Places to Visit in Kolkata: 22 Spots with Fees (2026)

How to plan your days in Kolkata

Kolkata sightseeing sits in four pockets and the mistake most people make is zig-zagging between them in traffic. Central pocket: Victoria Memorial, St Paul's Cathedral, Birla Planetarium, Indian Museum, Maidan, Park Street, New Market. North pocket: Jorasanko, Marble Palace, Kumartuli, College Street, Howrah Bridge. River pocket: Dakshineswar and Belur Math, which are across the water from each other. East pocket: Science City, Nicco Park, Eco Park in Salt Lake and New Town. Do one pocket per half day and use the metro between them.

Closed days matter more here than in most Indian cities. Monday takes out the Indian Museum, the Victoria Memorial galleries, Jorasanko, the Botanic Garden, Alipore Jail Museum and Eco Park. Thursday takes out Alipore Zoo and Mother House. Marble Palace is shut on both Monday and Thursday. So if your two days in Kolkata are a Monday and Thursday, plan around temples, river, markets and Science City instead, and don't argue at the gate.

The main places to visit in Kolkata

1. Victoria Memorial

White marble building put up between 1906 and 1921, now run as a museum with galleries inside and a large garden around it. The galleries are open 10 am to 6 pm and closed on Mondays and national holidays. Gardens open much earlier, around 6 am, and stay open till 6 pm every day.

For Indians the reported fees run from about ₹30 for the garden to ₹50 if you want the galleries, and some listings still quote ₹20, so carry small change and read the board at the counter. Online booking exists, worth using on Sunday evenings. Free entry for school students up to Class XII in uniform with a school ID, for differently abled visitors with a UDID card, and for serving armed forces personnel with family, on showing ID.

The light and sound show is ₹100, starts around 6:30 pm, Tuesday to Sunday, and the counter at the East Gate opens about 5:40 pm. Language rotates: Bengali on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, Hindi on Thursday and Saturday, English on Wednesday. It generally runs October to June and is off in the monsoon months of July to September, so this season is the right one for it. Budget two hours for the building and grounds, three if you stay for the show. In April and May the lawns have almost no shade at midday, go at opening or after 4 pm.

2. Indian Museum

One of the oldest museums in the world, on Jawaharlal Nehru Road, about sixty galleries across archaeology, art, anthropology, zoology, botany and geology. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm, closed Monday and public holidays.

Indian adults ₹75, children above 5 years ₹20, foreigners ₹500. Mobile phone photography ₹50 and still camera ₹100 are charged separately, video is much more. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours, more if you have a child who wants to see the mummy and the fossil halls properly. School groups fill it up on weekday mornings, so late afternoon is calmer. It's a ten minute walk from Esplanade metro and even closer from Park Street metro.

3. St Paul's Cathedral

Anglican cathedral a short walk from the Victoria Memorial grounds, so club both together. Monday to Saturday it's 9 am to 12 noon and 3 pm to 6 pm, Sunday 7:30 am to 6 pm. A ₹10 donation at the gate is the usual ask. Fifteen to twenty minutes is enough unless a service is on, in which case sit at the back and don't photograph the congregation.

4. Birla Planetarium

On Chowringhee, next to the cathedral, so this is a natural third stop in the same cluster. Tickets are ₹140 per person, ₹70 per student for school groups of 25 and above. Shows run roughly 12 noon to 6 pm: Hindi at 12, 2 and 4, English at 1 and 6, Bengali at 3 and 5, with extra 10 am Hindi and 11 am Bengali shows on Sundays and holidays. Tickets are issued only half an hour before each show, so you cannot buy at 11 am for a 4 pm show. Closed on the first Thursday of every month.

Fine for kids from about seven upwards. Below that most children get restless once the dome goes dark, and there's no mid-show exit.

5. Maidan, Fort William and the heritage tram

The Maidan is around 160 hectares of open ground between Chowringhee and the river, used for walking, cricket and football, and it's the stretch you'll cross repeatedly while moving around the centre. Fort William sits inside it, but it is the Eastern Command headquarters of the Army and not a general tourist entry, so don't build an itinerary around it.

Important for anyone who wants the tram: the state has kept only the short heritage stretch between Esplanade and Maidan, the old Gariahat, Tollygunge and Shyambazar routes are not running any more. Do that one short run from Esplanade and skip the hunt for trams elsewhere in the city.

