Experience the unique scent of Kolkata on a full-day tour through colonial landmarks and the modern city. Explore historic sites and receive informative handouts. English-speaking driver included.
Experience the unique scent of Kolkata on a full-day tour through colonial landmarks and the modern city. Explore historic sites and receive informative handouts. English-speaking driver included.
- Malik Ghat Flower Market - Malik Ghat Flower Market, the largest flower market in Asia, is situated near the iconic Howrah Bridge on the Hooghly River at Mallik Ghat. Established in 1855, the market comes alive as early as 3:30 am, showcasing a vibrant and lively atmosphere.
- Howrah Bridge - Commissioned in 1943, Howrah Bridge spans the…
- Malik Ghat Flower Market - Malik Ghat Flower Market, the largest flower market in Asia, is situated near the iconic Howrah Bridge on the Hooghly River at Mallik Ghat. Established in 1855, the market comes alive as early as 3:30 am, showcasing a vibrant and lively atmosphere.
- Howrah Bridge - Commissioned in 1943, Howrah Bridge spans the Hooghly River. Initially named the New Howrah Bridge, it replaced a pontoon bridge connecting Howrah and Kolkata (Calcutta). On June 14, 1965, it was renamed Rabindra Setu in honor of Rabindranath Tagore, the first Indian and Asian Nobel laureate. The bridge is a renowned symbol of Kolkata and West Bengal, being the busiest cantilever bridge globally. At its construction, it was the third-longest cantilever bridge and is now the sixth-longest of its kind worldwide. Remarkably, the bridge was constructed without nuts and bolts, using riveting instead, and consumed 26,500 tons of steel, with 23,000 tons of high-tensile alloy steel, Tiscrom, supplied by Tata Steel. It remains popularly known as Howrah Bridge.
- Mother House - Mother House is a sacred place for those seeking a meaningful existence. Founded by Blessed Mother Teresa in 1950, it aims to serve humanity selflessly and guide them towards salvation. After Mother Teresa’s passing in 1997, she was laid to rest in a tomb within the house where she lived and served. The tomb site is simple yet radiates a profound sense of peace and gratitude. Despite the surrounding noise and crowds, Mother’s tomb reflects her life of soulful meditation. A small museum, ‘Mother Teresa’s Life, Spirit and Message,’ displays her personal items, including sandals, a dinner bowl, sari, crucifix, rosary, letters, and spiritual exhortations. Her room is preserved in its simplicity, with a crown-of-thorns above her modest bed.
- Parashnath Jain Temple - Parshwanath Temple, located on Badridas Temple Street, is a significant tourist attraction in Kolkata, India. Built in 1867 by Jain Rai Badridas Bahadoor Mookim, the temple is dedicated to Parshwanath, the 23rd Jain Tirthankar, and is a vital Jain temple in Kolkata. The deity of Lord Shitalnathji, with a diamond-studded forehead, is a major draw for visitors. A ghee lamp inside the sanctum sanctorum has been burning continuously since the temple’s inception in 1867, symbolizing enduring mysticism.
The temple boasts exquisite designs, featuring mirror-inlaid pillars and stained glass windows. Its interiors and exteriors are beautifully adorned, surrounded by colorful flower gardens and fountains. A small stream with diverse flowers flows through the grounds, and the fountains create a harmonious display. A well-maintained reservoir adds to the beauty, with colorful fish surfacing for food. The marble-paved floor enhances the temple’s solemnity and purity. The temple’s artistic tendencies are evident in its decoration, with paintings by renowned artist Ganesh Muskare adorning the walls. Chandeliers, or Jhar Battis, add sparkle to the serene interiors. The intricately paved marble floor with floral designs gives the temple a classy look, and the gateway is particularly eye-catching.
- Kumartuli - Kumartuli is a traditional potters’ quarter in northern Kolkata, renowned for its sculpting expertise. It produces clay idols for various festivals and exports them regularly.
