Best Places to visit in Kolkata 2020 updated

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Kolkata also is known as Calcutta is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian census, it is the seventh most populous city in India. The Port of Kolkata is India’s oldest operating port and its sole major riverine port. The city, nicknamed the “City of Joy” is widely regarded as the “cultural capital” of India and as of 2019, six Nobel Laureates have been associated with the city. Though home to major cricketing venues and franchises, Kolkata differs from other Indian cities by focusing on association football and other sports. It is the third most-productive metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai and Delhi. Here’s a list of the Best Places to Visit in Kolkata

Victoria Memorial

Victoria Memorial
Victoria Memorial (Source: Facebook)

The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, which was built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria and is now a museum and tourist destination under the authority of the Ministry of Culture. The memorial lies on the Maidan by the bank of the Hooghly River, near Jawaharlal Nehru Road.

Howrah Bridge

Howrah Bridge
Howrah Bridge (Source: Facebook)

Howrah Bridge is a bridge with a suspended span over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. Commissioned in 1943, the bridge was originally named the New Howrah Bridge, because it replaced a pontoon bridge at the same location linking the two cities of Howrah and Kolkata. On 14 June 1965, it was renamed Rabindra Setu after the great Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, who was the first Indian and Asian Nobel laureate. It is still popularly known as the Howrah Bridge. The bridge is one of four on the Hooghly River and is a famous symbol of Kolkata and West Bengal. It weathers the storms of the Bay of Bengal region, carrying a daily traffic of approximately 100,000 vehicles and possibly more than 150,000 pedestrians, easily making it the busiest cantilever bridge in the world. The third-longest cantilever bridge at the time of its construction.

Science City Kolkata

Science City Kolkata
Science City Kolkata (Source: Facebook)

The Science City of Kolkata is the largest science center in the Indian subcontinent. Managed by National Council of Science Museums, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Science City was opened on July 01, 1997, and consists of two facilities the Science Centre and the Convention Centre. The Science Centre complex comprises Space Odyssey, Dynamotion, Science Exploration Hall, Maritime Centre, Earth Exploration Hall, and a sprawling Science Park. It is the major attraction in Kolkata to local residents as well as to the national and international visitors to the metropolis. While in Kolkata one cannot miss this iconic institution combining education and entertainment in sharp contrast to the science museums existing elsewhere in the country.

Marble Palace

Marble Palace
Marble Palace (Source: Facebook)

Marble Palace is a palatial nineteenth-century mansion in North Kolkata. It is one of the best-preserved and most elegant houses of nineteenth-century Calcutta. The mansion is famous for its marble walls, floors, and sculptures, from which it derives its name. The galleries of the mansion are overstuffed with statues, portraits, mirrors, chandeliers and paintings that are by English, Dutch and Italian artists. Because Marble Palace remains a private residence, photography is prohibited. Entry is free, but a permit must be obtained 24 hours in advance from the West Bengal Tourism Information Bureau at BBD Bag, Kolkata. Inside the house, there are guides who give visitors a tour of the house, although the parts of the house which are still inhabited remain off-limits. Marble Palace is open from 10 am to 4 pm on all days except Mondays and Thursdays.

Fort William

Fort William
Fort William (Source: Facebook)

Fort William is a fort in Calcutta (Kolkata), built during the early years of the Bengal Presidency of British India. It sits on the eastern banks of the River Hooghly, the major distributary of the River Ganges. One of Kolkata’s most enduring Raj-era edifices, it extends over an area of 70.9 hectares. The fort was named after King William III. In front of the Fort is the Maidan, the largest park in the city. An internal guard room became the Black Hole of Calcutta.

Indian Museum

Indian Museum
Indian Museum (Source: Facebook)

The Indian Museum in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum of the world, the oldest museum in India and the second largest museum in India, after the Madras Museum, and has rare collections of antiques, armor and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies and Mughal paintings. It was founded by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Kolkata, India, in 1814. The founder curator was Nathaniel Wallich a Danish botanist. It has six sections comprising thirty-five galleries of cultural and scientific artifacts namely Indian art, archaeology, anthropology, geology, zoology, and economic botany. Many rare and unique specimens, both Indian and trans-Indian, relating to humanities and natural sciences, are preserved and displayed in the galleries of these sections. In particular, the art and archaeology sections hold collections of international importance.

Rabindra Sarobar

Rabindra Sarobar
Rabindra Sarobar (Source: Facebook)

Rabindra Sarobar (previously known as Dhakuria Lake) is an artificial lake in south Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. A number of people come for a walk around the lake in the mornings to enjoy the fresh air. Many visit the sunrise point to offer their prayers to the sun. During the day, it is visited by families on a picnic, tourists, young lovers, and joggers.

Mother House

Mother House
Mother House (Source: Facebook)

The house was built by Mother Teresa in 1950 with the motive of selfless service to humankind and also to uplift humanity and take it towards salvation. She lived and worked in this home from 1953 till 1997 when she breathed her last. Adjacent to the building is a small museum named Mother Teresa’s Life Spirit and Message. The museum houses her belongings such as her sandals, a dinner bowl used by her, a crucifix and a few other objects. With a crown-of-thorns above her modest bed, the mother’s room is preserved in all its simplicity. It is barely 15 minutes away from the Park Street Metro Station.

Tagore’s House

Tagore’s House
Tagore’s House (Source: Facebook)

The Jorasanko Thakurbari is the ancestral house of Rabindranath Tagore who was not only born and brought up here but also spent a substantial part of his life and finally breathed his last in this house. It was also the residence of Gaganendranath and Abanindranath Tagore, the founders of the Bengal School of Art. The house has been restored to reflect the way the household looked when the Tagore family lived in it and currently serves as the Tagore museum for Kolkata. It offers details about the history of the Tagore family.