The only Indian metro that would rather argue about a book than about money.
Kolkata is built for walking and talking. The maidan — a square mile of open ground in the middle of the city — separates the colonial core from the river, with Victoria Memorial at one end and the cricket at Eden Gardens at the other. North Kolkata holds the older, denser neighbourhoods: Kumartuli where the Durga idols are made, College Street's book stalls, and Marble Palace.
Durga Puja in September or October turns the entire city into an open-air exhibition — hundreds of temporary pandals, some of them serious contemporary art, open all night for five days. It is the best time to visit and the hardest to find a room.
The trams still run on a couple of routes, the Metro is the country's oldest, and the yellow Ambassador taxis are slowly disappearing.
Ranked by how much each place adds to a visit — not alphabetically, and never paid for.
1
A white marble memorial hall of 1921 set in 64 acres of gardens, now a museum of the colonial city and the best building in Kolkata.
2
A 705-metre cantilever bridge built without a single nut or bolt, carrying over 100,000 vehicles a day — best seen from the ferry…
3
The old restaurant strip — kathi rolls at Nizam's, Anglo-Indian food at Mocambo, live music at Trincas — plus the sweet shops the city…
4
An 1855 temple on the Hooghly with twelve Shiva shrines along the riverfront, closely associated with Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
5
A kilometre of secondhand book stalls around Presidency and Calcutta University, with the Indian Coffee House upstairs at the middle of…
6
The potters' quarter where the clay idols for Durga Puja are built by hand, visible in every stage from straw frame to painted eyes.
7
A restored 1841 Palladian portico on the riverfront with boat rides, the Vidyasagar Setu behind and the best sunset in central Kolkata.
8
Founded in 1814 and the oldest and largest museum in India, with the Bharhut stupa railings, an Egyptian mummy and a fossil gallery.
Distance is what breaks itineraries. See how the city actually lays out before you commit to a day.
The 'Grande Dame of Chowringhee', a colonial landmark with a courtyard pool.
Bengali cooking in a restored family house — the reliable introduction to the cuisine.
A 1905 red-brick hotel on Shakespeare Sarani with a garden barbecue.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (CCU), 17 km
Kolkata airport connects to all major Indian cities and to Bangkok, Dhaka, Singapore and the Gulf. It is 45 minutes from the centre outside peak hours.
Howrah (HWH), Sealdah (SDAH), Kolkata (KOAA)
Howrah and Sealdah are two of India's busiest terminals, with services to Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and across the east and north-east.
Darjeeling is 12 hours or an overnight train; Bhubaneswar seven; Digha four.
The Metro (India's first, opened 1984) runs north–south under the centre and is quick. Yellow taxis, app cabs and autos fill the gaps; trams survive on a couple of heritage routes. The ferry across the Hooghly between Howrah and Babughat is cheap and quick.
Per person, per day, excluding travel to the destination. A three-day trip for two is shown for comparison.
Clean budget stays, local food, shared or public transport.
Well-rated 3–4★ hotels, sit-down dining, private cabs.
Hot and very humid from April to June. The monsoon from June to September brings waterlogging. October to February is pleasant, with genuinely cool evenings in December and January.
Bengali cooking is its own tradition: macher jhol, shorshe ilish in monsoon, kosha mangsho, and a sweet culture built on chhena — rosogolla, sandesh, mishti doi. Add Kolkata's own biryani with a potato in it, kathi rolls from Park Street, and Chinese food from the Tangra community.
New Market for everything, College Street for books, Kumartuli for clay figures, Gariahat for sarees, and Dakshinapan for state handloom emporia under one roof.
Park Street's old restaurants and bars — Trincas has had live music since the 1960s. The city is more about long dinners and adda than about clubs.
One of the safest big Indian cities, with late-night street life in the central areas. Traffic and pavement condition are the practical hazards. During Durga Puja crowds are enormous — agree a meeting point with your group.
Victoria Memorial's gardens and museum have separate tickets and different hours. Durga Puja pandal-hopping is done on foot and at night — wear shoes you can walk 10 km in. The Metro closes earlier than you expect on some lines; check the last train.
Shoes off at Kalighat and Dakshineswar. Photography is restricted inside both. During Puja, ask before photographing families at a pandal.
September or October, following the lunar calendar, over five main days. The city stays awake through the nights and hotels book out months ahead — plan early if you want to see it.
Two days covers the colonial core, the river and Park Street. Three lets you add north Kolkata — Kumartuli, Marble Palace and College Street — which is the more interesting half of the city.
Only on a couple of heritage routes; the network has shrunk drastically. The Metro, opened in 1984 and India's first, is now the fastest way to cross the city.
One of the four holiest towns in India, with a beach attached.
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Gilded temples, a river of ferries, and the best street food on earth.