Many artisans in north Kolkata dwindled or vanished due to the late 19th-century invasion from Burrabazar, with Marwari businessmen displacing others. However, Kumortuli’s potters, who crafted clay pots for Sutanuti Bazar (later Burrabazar), survived. They gradually began creating images of gods and goddesses for local mansions and community pujas in the city and beyond.
- College Street (Boi Para) - College Street, a 1.5 km long street in central Kolkata, is named for its numerous schools and colleges, including Calcutta University and Presidency University. It is a hub of intellectual activity, especially at the Indian Coffee House, a café frequented by the city’s intelligentsia for decades. Known as India’s largest book market, College Street is affectionately called Boi Para, or “Book Town.”
Famous for its bookstores, College Street attracts people from across the city and state. The street is lined with small book kiosks selling new and old books. Smithsonian described it as a half-mile of bookshops and stalls overflowing onto the pavement, offering first editions, pamphlets, and paperbacks in every Indian language, along with books from France, Germany, Russia, and England. Rare books can be bought at bargain prices, with extensive haggling.
- St. John’s Church - St. John’s Church, originally a cathedral, was among the first public buildings erected by the East India Company after Kolkata became the capital of British India. Located at the North-Western corner of Raj Bhavan, it served as the Anglican Cathedral of Calcutta until 1847, when the see moved to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Construction began in 1784 and was completed in 1787, making it the city’s third oldest church, after the Armenian and Old Mission Churches.
The land for St. John’s Church was donated by Maharaja Nabo Kishen Bahadur, founder of the Shovabazar Raj Family. Warren Hastings, the Governor General of India, laid the foundation stone on April 6, 1784. Two marble plaques at the entrance commemorate these historic events.
The church is a large square structure in the Neoclassical architectural style, with a distinctive 174 ft tall stone spire.
- Maghen David Synagogue - Built in 1884 by Elias David Ezra in memory of his father David Joseph Ezra, the Maghen David Synagogue features Italian Renaissance architecture with a brick red finish. It is accessed through an arched door with the “Star of David” and Hebrew inscriptions. Memorial plaques on the side walls honor notable Jews of Calcutta. The synagogue’s chequered marble floor, chandeliers, stained glass windows, and ornate floral pillars from Paris enhance its Continental appearance. The ark is set into the apse walls, with a star-studded half dome representing the heavens. A large plaque above the ark’s middle section displays the Ten Commandments, along with other Hebrew inscriptions and Jewish iconography, including the menorah. The bimah, a raised platform for reading the Torah, is at the hall’s center.
- Dakshineswar Kali Temple - Dakshineswar Kali Temple, a Hindu navaratna temple in Dakshineswar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, is situated on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River. The temple’s presiding deity is Bhavatarini (Kali), a form of Mahadevi or Parashakti Adya Kali, also known as Adishakti Kalika. Built in 1855 by Rani Rashmoni, a Zamindar, philanthropist, and devotee of Kali Maa, the temple is associated with 19th-century Bengal mystics Ramakrishna and Ma Sarada Devi. The temple compound includes a large courtyard, twelve Shiva shrines along the riverfront, a Radha–Krishna temple, a bathing ghat, and a shrine dedicated to Rani Rashmoni. ‘Nahabat,’ a chamber in the northwestern corner beyond the last Shiva temple, is where Ramakrishna and Maa Sarada spent much of their lives.
- Belur Math - Belur Math, the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, was founded by Swami Vivekananda and is located in Belur, West Bengal, India, on the west bank of the Hooghly River. The temple is the heart of the Ramakrishna movement and is notable for its architecture, which blends Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, and Christian art and motifs, symbolizing the unity of all religions.
- Victoria Memorial Hall - The Victoria Memorial, a large marble building in Kolkata, was constructed between 1906 and 1921. Dedicated to Queen Victoria’s memory, it now serves as a museum and tourist destination under the Ministry of Culture. Situated on the Maidan by the Hooghly River, the foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales, later King George V, on January 4, 1906, and it opened to the public in 1921.
