Travel

1. Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata:

It is a beautiful White Marble structure which began making in 1906 and was completed by 1921. While it originally got built with the idea of dedicating a memorial to Queen Victoria of Britain, it has now turned into a museum that attracts numerous people due to its stunning architecture and display.

The artistic monument is a mixture of British as well as Mughal form of architecture. Inside the huge fortress is a museum that has 25 galleries featuring sculptures, portraits, national leaders, arms, and armour. Moreover, it has unique, and original works of William Shakespeare, Omar Khayyam, as well as Arabian Nights.

Location: Victoria Memorial Hall, 1, Queens Way, Maidan, Kolkata.

Price:
-Rs. 30 for Indians,
-Rs. 100 for citizens of the SAARC countries,
-Rs. 500 for nationals of all other countries.

Timing:
-From 10 am to 6 pm (Tuesday- Friday) and,
-From 10 am – 8 pm (Saturday, Sunday).

2. Nicco Park

Established in 1991, almost 20 years ago from today, Nicco Park serves as a home to more than 30 rides and attractions. Among these, the Water Coaster, Water Merry-go-Round, Caterpillar, Twist-&-Turn, are a few that you must try if you are going there for the first time. However, if you want to have some utterly adrenaline-rushing moments, then do not forget to try out the ‘Cyclone – The Roller Coaster’ ride. Known as the largest roller coaster of India, the roller coaster bogey of the ride runs on a 750-meter long track.

Known as the ‘Disneyland of West Bengal’ due to its plethora of rides and attractions, the extravagant Nicco Park is situated at the heart of the metropolis of Kolkata. Most amusement rides of the Nicco Park are quite fun as well as recreational. Due to this reason, it is loved and adored by almost everyone who comes here to spend their holidays in an entertaining and exciting way.

Location: Nicco Park is located at a distance of approximately 7 km from Kolkata Railway Station and 14 km from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport. So, once you have arrived at one of these places, then you can opt for the following options to reach Nicco Park.

Price:

1. Entry Fee (300 INR/head)
   With this pass you can enjoy around 13 specific rides and attractions of the park. There is also a happy hour price available with this pass, which costs only 119 INR/head. However, it is only applicable after 4:00 PM in the afternoon.
2. Entry Fee with Meal (480 INR/head)
   This includes both the 13 rides of Nicco park and a lip-smacking meal to make your day more enjoyable.
3. Park’s Package including Entry Fee (850 INR/head)
   With this pass you can relish all the rides and attractions of the park. If you want to, then you can also get the happy hour price version of this pass. It costs only 394 INR/head.
4. Park’s Package including Meal (1030 INR/head)
   This pass includes both the rides of the park as well as a sumptuous meal.

3. New Town Eco Park

When you’re looking for your leisure day out; the New Town Eco Park spread over 480 acres is one of the best places to visit in Kolkata. It is a recreational area with ample outdoor activities to enjoy with the family. Some such activities include: Ice Skating- enjoy skating on a layer of ice, in a city that never receives snow.The park features a huge ice-skate arena, and everyone can participate in the same. Kayaking: Yes, it is no surprise that the park also features water sports such as kayaking. Now you don’t have to take outstation trips for this water sport. And Zorbing- not everyone is a fan of the huge zorb ball; however, those who are, simply love it. You can enjoy this sport at the new town eco park.

Apart from the above, cruising, taking a walk at the sangraha which is a beautiful art facility in the park, are some more things that one can enjoy.

Location: Major Arterial Road(South-East), AA II, Newtown, Kolkata, West Bengal 700156.

Timing:
-2.30 pm – 8.30 pm (Tuesday- Saturday).
-The timing for Sundays and the General holidays are 12 pm- 8.30 pm. Mondays(Closed).

4. Marble Palace

Marble Palace is an incredibly magnificent maisonette located in Kolkata, along the Babu street, India. As one can rightly guess, the palace is among the few remaining buildings of the nineteenth century. Built in neoclassical style, the mansion continues to be the residence of the heirs of the King.To give you a scenic background of the mansion, it is surrounded by lush green lawns and beautiful fountains. Galleries run amidst the lawns of the mansion which display artistic statues, portraits, mirrors, chandeliers and paintings created by English, Dutch and Italian artists. It may interest you to know that the mansion also houses a private zoo.

Location: Marble Palace located in Kolkata, West Bengal, in India.

Timing: 10:00am to 4:00PM, Every Day.

5. Dakshineswar Kali Temple

Dakshineswar temple located in West Bengal, India is a commonplace for festivals such as Yatra, Snana, Kalpataru Day, and Kali Puja. Additionally, the temple was started by Rani Rashmoni in the nineteenth century. The temple assumes Bengal architecture, a total of three floors.

Little do people know that the total area of the temple complex measures about 54.4bighas and costs Rani Rashmoni around Rs 42, 500 only. The temple is loved by every Bengali and is considered to be an abode of Goddess Kali. The temple was a dream that Rani Rashmoni dreamt before undertaking a pilgrimage to Varanasi.

Location: Dakshineswar, Kolkata, West Bengal 700076.

Timing:
-From 6:00 am to 12:30 (Mid Day),and ,
-From 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Every day.

