Best things to do in Kolkata
From The stately Indian Museum to the green expanse of the Maidan, here are the best things to do in Kolkata.
#1 Relax at The Maidan
One of the largest city-centre parks in the world, the Maidan – literally “field” – stretches from the Esplanade in the north to the racecourse in the south.
It is bordered by Chowringhee Road to the east, the Strand and river to the west and Raj Bhavan to the north, the former residence of the British governors-general and the viceroys of India until 1911. It's now the official home of the governor of Bengal.
This vast open area, the lungs of Kolkata, stands in utter contrast to the chaotic streets of the surrounding city.
It was created when Fort William, now home to the military headquarters of the Eastern Command, was laid out near the river in 1758; Robert Clive cleared tracts of forest to give its guns a clear line of fire.
Originally a haven for the elite, today the Maidan is a favourite spot for ordinary citizens.
#2 Wander along Esplanade and Chowringhee Road
The 46m column of Shahid Minar (Martyrs’ Memorial) towers over the busy tram and bus terminals and market stalls at the northeast corner of the Maidan, known here as Esplanade.
It was originally built in 1828 to commemorate David Ochterlony, who led the East India Company’s troops to victory in the Nepalese Wars of 1814–16.
On the east side of Esplanade, the once-elegant colonnaded front of Chowringhee Road is perpetually teeming with hawkers and shoppers.
Behind the facade the Victorian Grand Hotel (now the Oberoi Grand), its palm court inspired by the famous Raffles of Singapore, maintains a hint of colonialism.
#3 Buy some snacks at New Market
The single-storey New Market has barely changed inside since it opened in 1874 and has plenty of old-world charm.
Beneath its Gothic red-brick clock tower, the market stocks a vast array of household goods, luggage, garments, textiles, jewellery, knickknacks and books as well as meat, vegetables and fruit and a booming flower market.
Chamba Lama sells Tibetan curios, silver jewellery and bronzes while Sujata’s is known for its silk, and Nahoum & Sons is a renowned Jewish bakery and confectioner.
Further up the corridor, condiment stalls offer dried fruit, miniature rounds of salty Bandel cheese (both smoked and unsmoked) and amshat, blocks of dried mango; the produce, poultry, fish and meat market nearby is unmistakeable by its aroma.
Coolies, hoping for commission, eagerly offer assistance to any shopper who shows even a flicker of uncertainty.
#4 Be wowed by the Indian Museum
The stately Indian Museum is the oldest and largest museum in India, founded in 1814. Visitors come in their thousands, many of them referring to it as the jadu ghar or “house of magic”.
The main showpiece is a collection of sculptures obtained from sites all over India, which centres on a superb Mauryan polished-sandstone lion capital dating from the third century BC.
One gallery houses the impressive remains of the second-century BC Buddhist stupa from Bharhut in Madhya Pradesh, partly reassembled to display the red-sandstone posts, capping stones, railings and gateways.
Carvings depict scenes from the Jataka tales of the Buddha’s many incarnations.
Along with a huge collection of Buddhist sculptures, dating from the first to the third centuries, you’ll also see stone sculpture from Khajuraho and Pala bronzes, and archeological finds from other sites.
#5 Take in the Victoria Memorial
The dramatic white-marble Victoria Memorial at the southern end of the Maidan, with its formal gardens and watercourses, continues to be Kolkata’s pride and joy.
Other colonial monuments and statues throughout the city have been renamed or demolished, but attempts to change the name of the “VM” have come to nothing.
This extraordinary hybrid building designed by Sir William Emerson, with Italianate statues over its entrances, Mughal domes in its corners, and elegant open colonnades along its sides, was conceived by Lord Curzon to commemorate the empire at its peak.
However, by the time it was completed in 1921, twenty years after Victoria’s death, the capital of the Raj had shifted to Delhi.
The main entrance, at the Maidan end, leads into a tall chamber beneath the dome.
The 25 galleries inside still contain mementoes of British imperialism including statues of Queen Mary, King George V and Queen Victoria.
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