the Indian Museum is a must-visit destination for anyone interested in learning more about India’s past and present.
Solar Dome Museum
India’s first solar-powered museum, the Renewable Energy Museum, has opened in Kolkata. The dome-shaped facility features interactive exhibits, showcases sustainability, and is powered by more than 2,000 solar panels. Built on an area of 2.89 acres and standing about 95 feet tall, the tech-enabled museum is aimed at bringing awareness to Climate Change and its devastating outcomes and presenting Renewable energy sources as a vital solution.
Birla Planetarium
The Birla Planetarium (officially M. P. Birla Planetarium) in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, is a single-storeyed circular structure designed in the typical Indian style, whose architecture is loosely styled on the Buddhist Stupa at Sanchi. Situated at Chowringhee Road adjacent to the Victoria Memorial, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Maidan in Central Kolkata, it is the largest planetarium in Asia and the second largest planetarium in the world. There are two other Birla Planetariums in India: B.M. Birla Planetarium in Chennai and the Birla Planetarium in Hyderabad.
Park Street
Park Street, is a famous thoroughfare in downtown Kolkata, India. The street runs through what was a deer park of Sir Elijah Impey, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Calcutta from 1773 to 1789, hence the earlier name. It’s located in central part of Kolkata. Park Street has been the evening recreation zone for Kolkata people since the British era. In the 1970s and 1980s much of Kolkata’s night life took place in Park Street, with many clubs and restaurants situated there. Many noted musicians have played at various popular night spots, such as Trinca’s, Peter Cat, Blue Fox, Mocambo and Moulin Rouge. Even before that, from the 1940s through to the late 1960s, Kolkata’s prolific night life was centred around the fashionable Park Street. Park Street remains Kolkata’s foremost dining district, with many restaurants and pubs.
Royal Kolkata Golf Club
Founded in 1829, Royal is the oldest golf club outside the British Isles, the oldest being the Royal and Ancient, St. Andrews in Scotland, the home of golf. The Royal truly has a history that would be a treasure for the archives of the game of golf.
Eco Park
Eco Park is one of the largest urban parks in India, the park has been planned to promote ecotourism in the city. The park is spread across 475 acres and comprises of a lake along with several acres of lush greenery. It has activities that cater to all age groups and an ideal place to carry out outdoor activities with friends and families. Some of the offerings of the park include duo cycling, kayaking, zorbing, rifle shooting, high speed boating, e – bikes etc. Apart from activities the park also comprises of models of the Seven Wonders, Japanese Garden, Children’s Eco Park, Floating Musical Fountain, Butterfly Garden, Play Area, eco island amongst others. The park is surrounded by the water body with an island in the center. The island is ideal for picnickers and people seeking a quick break from everyday life.
Kalighat Temple
Kalighat Kali Temple in Kolkata is regarded as the holiest Shaktipeeth or pith of the 52 Shakti Peethams of India, where the various parts of Sati’s body are said to have fallen, during Shiva’s Rudra Tandava. The original temple was built by Raja Basanta Roy, who was the uncle of Pratapaditya and the King of Jessore (Bangladesh). The original temple was built on the banks of Hooghly; however, the river has shifted away from the temple over the period. In the past days, traders used to take stop at Kalighat to pay their obeisance to Goddess Kali. Situated on the banks of Adi Ganga, the temple has a sanctum sanctorum in the company of a huge hall by the name of Nat Mandir. In the north-east of this sanctum, there is a Shiva Temple. There is one more shrine dedicated to Radha Krishna. The main attraction of this temple lies in the idol of Goddess Kali that bears a long-protruded tongue made from gold.
