THE CITY OF MANY THINGS !

 To Dominique Lapierre it's "THE CITY OF JOY". But to me along with joy it's "THE CITY OF CULTURE AND HERITAGE". Yes, I am talking about Kolkata "The Cultural Capital Of India". It may not be so much developed like New York or decorated as London but it has something of it's own which attracts people and you cannot discover it until you visit the place. 

If you are planning to visit the city then to get a full tour of it I guess you need at least 10 days. If you from Bengal then many trains are there which even I don't remember. For any other state also there is ample options for trains to which reaches either Howrah, Sealdah or Kolkata station. Out of these the Howrah or Sealdah is the best option. Prepaid taxi booths are available there to take you to your destination. For flights Dum Dum Airport and there is no such state that doesn't have a direct flight to Kolkata. Taxi sometimes charges high and so to evade this buses are there for every route which saves your time and money and also you can feel the "Bangali" culture. Oh, I just forgot to mention about India's first metro which started in this city and had developed it from time to time. For cheaper and comfortable journeys you can avail metro or even local train which has a much higher connectivity.  

Now for your accommodation which I guess even if  I don't tell you will find. But still I will tell you some of them. In the Howrah station or Airport area there are many hotels which are at a reasonable cost. But if you want to  stay luxuriously then don't worry; the city has arrangements for you also. Park Street and Salt Lake area mainly arranges for this. Some hotels include JW Marriott, Hyatt Regency, ITC Sonar Bangla, Novotel in Salt Lake and nearby areas while Park Hotel, Oberoi Grand in Park Street and neighbouring areas. The best time to visit is during winter in the month of December. 

                                ITC SONAR BANGLA

                                             HYATT REGENCY

For foodies nobody can compete with Kolkata. I would request you to taste the street foods like egg roll, phuchka, etc. Please don't forget to taste biriyani which you can find in most of the hotels but I would suggest to have it from restaurants namely Arsalan , Aminia , Oudh or Karims who are famous for Biriyani. For Chinese lovers restaurants like "Mainland China" or  "Chowman" serves you authentic Chinese. We have dedicated a whole part of the city to  China named as "Terity Bazar" or  "Chinatown". It serves Chinese breakfast early in the morning and finishes by 8:30 AM. Even here you can find some Chinese restaurants. So, if Chinese tourists come they will not feel lonely. For elite people Park street area is the best with the restaurants like Peter Cat, Mocambo, Lords and Barrons  etc. These are mainly pubs or restaurant cum bars. Now the main part for the desserts. You have to taste rosogolla the most important sweet of Bengal. Of course many other sweets are there and at every lane you will find one sweet shop. Please do taste our singaras and kachoris also.

                                            

                                                          CHINATOWN

 

                            

                                                         ROSOGOLLA

Now, coming to the tourist attractions it's an unending list. But, I will try to list some of the main spots below:-

1) JORASHANKO THAKURBARI:- Home of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore this place gives you peace whenever you visit it. Located in North Kolkata's Jorasanko area . Opening at nearly 10:00AM you can explore the prestigious house after depositing a nominal entry fee. The Girish Park metro station is nearest to this place which makes communication easier. 

                                 JORASANKO THAKURBARI

2) EDEN GARDENS:-  Every cricket player have a dream of playing at Lords. Next to it the stadium which is in their dreams is Eden Gardens. Built by the British in 1864 which makes it the worlds oldest stadium . A place where Brazilian legend Pele had played. Later it was converted fully into a cricket stadium. It's just a 5 minutes walk from the Esplanade metro. Though you can't have entry when no matches are being played but certainly you should have a glimpse of it. Very near to it is the Maidan market a large hub for sports accessories. They provide you the authentic thing at a much cheaper rates. But don't shy to bargain here. 

                                      EDEN GARDENS 

3) INDIAN MUSEUM:- Asia's largest and oldest museum with a collection of all rare and antique items the museum is a 2-3 minutes waking from Park Street metro. Opening at 10 AM you can explore our ancient world after paying the required entry fees which is very nominal of course.