6. Howrah Bridge and Mullick Ghat flower market

Cantilever bridge over the Hooghly with no pillars in the river, and one of the busiest of its type anywhere. You can walk across on the footpath, ten to fifteen minutes one way.

Important: photography on the bridge itself has been restricted for decades and guards do stop people, so shoot it from Mullick Ghat below or from the ferry deck instead. The flower market at Mullick Ghat is directly under the Kolkata end, it's wholesale, and it works hardest from about 5 am to 8 am. The ground stays wet and slippery with crushed flowers, wear shoes you don't mind ruining and keep your phone in a zipped pocket.

7. Prinsep Ghat and Millennium Park

Riverfront promenade with a colonnade near Eden Gardens, best in the evening when families and couples come out. Free to walk.

From Millennium Park the ferry across to Howrah costs about ₹6, leaves roughly every ten minutes, 8 am to about 7:50 pm, and the crossing takes eight minutes. Fares are revised from time to time, confirm at the counter and keep cash, these jetties are not UPI-friendly. If you want a proper boat ride, the heritage cruise from Millennium Park jetty is around ₹190 per head with evening departures at 6 pm on weekdays and 5 pm and 7 pm on weekends, while private operators run three hour cruises up to Belur and back at roughly ₹1,050 to ₹1,750 per person with 4 pm and 7:30 pm departures. Book the private ones a day ahead in December.

8. Dakshineswar Kali Temple

Kali temple on the east bank of the Hooghly, built by Rani Rashmoni, strongly linked with Sri Ramakrishna. Entry is free. October to March the darshan hours are about 6 am to 12:30 pm and 3 pm to 8:30 pm, and April to September it opens earlier at 5:30 am, closes at 11:30 am, and reopens 3:30 pm to 9 pm. Sources vary by ten-fifteen minutes on these, treat them as approximate.

Go by metro, Dakshineswar is the northern end of the Blue Line, and the Rani Rashmoni skywalk takes you from the metro side straight to the temple gate over the market crowd. Leave shoes, bags, leather items and in many cases phones at the counters near the entrance, so carry as little as you can and ideally leave the camera bag in the car. Weekends and new moon nights are heavy. Kali Puja falls on Sunday 8 November 2026 this year, which is also Diwali, and the temple is extremely crowded that night, not a good plan with small children or elderly parents.

9. Belur Math

Headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission on the west bank, about 40 acres, and the main temple mixes Hindu, Christian and Islamic design elements. Entry free, no registration, no ID needed.

Open roughly 6:30 am to 11:30 am, then 4 pm to 9 pm in summer and 3:30 pm to 8:30 pm from October to March. The museum inside keeps shorter hours, about 8:30 am to 11:30 am and 3:30 or 4 pm to 5:30 or 6 pm by season, and it's closed on Mondays.

Ferries run between Dakshineswar and Belur Math at about half hourly intervals, and that is the sensible way to do both in one morning instead of driving around through Bally. Reach thirty to forty minutes before the evening aarati if you want to be inside the hall. Dress is conservative, this is a working monastery and not a sightseeing stop.

10. Kalighat Temple

One of the country's best known Kali temples and a Shakti Peetha, in the south of the city. Free entry. Usual hours are 5 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 10:30 pm, with closing pushed to about 11:30 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

The approach lanes are narrow and packed with shops. People will approach offering fast darshan for money, you are not obliged to take it, the ordinary queue works and moves. Early morning on a weekday is the shortest wait. Kalighat station on the Blue Line is about a ten minute walk, and a car will not get you close on a busy day.

11. Mother House

The Missionaries of Charity headquarters on AJC Bose Road, with Mother Teresa's tomb and a small room of her belongings. Free. Open 8:30 am to 12 noon and 3 pm to 6 pm, closed every Thursday, and also closed on 22 August, Easter Monday and 26 December.

Twenty to thirty minutes. Dress modestly, keep voices down, the sisters live and work here.

12. Jorasanko Thakur Bari

The Tagore family mansion in north Kolkata, now a museum. Tuesday to Sunday, 10:30 am to 5 pm, closed Monday. Indian adults ₹20, Indian students ₹10, camera ₹50 extra. SAARC and foreign visitors pay more.

