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C TYKOLKATTA

Quick FactsSTD Code: 033

Helpful Websites: www.wbtourism.gov.in

www.lonelyplanet.com/india/kolkata-calcutta

Go to Kolkata during Durga Puja when the

city comes to life for five days around September/October. People venerate handmade idols of the goddess Durga and displayed in pandals that fill parks. The festival ends when the idols are immersed in the Hooghly River.

I kolkata is india’s only city to have trams; © Getty imaGes/ krishnendu chatterjee

Kolkata is a daily festival of human existence, simultaneously noble and gritty. The city retains a feast of colonial-era architecture, much of it in a photogenic state of disrepair. It is also an ideal place to experience the delights of Bengali cuisine. Kolkata is a city you ‘feel’ more than you see.

TRANSPORTGETTING THERE• Air: Netaji Subhash Bose International Airport has daily flights

to major Indian cities. It is about 16km from central Kolkata. Feeder buses run every half hour (9am–9pm) to Esplanade.

• Train: All major Indian cities are connected to either of Kolkata’s three railway stations: Howrah, Sealdah and Chitpur; also known simply as Kolkata Station.

LOCAL TRANSPORT • Bus: Local buses are a convenient way to get around, but they

can be quite crammed. Fares are from `2–10.• Metro: This is the best way to get across town. Trains run

from 7am–9.45pm (Monday–Saturday) and from 2–9.45pm (Sunday). Fares vary from `5–25. Tourist smart cards for `250 offers unlimited rides in one day. A smart card for `550 offers unlimited rides over three days.

• Rickshaw: Hand-pulled rickshaws work within limited areas, notably around New Market.

• Taxi: Cabs can be easily hailed off the road. The first two kilometres will cost you `25. Thereafter it is 1̀2 per km. If your taxi doesn’t have a digital meter, the real fare should be around 250% of the reading. Drivers have a conversion chart. Radio cabs (Mega Cabs, Meru Cabs, Easy Cabs and more) have to be pre-booked. Fares for radio cabs vary from `9–25.

• Tram: Kolkata is the only city in India to have a tramway network. The cost just `3.50 per hop.

CONNECTIvITy Most big hotels have business centres or offer free wi-fi. Restaurants and cafes may not provide wi-fi, but check with them when you visit. Internet cafes are available acorss the city.

TOP EXPERIENCES Victoria Memorial This

vast, beautifully proportioned festival of white marble was designed to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 1901 diamond jubilee. You can admire the magnificent building from a distance or visit its galleries, replete with statues, artefacts and paintings. The Calcutta Gallery has an excellent exhibition tracing the city’s colonial era history. In the evenings, there’s a spectacular 45-minute English-language sound-and-light show.

Park Street Cemetery In use from 1757 to 1840, this historic cemetery remains a wonderful oasis of calm, featuring mossy Raj-era graves from rotundas

to soaring pyramids, all jostling for space in a lightly manicured jungle.

Marble palace Resplendent yet slightly run down, this grand 1835 raja’s mansion is astonishingly overstuffed with statues, Victorian and Belgian glassware and fine paintings.

Tagore’s house Within Rabindra Bharati University, the comfortable 1784 family mansion of Rabindranath Tagore has become a shrine like museum to India’s greatest modern poet. There’s a decent gallery of paintings by his family and contemporaries, and an exhibition on his links with Japan.

Kalighat temple South Kolkata’s biggest attraction is this ancient Kali temple, possibly the source of the city’s name. Be prepared to

I the Grand victoria memorial; © WikiPedia/creative commons

join jostling queues to catch a glimpse of the crowned, three-eyed Kali image.

Alipore Zoo The tiny Alipore area has Kolkata’s 16-hectare Zoological Gardens with lawns and lakeside promenades that are very popular with weekend picnickers, especially families.

Maidan & around Take a horse drawn carriage across the 3km greens called the Maidan, where people come to breathe in fresh air, at one end of which is the old Maidan Race Course.

St. John’s Church This stone-spired 1787 church is ringed by columns and contains a small, portrait-draped room once used as an office by Warren Hastings, India’s first British governor-general.