                                         INDIAN MUSEUM

                                                                   

4) VICTORIA MEMORIAL:- Built as a tribute to Queen Victoria after her death this memorial now stands as an icon for Kolkata. Located at Maidan area you will find guides here who will give you a tour of the place. Inside you will find prominent features of British architecture in the colonial era. Just opposite to it is the Kolkata Race Course one of the largest horse racing venue in India. Races begin from July to September and again from October to March. They are held on every Saturdays of these months. Visitors get the taste of the royal and elite sections of the society here. It's accessible by any mode of transport but the nearest metro station being Rabindra Sadan. 

                                 
                                                 VICTORIA MEMORIAL

                                              

5) BIRLA PLANETORIUM:- The second largest Planetorium in the world and inaugurated by our first Prime Minister J.L. Nehru. From outside it gives you a vibe of the Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh. Regular shows are arranged here from 12 noon-7:00PM. The shows are conducted in Hindi, Bengali and English with different timings for different languages.

                                                    BIRLA  PLANETORIUM

        

6) SALT LAKE STADIUM:-Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan commonly known as Salt Lake Stadium for it's location. Football fans doesn't need any seperate description for this place. Witness of many historical events this stadium was established in 1984 and is the one to host Lionel Messi's first match as the Argentine captain against Venezuela in 2011. Also it organized the farewell match of Germany's legendary goalkeeper Oliver Kahn when Bayern Munich played against Mohun Bagan. Many such incidents are scripted here and as the name suggest it's located in Salt Lake. Numerous buses ply here and to ease transportation the E-W metro from Sealdah has a station has a station for the stadium. Though even here you can't enter when no matches are there but certainly take a glimpse.

                                     SALT LAKE STADIUM

                                              

7) INIDAN BOTANICAL GARDENS:- For nature lovers this is the best place located at Shibpur, Howrah. It's the home to many varieties of flowers and plants. The main attractions being The Great Banyan Tree which had made it's name in the Guinness Book for being the largest tree in the world though many parts of it were destroyed in a cyclone that passed over Bengal. Also the garden is famous for many varieties of orchids. But go here by bus or taxi because they pass over the famous Howrah Bridge which is a hanging bridge and you will not believe such technologies can exist if you don't see it.

                        INDIAN BOTANICAL GARDENS             

8) ALIPORE ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN:- The oldest zoo in India and a home to a large numbers of wild animals. It's the best tourist attractions in winter particularly enjoyed by the kids. Ample buses ply here . With a entry fees of Rs.50 you can enjoy the wildlife.

                     ALIPORE ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN

9) SOUTH PARK CEMETRY:- The writing was becoming monotonous. So, to make it exciting let me tell you about the 'so called' haunted place of Kolkata though nobody has seen anything here. The cemetry of many notable personalities are present here including Walter Landor Dickens son of English novelist Charles Dickens. The shooting of many films have taken pace here notably "Gorosthane sabdhan" a bengali film based on Satyajit Ray's "Feluda" series. Just opposite to "The Assembly Of God Church School" the cemetry is located which serves as a major attraction. The Park Street metro station is nearest to it and numerous number of buses are there which drop you at Mallickbazar and from there the cemetry is barely a 1 minute walk. It opens for tourists only during the day till 5 PM. It's closed in the night for the reported "ghosts" seen there.

                                  SOUTH PARK CEMETRY

There were many eminent persons from Bengal during the independence movement. Their birthplace and houses without saying is a tourist spot. Some of them includes the house of the founder of INA Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Elgin Road, Bhawanipore, the house of Swami Vivekananda in Simla Street, Hedua and the house of Raja Rammohan Roy which has now been converted into a museum among others.

Some other places which deserves a visit are Fort William, Dakhineshwar Kali Temple.For amusement do visit Nicco Park and Eco Park. Oops! Didn't mention about Mothers Wax Museum in Newtown where you can meet the celebritites but unfortunately you can meet only their statues. 

It's not possible to give a detailed description of every tourist attractions of such a large city. You have to visit this place and I assure you that you will have no confusion why Britishers made the city the capital of India during the colonial rule.