An hour is about right. Rooms are laid out as galleries on Rabindranath Tagore's life and the family, and most of it is reading rather than looking, so it's a better stop for adults than for restless kids.

13. Marble Palace

An 1835 mansion of the Mullick family in north Kolkata, marble floors, European statues, paintings, part of it still a private residence. Entry is free.

Open 10 am to 4 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, closed Monday and Thursday. Here is the catch: a permit from the West Bengal Tourism Information Bureau at BBD Bag has traditionally been required, and while some visitors now get in without one, others are still turned away. If this place matters to you, collect the permit a day earlier, it costs nothing. Photography is not allowed inside. The guides who walk you through expect a tip, ₹100 or so is normal, and parts of the house stay off-limits because the family lives there. Club it with Jorasanko, they're in the same few lanes.

14. Kumartuli

The potters' lanes where the Durga and Kali idols are built, in north Kolkata. No ticket, these are working workshops on public lanes, nearest metro is Sovabazar Sutanuti on the Blue Line.

Work starts around 6 am but visitors are requested to come from about 12 noon onwards, and many workshops stay lit till late at night. August to October is the peak build-up to Durga Puja. In early November the Kali idols are being finished for Kali Puja, so there is still plenty happening this year, after mid-November the lanes go quiet. Ask before photographing an artisan or a half-painted face, some say no and that's that. Floors are muddy with clay, again, old shoes.

15. College Street and the Coffee House

Kilometre-odd stretch of pavement book stalls, the largest second-hand book market in India, with Presidency University and Sanskrit College on the same road. Free to wander, bargaining on used stock is normal and most sellers take UPI now.

The Indian Coffee House is on the first floor opposite Presidency. Reported timings differ a lot, some listings say 9 am to 9 pm and others noon to 8 pm, so don't build a tight schedule around it. People come for the room and the noise more than the food.

16. Park Street and New Market

Park Street is the old restaurant and bar road and the easiest place to eat in the centre. New Market, properly S S Hogg Market, is on Lindsay Street: 10:30 am to 8 pm Monday to Friday, till about 7 pm on Saturday, closed Sunday. Touts will offer to carry your bags and walk you to shops, they take a commission from the shop, so settle the price yourself before buying.

For December travellers: the Park Street lights go up from about mid-December and the Allen Park Christmas festival runs through the last week of the month into New Year's Day, with live performances in the evenings. Exact dates are announced each year. On 24 and 25 December this area is close to gridlocked, take the metro to Park Street or Esplanade and walk.

17. Indian Botanic Garden, Shibpur

Officially the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, about 109 hectares across the river in Shibpur, Howrah, with over 12,000 specimens. The draw is the Great Banyan, more than 270 years old, with a canopy that stands on aerial roots after the main trunk was removed.

Entry ₹30, and there is a separate ₹60 charge for camera or mobile photography. Open 8 am to 5:30 pm March to September, 8 am to 5 pm October to February, closed Monday. It is large and flat, walking the main loops takes two to three hours, so go early and carry water. Morning is also when it is coolest.

18. Alipore Zoo

India's oldest zoo, in Alipore in the south. Adults ₹50, children 5 to 12 ₹20, senior citizens ₹25, still camera ₹50. The aquarium has a separate ticket of about ₹20.

Garden hours are 9 am to 5:30 pm, the ticket counter shuts at 4:30 pm and the aquarium runs 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. Closed on Thursday, with one exception worth knowing: if a public holiday falls on a Thursday the zoo opens that day and closes the next day instead. From 15 December to 31 January it runs all seven days, which is also the most crowded time of year here, with long queues at the counter on Sundays.

19. Science City

The big science complex on the EM Bypass, and the one place in Kolkata that reliably keeps children busy for half a day. Open 10 am to 7 pm daily, ticket sales stop at 6 pm.

General entry is ₹80 and the attractions inside are charged separately: Space Theatre ₹150, full dome 3D theatre ₹120, cable car ₹75, dark ride ₹50, time machine ₹50, panorama on human evolution ₹60, Science on a Sphere ₹40. A family of four doing entry plus two or three shows lands around ₹1,200 to ₹1,500. Buy the show tickets as soon as you enter, the Space Theatre slots go.