- Fort William - Fort William, a fort in Kolkata, was built during the early years of the Bengal Presidency of British India. Located on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River, it is one of Kolkata’s most enduring Raj-era structures, covering 70.9 hectares.
Named after King William III, the fort is fronted by the Maidan, the city’s largest park. An internal guard room became the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta.
There are two Fort Williams. The original fort, built in 1696 by the British East India Company under Sir John Goldsborough’s orders, took a decade to complete. Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb granted permission. Sir Charles Eyre began construction near the Hooghly River with the South East Bastion and adjacent walls, naming it after King William III in 1700. John Beard, Eyre’s successor, added the North-East Bastion in 1701 and began constructing the Government House at the fort’s center in 1702, completing it in 1706. The original building had two stories and projecting wings. In 1756, the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj Ud Daulah, attacked the fort, temporarily conquering the city and renaming it Alinagar. This prompted the British to build a new fort in the Maidan.
Robert Clive began rebuilding the fort in 1758 after the Battle of Plassey (1757), completing it in 1781 at a cost of approximately two million pounds. The area around the fort was cleared, and the Maidan became “the Lungs of Kolkata,” stretching 3 km north-south and 1 km wide. The Old Fort was repaired and used as a customs house from 1766 onwards. Much of Fort William remains unchanged, but St Peter’s Church, once a chaplaincy center for British citizens, is now a library for HQ Eastern Command troops.
Today, Fort William is owned by the Indian Army, housing the Eastern Command headquarters and accommodating 10,000 personnel. It is heavily guarded, with restricted civilian access.
- Race Course - The Race Course in Kolkata is India’s largest horse racing venue, built in 1820 and maintained by the Royal Calcutta Turf Club. Races occur from July to September and November to March, typically on Saturdays and public holidays.
- Maidan - The Maidan, meaning “open field,” is Kolkata’s largest urban park. This vast field includes numerous playgrounds, such as the famous Eden Gardens cricket venue, several football stadiums, and the Kolkata Race Course. The Maidan is adorned with statues and architectural works, most notably the Victoria Memorial. Known as the “lungs of Kolkata” for its greenery, it is owned by the Indian Army and hosts the Eastern zone high command in Fort William. The Maidan stretches from the Raj Bhavan building on the Esplanade in the north to the National Library on Belvedere Road in Alipore in the south, and from the Hooghly River in the west to the Victoria Memorial in the east. It is a historical and cultural center of Kolkata, as well as a hub of leisure and entertainment for residents.
In 1758, a year after their victory in the Battle of Plassey, the British East India Company began constructing the new Fort William in the village of Gobindapur. The village’s inhabitants were compensated and relocated to Taltala, Kumartuli, and Shovabazar. The fort was completed in 1773.
The tiger-infested jungle separating Chowringhee from the river was cleared, creating the wide grassy Maidan that Calcutta is proud of. This airy expanse and the filling of the creek that isolated the settlement in the south led European inhabitants to gradually move towards Chowringhee, a trend noticeable as early as 1746.
- Eden Gardens - Eden Gardens, a cricket ground in Kolkata, was established in 1864 and is India’s oldest cricket stadium. It is the second-largest cricket stadium in India, after the newly built Sardar Patel Stadium, and the third-largest in the world, following Sardar Patel Stadium and Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The stadium is named after the adjacent Eden Gardens, one of Kolkata’s oldest parks, designed in 1841 and named after the Eden sisters of Lord Auckland, the then Governor-General of India. Initially called ‘Auckland Circus Gardens,’ it was later renamed ‘Eden Gardens,’ inspired by the biblical Garden of Eden. According to popular culture, Babu Rajchandra Das, a Kolkata zamindar, gifted one of his largest gardens beside the Hooghly River to Viceroy Lord Auckland Eden and his sister Emily Eden after they saved his third daughter from a fatal disease. From then on, the garden’s name changed from Mar Bagan to Eden Gardens. The cricket grounds were built between Babughat and Fort William.