Kumartuli Many of the giant effigies that are immersed in the holy Hooghly River during Kolkata’s colourful pujas are made by the kumars (sculptors) of this enthralling district. Different workshops specialise in creating the straw frames, adding clay coatings or painting the divine features.Shah’s 14th-century domed madrasa and his tomb.

BBD Bagh Earlier known as Dalhousie Square, BBD Bagh is one of Raj-era Calcutta’s foremost squares, centred on a palm-lined central tank that once supplied the young city’s water. Many splendid colonial-era buildings such as The Writers Building, High Court, Town Hall, Kolkata Panorama and Raj Bhavan are all located in this area.

Howrah Bridge & Riverside Take a walk along the paved waterfront at Outram Ghat to get close to the gigantic Hooghly River that flows past Kolkata. You can take a boat ride to watch the city drift past and to get a great view of Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu), a 705m-long abstraction of steel cantilevers and traffic fumes, as well as the newer Second Hooghly Bridge.

AROUND KOLKATA Belur Math

Across the river from Dakshineshwar and set amid manicured lawns is the religious centre of the Ramakrishna Mission inspired by the saint.

Sunderbans I 98 km A UNESCO World Heritage Site,

the Sundarbans National Park is a sprawling tangle of mangrove swamps that is spread over 54 islands. A large part of the area is home to a 2,585 sq km tiger reserve.

Digha Beach I 180 km Digha Beach is a busy seaside promenade rather than a quiet place to loll on a deck chair. Families come here for a swim and groups of friends walk along the beach sipping beer in the evenings.

Mandarmani I 170 km Mandarmani offers a clear 13km stretch where you can drive alongside the sea, watching the waves and drinking in the impeccable peace and quiet.

I diGha is a PoPular Weekend GetaWay; ©GettyimaGes/ subir basak

nightlife, The Park is a top central choice for upmarket accommodation. Hidden on the 1st floor is an arty sitting space and also three restaurants. The reception is accessed bizarrely from Park Street by walking through The Street, a cafe-deli.

HOTEL KEmPTON %40177888; www.hotelkempton.in; 3 marquis Street; rooms from `3700 The Kempton’s feast of white marble and artificial orchids hint at standards far above the prices actually charged. This new, relatively suave tower brings a new level of class to the backpacker-friendly Sudder Street zone.

FAIRLAwN HOTEL%22521510; www.fairlawnhotel.com; 13A Sudder Street; rooms from `3500 Taking guests since 1936, the Fairlawn is a characterful 1783 Raj-era home fronted by tropical greenery. While not luxurious, most rooms are spacious and well equipped.

PARK PRImE %30963096; www.chocolatehotels.in; 226 AJC Bose Road; rooms from `9400Sleep in a brilliantly executed artistic statement that looks like a seven-storey Swiss cheese by day and a colour-pulsing alien communicator by night. Rooms have optical-illusion decor.

O2%25250113; www.loharukahotels.com; vIP Road, Ramkrishna Pally; rooms from `3500Of the larger VIP Road options, the two closely located O2 (oh-two) hotels are about the closest to the terminals. Choose the O2’s newer, smarter VIP building over the older scrappier ‘Oxygen’ but be aware that neither is really great value for money.

I oberoi Grand is one oF the most iconic hotels in the city; © the oberoi Grand hotel

ACCOMMODATIONOBEROI GRANd %22492323; www. oberoihotels.com; 15 Chowringhee Road; rooms from `22,000 Passing through the courtyard gateway, you’re transported from chaotic Chowringhee Road into a regal oasis of calm that deserves every point on its five stars. Immaculate accommodation oozes atmosphere, the pool is ringed with palms and the staff anticipate your every need.