20. Nicco Park

Amusement park in Salt Lake with the Cyclone roller coaster, water chute and the Wet-O-Wild water park. Entry is ₹500 including 16 basic attractions, the full parks package covering all rides plus the water park is ₹1,300, and with food the two options are ₹750 and ₹1,550 per head.

Open 10:30 am to 7:30 pm, water park closes at 6 pm, counters at 6:45 pm. Carry a change of clothes and a plastic bag if the water park is in your plan, and do the water side first while the sun is up.

21. Eco Park, New Town

Around 480 acres in New Town with replicas of the seven wonders, a butterfly garden, Japanese garden, boating, cycling and a toy train. Entry is ₹30 for everyone aged three and above, rides and boats are charged on top.

Open Tuesday to Sunday, 12:30 pm to 8:30 pm, ticket counter till 7:30 pm, closed Monday. Morning walkers have separate slots, 5:30 am to 8 am from April to October and 6 am to 8 am from November to March, but those run on monthly (around ₹750) or annual passes rather than day tickets, so a tourist cannot just walk in at 7 am.

It is far east, 45 minutes to over an hour from the centre depending on traffic, so pair it with Science City or with a New Town hotel rather than treating it as a quick add-on.

22. South Park Street Cemetery and Alipore Jail Museum

Two short stops that fit into a half day in the south. The cemetery, full of early colonial tombs, is open 10 am to 5 pm, and the ticket is small, around ₹20 for Indians with some sources saying it's a donation, keep ₹50 cash either way. Forty-five minutes.

Alipore Jail Museum, the old central jail converted into a museum, charges ₹30 and is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11 am to 5:30 pm, closed Monday. There's a light and sound show at ₹100 from about 6 pm. The cells of the freedom fighters and the gallows area are the parts people actually come for, an hour is enough.

Day trips and short trips from Kolkata

Sundarbans

Not a day trip, don't let anyone sell you one. Godkhali, the main jetty, is roughly 95 to 100 km from Kolkata and takes 3.5 to 4 hours by road, Sonakhali is about the same. From the jetty it's another 1.5 to 2 hours by boat to the Sajnekhali side, so the full one way journey is 5 to 6 hours. One night is tight, two nights is right.

Forest charges are separate from your package: Indian visitors pay around ₹180 per person per day for forest entry, ₹300 per day for the Netidhopani route, boat entry is about ₹1,000 for a non-AC boat, ₹1,500 for a non-AC launch and ₹3,000 for an AC launch, and an Indian eco guide is ₹800 per vessel per day. Permits are issued by the Forest Department at Sajnekhali, Sonakhali, Bagna and the Field Director's office at Canning, and reputable operators handle this for you. Ask in writing whether forest fees are included before paying.

November to February is the season. Tiger sightings are rare, go for the creeks, crocodiles and birds, and manage expectations in the group before you book.

Shantiniketan

About 151 km as the crow flies and 160 km by road, roughly 2.5 to 3 hours driving. The easier option is the Shantiniketan Express from Howrah to Bolpur, around 2 hours 10 minutes, then a toto or car locally. Doable in a long day if you leave by 6 am, better as one night, specially around Poush Mela in late December.

Bishnupur

Terracotta temples, about 160 km, two and a half to three hours by car and around three hours by train. Temples are spread across the town, so hire a toto for the circuit once you reach. One long day works.

Chandannagar, Bandel and Hooghly

Chandannagar is about 34 km direct, 41 km by road, and under an hour by car in clear traffic or roughly an hour by local train from Howrah. The old French quarter and the riverfront strand are the draw, and you can add Bandel Church and the Hooghly Imambara on the same line. The cheapest good half day out of Kolkata.

If you are flying on to the islands from here, Kolkata has direct flights to Port Blair and our places to visit near Port Blair guide has the closed days and ferry timings you'll need. Travellers heading north instead often pair Kolkata with Bhutan via Bagdogra, in which case read the Thimphu guide for the SDF and permit rules.

How to reach Kolkata

By air, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at Dum Dum is about 20 km from Park Street, 45 minutes on a good day and well over an hour in evening traffic. There are prepaid taxi counters, and Ola and Uber both work from the airport, expect surge after 7 pm. The Yellow Line metro now runs from Noapara to Jai Hind (Biman Bandar) at the airport, which is useful if you're travelling light.