- Town Hall - Town Hall, built in 1813 in Roman Doric style by architect and engineer Maj. Gen. John Garstin, was funded by a Rs. 7,00,000 lottery to provide Europeans with a social gathering place. During World War II, the government temporarily opened a Rationing Office in the Hall.
Initially, the hall was managed by a committee that allowed public use under government-set terms. The public could visit the ground floor to see statues and large portrait paintings but had limited access to the upper storey. Applications for upper storey use were made to the committee. In 1867, Town Hall came under municipal management by the Justices of Peace for Kolkata’s improvement (later the Calcutta Corporation). In the 1870s, during Chief Justice Richard Couch’s tenure, the Town Hall was temporarily used for judicial purposes while the High Court building was constructed. In 1871, Puisne Judge Sir John Paxton Norman was assassinated by a Wahabi sect fanatic while descending the Town Hall steps. In 1897, the Town Hall was renovated at a cost of about Rs. 1.126 million.
In 1914, almost all marble statues, except Ramanath Tagore’s, were moved to Victoria Memorial. After the 1919 Dyarchy introduction, the Town Hall served as the Bengal Legislative Council’s chamber, with interior remodeling to suit the Council’s needs. The Council President had a chamber in the Town Hall. The Legislative Council moved to a new building in 1931.
- Calcutta High Court - The Calcutta High Court, India’s oldest High Court, has jurisdiction over West Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Its design is based on the Cloth Hall in Ypres, Belgium. It is one of three High Courts in India established at the Presidency Towns by Queen Victoria’s Letters Patent dated June 26, 1862.
Despite the city’s official name change from Calcutta to Kolkata in 2001, the Court retained its original name. A bill to rename it as Kolkata High Court was approved by the Cabinet on July 5, 2016, along with renaming its counterparts in Chennai and Mumbai. However, the High Court still retains its old name.
- General Post Office - The General Post Office, Kolkata’s central post office and West Bengal’s chief post office, handles most of the city’s mail and parcels. Located in the B.B.D. Bagh area, the GPO’s imposing structure is a city landmark.
The GPO site was originally the location of the first Fort William. An alley beside the post office housed the infamous 1756 Black Hole of Calcutta. Designed in 1864 by Walter B. Grenville, consulting architect to the government of India from 1863 to 1868, the GPO features a brass plate on its eastern staircase marking the Old Fort William’s eastern end, likely the only remaining part of ancient Calcutta’s fort. A marble plaque on the GPO’s eastern walls highlights the Brass Plate.
- Raj Bhavan - Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor of West Bengal, is located in Kolkata. Built in 1803, it was known as Government House before India’s independence.
After power transferred from the East India Company to the British Crown in 1858, it became the Viceroy of India’s official residence, moving from the Belvedere Estate. When the capital shifted to Delhi in 1911, it became the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal’s official residence. Since 1947, it has served as the Governor of West Bengal’s official residence, known as Raj Bhavan, a name shared with other states’ governors’ residences.
In the early 19th century, Kolkata was at its golden age, known as the City of Palaces or St. Petersburg of the East, and was India’s richest, largest, and most elegant colonial city. During this time, Government House (later Raj Bhavan) was constructed.
Before 1799, the Governor-General resided in a rented house, Bukimham House, on the same site. The land belonged to Mohammad Reza Khan, a Chitpur Nawab. In 1799, Governor-General The 1st Marquess Wellesley initiated building a palace, believing India should be ruled from a palace, not a country house. Wellesley wanted to demonstrate imperial authority and power, so the building was grand.
After four years, construction completed at a colossal cost of £63,291 (about £3.8 million today). Wellesley was charged with misusing East India Company funds and recalled to England in 1805. Although Wellesley lost his job, he is credited with giving Kolkata one of its finest colonial mansions.
In 1892, the Otis Elevator Company installed India’s first elevator at Raj Bhavan.