THE PARK HOTEL %22499000; www.theparkhotels.com; 17 Park Street; rooms from `14,000 Hosting much of the city’s

EATINGOH! CALCuTTA %22837161; 4th floor, Forum mall, Elgin Road Shutter edged mirror ‘windows’ and B&W photography create a casually upmarket atmosphere in this Bengali fusion restaurant. Portions are unusually large. Try the feather-light luchi ( 1̀40 for six) and koraishutir dhokar dalna (green pea cakes in ginger, 4̀30).

mARCO POLO%22273939; 24 Park Street Stylish deep-brown panels are back-lit to create a moody atmosphere in this restaurant where lamps are kept so low that you almost need a torch. Curiosities such as Lebanese chops and Hungarian-sauce veg gratin add to a wide menu of Bengali, Indian, Chinese and continental food.

BHOJOHARI mANNA %24663941; www.bhojohorimanna.com; 18/1 Hindustan Road, Branch 6 Each Bhojohari Manna branch feels distinct and has a somewhat different menu, though all feature top-quality Bengali food.

SHIRAz 135 Park StreetSynonymous with Kolkata

biryani, Shiraz also offers a range of curries and a succulent mutton chaap special (`200). It has two almost-nextdoor branches. The smarter section only opens from lunchtime but the older branch serves a superb 6̀0 mutton keema breakfast

until noon.

FLuRy’S %40007453; 18 Park Street The all-day menu at this famous place includes old favourites like rum balls, meringues with cream and classic English breakfast.

KC dAS Lenin SaraniThis bustling Bengali sweet shop claims to have invented the rasgulla in 1868. Whether or not that’s true, the syrupsoaked balls of cottage cheese here are delicious, as is the mishti doi. Seating is available here.

HOT KATI ROLLS Park StreetBengal’s trademark fast food is the kati roll, often eaten on the street from tiny outlets. This place is a classic.

BISTRO By THE PARK %22296494; 2A middleton RowThis enticing if pricey new cafe manages to combine hip 21st-century design with 1970s retro, yet keeps the colours muted and the ambience cosily approachable. Menus are iPads.

GIRISH CHANdRA dEy & NAKuR CHANdRA NANdy www.girishnakur.com; Ramdulal Sarkar Street, Hedua ParkThey are the sandesh kings of Kolkata, having wowed generations of Bengalis with their traditional korapak.

I a tyPical benGali meal is a treat For the Fish lover; © GettyimaGes/ akash bhattacharya

SHOPPINGdAKSHINAPAN SHOPPING CENTRE Gariahat Road Dakshinapan’s wide range of government emporia has plenty of tack but many shops offer excellent value souvenirs, crafts and fabrics. Sonali (Shop F1) specialises in juteware, and Purbasha Tripura (Shop F4) has bargain caneware, from intricate lampshades to Marx and Lenin portraits ( 6̀0). On the lower level is Dolly’s Tea Shop that has been around since 1987. Its got rattan chairs and tea-crate tables.

GARIAHAT mARKET This area has a variety of shops. A great place for saris and sweets.

NEw mARKETOff Lindsay Street This market is marked by a distinctive red-brick clock-tower. Just about everything sells in this market, but for true atmosphere, visit the old pillared food section.

COLLEGE STREET Stalls lining both sides of College Street, Kolkata’s university area, sell second-hand books and magazines ranging from college textbooks to first editions. Bargain hard.

ACTIVITIESwALKING TOuRSAccompanied city walks for small groups are available through several outfits. Most start after dawn and last till mid-morning. Tried and tested organisers include Kali

I tyPical benGal saris include dhaniakhali, dhakai jamdani & baluchari; ©shWeta andreWs

Travel Home (%25550581; www.traveleastindia.com), CalWalks (%9830184030; www. calcuttawalks.com) and Footsteps (%9830008033).

PHOTOGRAPHy TOuRSKolkata’s streets and iconic landmarks are a photographer’s delight. Take a tour with Calcutta Photo Tours (9831163482; calcuttaphotototours. com).

RIvER CRuISESLuxury cruises ranging from a week to 10 days stop at Chandarnagar, Bandel and even take you further to Murshidabad and Farakka. Bengal Ganga (%26122290; www.bengalganga.com) and Assam Bengal Navigation (%9207042330; www. assambengalnavigation.com) are highly recommended.