By train, the city has several terminals and they are not interchangeable. Howrah is across the river, Sealdah is in the centre east, and there are also Kolkata Terminal at Chitpur, Shalimar and Santragachi. Check your ticket, Howrah to Sealdah can take an hour in traffic. Howrah now has a metro station on the Green Line, the deepest in India at about 34 m, so from Howrah you can reach Esplanade without touching the bridge.

Getting around the city

The metro is the fastest way around and it is cheap, fares run about ₹5 to ₹50 and trains work roughly from 6:30 am to a little before 11 pm. Check the last train timing for your line, it is earlier than you think.

The Blue Line, Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash, is the useful one for tourists: Dakshineswar, Sovabazar Sutanuti for Kumartuli, Esplanade, Park Street, Kalighat. The Green Line runs from Howrah Maidan through the under-river stretch to Esplanade, Sealdah, Salt Lake Sector V and on east, the river crossing itself is 4.8 km of tunnel and the train is under the water for under a minute. There are also the Orange, Purple, Yellow and Pink lines, with extensions opening steadily, so check the current map on the day.

Yellow taxis still run on meter or on negotiation, Ola and Uber are everywhere, and autos run fixed shared routes so they will refuse point to point requests. UPI is accepted in most shops and restaurants, but keep ₹500 in cash for temple shoe counters, ferry tickets and the smaller museum counters.

Best time to visit

November to February is the window, with December and January the most comfortable. Durga Puja this year was 16 to 21 October, so that rush is over, but the next heavy dates are Kali Puja and Diwali together on Sunday 8 November 2026, when Dakshineswar, Kalighat and the pandal areas are packed and hotel rates in the centre go up. Late December is Park Street and Christmas week, book rooms early. The Kolkata Book Fair, the 50th edition, runs 22 January to 3 February 2027 if you want to plan around it.

March starts warming up and April to May is 35 degrees plus with high humidity, workable only as early morning plus indoor museums. June to September brings heavy rain and street waterlogging in parts of central and north Kolkata, and the Victoria Memorial light and sound show is off through those months.

A sample 2-day plan

Day 1, central Kolkata. Reach Victoria Memorial gardens by 9 am, galleries at 10 when they open, then walk to St Paul's Cathedral and the Birla Planetarium for a midday show. Lunch on Park Street. Indian Museum from about 2:30 pm, it is a ten minute walk. Prinsep Ghat around 5 pm and either the Millennium Park ferry or the heritage cruise, dinner back on Park Street. Do not schedule this day on a Monday, the museum and the Victoria galleries are both shut.

Day 2, river and north. Blue Line metro to Dakshineswar for early darshan, ferry across to Belur Math, back by late morning. Lunch, then Jorasanko and Marble Palace in the same lanes (not Monday or Thursday), Kumartuli after that, and finish at Mullick Ghat and Howrah Bridge in the evening. College Street if you still have energy.

If you have a third day, pick one: Science City plus Eco Park if you are travelling with children, the Botanic Garden plus Alipore Zoo and the Jail Museum if you want a slower day, or a day trip to Chandannagar. For Sundarbans you need two nights, not a day.

Where to stay

First-timers should stay around Park Street, Esplanade or Chowringhee. You are walking distance from the central sights, you have two metro lines, and food is sorted at any hour. Salt Lake and New Town are quieter, newer and closer to the airport, Science City and Eco Park, but 45 minutes or more from the centre. Ballygunge and Gariahat suit anyone focused on Kalighat, Alipore and south Kolkata shopping.

Rates in central Kolkata rise sharply during Durga Puja and the last week of December, so for a Christmas or New Year trip book the room first and plan the sightseeing after.

What to carry

• Cash in small notes for shoe counters, ferry tickets, cemetery and museum counters.
• Socks, since shoes come off at Dakshineswar, Belur Math and Kalighat.
• A small sling bag only for temple days, big bags and leather have to be deposited.
• A light jacket for December and January mornings, cotton and a cap for anything after March.
• Umbrella from June to September, and allow extra travel time, waterlogging makes short hops long.

If you want this planned and booked as a package with hotels, cabs and the day-trip permits handled, our team can put it together, see MyTripLama packages.