- Writers’ Building - The Writers’ Building, often called Writers’, is the State Government of West Bengal’s secretariat building. Originally, it served as the British East India Company’s principal administrative office for writers (junior clerks). Designed by Thomas Lyon in 1777, the Writers’ Building has undergone several extensions. In 1821, a 128 ft-long verandah with 32 ft high Ionic columns was added on the first and second floors. From 1889 to 1906, two new blocks were added, accessed by iron staircases still in use. Writers’ acquired its Greco-Roman look, complete with a central bay portico and exposed brick red surface. The parapet and statues sculpted by William Fredric Woodington in 1883 line the terrace. Since India’s independence in 1947, it housed the West Bengal Chief Minister’s office until October 4, 2013. Most government departments moved to Nabanna in Howrah temporarily for renovation.
- St. Andrew’s Church - St Andrew’s Church, the only Scottish church in Kolkata, is also known as the Kirk. The foundation stone was laid on November 30, 1815, by the Marquis of Hastings and opened to the public on March 8, 1818. The Countess of Moira and the Countess of Loudon attended the stone-laying ceremony. The clock was fitted to the tower in 1835, designed by M/s Burn, Currie & Co. It was also known as “laat sahib ka girja” (the Governor’s church), likely because the foundation stone was laid by the Governor General’s wife, the Marquis of Hastings.
- Shaheed Minar - The Shaheed Minar (Martyrs’ Monument), formerly the Ochterlony Monument, is a Kolkata monument erected in 1828 in memory of Major General Sir David Ochterlony, commander of the British East India Company. It commemorates his successful defense of Delhi against the Marathas in 1804 and the East India Company’s victory over the Gurkhas in the Anglo-Nepalese War. Designed by J. P. Parker and funded by public contributions, the monument was constructed in his honor.
On August 9, 1969, it was rededicated to the memory of Indian freedom movement martyrs and renamed “Shaheed Minar,” meaning “Martyrs’ Monument” in Bengali and Hindi, by the United Front Government in memory of Indian independence movement martyrs.

- Customised Private Tour in Air-conditioned Vehicle with English Speaking Driver
- Bottled water
- Hotel Pickup and Drop-off
- All Fees & Taxes including Guide Fees, Fuel Surcharge, Parking & Toll Charges
- Idol Making in Kumartuli
- Tea / Coffee at the Indian Coffee House
- Customised Private Tour in Air-conditioned Vehicle with English Speaking Driver
- Bottled water
- Hotel Pickup and Drop-off
- All Fees & Taxes including Guide Fees, Fuel Surcharge, Parking & Toll Charges
- Idol Making in Kumartuli
- Tea / Coffee at the Indian Coffee House
- Gratuities
- Gratuities
Step into the vibrant tapestry of Kolkata’s history & culture with our unique 2-day tour, crafted to immerse you in the city’s rich heritage. Hear you’ll embark on a sensory journey through Kolkata’s colonial and historical landmarks.
Every corner of Kolkata exudes a unique scent, a fragrance of its storied past and vibrant present. Our tour is…
Step into the vibrant tapestry of Kolkata’s history & culture with our unique 2-day tour, crafted to immerse you in the city’s rich heritage. Hear you’ll embark on a sensory journey through Kolkata’s colonial and historical landmarks.
Every corner of Kolkata exudes a unique scent, a fragrance of its storied past and vibrant present. Our tour is meticulously planned to ensure you experience the very essence of the city, tailored to your preferences.
Throughout your exploration, you’ll be accompanied by a local expert, handouts will supplement your journey, offering detailed information about the landmarks you’ll visit, enriching your understanding of Kolkata’s intricate tapestry.
This isn’t just a sightseeing tour; it’s a chance to witness Kolkata’s evolution and embrace its vibrant spirit. So, join us and embark on this extraordinary adventure, a celebration of Kolkata’s enduring legacy.
This tour is for the people who wants little information & want to see the life of the city.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.