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Kolkata Travel & Sightseeing Guide

January 10, 2008 |

A trip to Kolkata
Filled to the brim with impressive relics from the British colonial period alongside abject poverty and abundant new developments, Kolkata is an imposing destination in northeastern India that is reinventing itself. International flights are limited to here, especially when compared to Delhi and Mumbai, but connections do exist, especially with Southeast Asia. There are also a handful of flights to Europe and North America. Most people come here to take full advantage of the Indian experience and to relive the days of the Raj at monuments such as the Victoria Memorial.

Flights to Kolkata
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport serves the city of Mumbai with a domestic and international terminal. Flights go numerous cities in the region such as Yangon, Bangkok, Dhaka and Singapore while there are also longer haul flights to New York, London and Dubai. The main carrier from here is Air India alongside a handful of international airlines which include British Airways and Lufthansa. If you are looking for a cheap flight to Kolkata try Thomas Cook. Getting between the airport and the city has been made easier with the extension of the metro to the terminal building. The best way to make the 20km journey is to flag down a taxi which usually works out at a reasonable price.

Around the city, take the metro for cheap travel, although with only one line you won’t always be able to get to where you are heading. The yellow taxis offer a more comprehensive service and usually agree to use their meters. Otherwise brave a bus or take a tram, the only such service in India.
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Sightseeing in Kolkata
Kolkata competes with Delhi and Mumbai in the sightseeing stakes and can lay claim to more impressive colonial era architecture than anywhere else in the country. Plan to see the sights by district to avoid lengthy taxi runs back and forth. To the north of the city, the Marble Palace is worth a visit with its extensive garden and zoo. The building itself dates back to 1835 and houses a number of statues and paintings.

The Maidan is undoubtedly the place to be in Kolkata, as popular with locals as it is with tourists. This huge park houses the exquisite Victoria Memorial, a vintage British colonial which is as opulent as the slums of Kolkata are grubby. The Maidan is also home to the Eden, the most famous cricket ground in India.

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Fun by night – eating drinking and partying
Kolkata is a melting pot of various Indian styles and more besides. Head over to the Esplanade for some of the city’s oldest and best restaurants while the little food cafés off Chowringhee Road offer a unique taste of Kolkata and remain extremely cheap. Kolkata specialises in Indian Chinese food, a unique take on traditional Chinese cuisine. Chili chicken and hot and sour soup are the most common pseudo-Chinese dishes on offer around the city.

Going out in Kolkata after dark does not present many options as with the rest of the country, bars are rare and drinking alcohol uncommon. Top hotels will certainly sell beer and you will find alcohol elsewhere but there is no night scene as such.

Fun by day - shopping and activities
New market is the most popular place to get hold of traditional East Indian souvenirs but there are markets located across the city. Saris and leather goods are among the locally produced goods you will find most often. For a modern mall, Kolkata-style, head to Metropolis Mall near Highland Park.


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