6. Alipore Zoological Garden

Alipore Zoological Gardens located in Alipore Kolkata, West Bengal. The gardens occupy a total of over 46 acres and houses close to 1266 animals. This zoological garden is among the oldest zoological parks in India today. The garden serves as a habitat for different species of mammals, reptiles, birds as well as primates. Also known as Calcutta Zoo, It is one of the oldest zoological parks established in India.
The Alipore Zoo attracts a flock of tourists from various locations, especially during winters. The Zoo is home to the expired Aldabra giant tortoise ‘Adwaita’, a tortoise which is almost extinct (from the year 2006). Nature enthusiasts would love this place due to its abundant and plentiful wildlife.

Location: Alipore, Kolkata, West Bengal, in India.

Price:
-INR.5 (aquarium),
-INR.250 (photo) and
-INR.30 (zoo).

Timing: 9:00 am to 4:30 pm (Thursdays closed).

7. Kalighat Kali Temple

It may interest you to know that Kalighat Kali Temple is now over two centuries old. Interestingly, the temple has a highly unique image that differs from most Kali images in Bengal. Kalighat Kali Temple is a popular tourist attraction of Kolkata and is considered as one of the 52 Shakti Peethas of India.

Religious inquisitive may be delighted to know that the temple is said to be the site where the toes of the right foot of Sati fell. In the first phase of construction, only the face of the deity was constructed. Later on, the remaining parts of Kali that included the hands, tongue and jewellery were constructed using gold and silver.

Location: Anami Sangha, Kalighat, Kolkata, West Bengal 700026.

Timing:
-Nitya Puja opens from 5:30 am to 7:am, every day.
-The Bhog Rag opens from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm (Sandhya Arti 6:30 pm to 7 pm).

8. Birla Planetarium

 Birla Planetarium is India’s biggest planetarium that features the largest projection of the night sky in the dome theatre. The structure has one floor and has a design that agrees with the Buddhist Stupa. It was constructed in 1963 and now serves as a museum. Inauguration of the planetarium was done by the then Prime Minister of India, Sri Jawaharlal Nehru. Birla Planetarium is among the largest planetariums in the continent of Asia.

The Birla Planetarium is situated adjacent to St. Paul’s Cathedral and near Victoria Memorial is Kolkata’s landmark. The best fact about this site is that it is constantly upgraded to keep pace with modern technology. Recently in 2017, the planetarium was renovated to incorporate the latest advanced Carl Zeiss Hybrid Projection System.

Location: Paul’s Cathedral, 96, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Adjacent To St, Kolkata, West Bengal 700071.

Pricing: INR.80 per show at the Birla Planetarium.

Time: 11:30 am, 4 pm and 6 pm, (the Telugu Sky) 12:15 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, and 8:15 pm.

9. Indian Museum

Indian Museum is among the oldest museums in the world. It was established in 1814, by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Kolkata. The museum has plenty of ornaments, fossils, ornaments, armours as well as mummies. Also, the outstanding structure has a total of four galleries that are not just dedicated to natural history but also zoological information. If you’re in search of deep historical information, then this is among the best places to visit in Kolkata.

The Gallery is often referred to as ‘Jadughar’ by the locals of Kolkata. For the interest of people who enjoy ancient artifacts, the Museum has a vast collection of contemporary paintings, sacred writings of Buddha, antique sculptures, ornaments, fossils, skeletons, Mughal paintings etc.

Location: 27, Jawaharlal Nehru Rd, Fire Brigade Head Quarter, New Market Area, Dharmatala, Taltala, Kolkata, West Bengal 700016.

Price: INR.30 for Indian citizens and INR.500 per foreigner.

Timing: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm every day.

10. Prinsep Ghat

Prinsep Ghat was constructed in 1841 and is now among the oldest recreational facilities located in Kolkata. The place also has recreational facilities such as boat rides. Millions of visitors come to the place for a memorable pre-wedding shoot due to the picturesque howrah bridge in the background. The hundreds of flowers and trees in Princep Ghat makes it a perfect destination for you and your lover.
It is also an apt place for people who love to be around nature due to the lush greenery around the place. You can organise a picnic, or even camp at the Prinsep Ghats, to enjoy the night around the river Hoogly.

Location: Strand Rd, Maidan, Fort William, Hastings, Kolkata, West Bengal 700021.

11. Science City

Science City is one of the most preferred science centers in the city. The science park is under the management of the National Council of Science Museums with its headquarter located in Kolkata itself. The place holds different types of exhibitions based on multiple science topics.

Some of the science topics include Freshwater aquarium – It consists of different types of fishes for one to observe. and Power of ten that explains the micro and macro phenomenon of the universe. Also, Illusions – one of the most interesting activities that teaches the importance of visual perception in terms of placement and motion. In a huge garden area called Live butterfly, lies this butterfly enclave. People can observe the movement of butterflies from one place to another.

Location: JBS Haldane Avenue, Basanti Hwy, Kolkata, West Bengal 700046.

Price:
-INR.60 per person,
-Entry fee for students in group INR 30.

Time: 9:00 am every day up to 8:00 pm.

12.Belur Math

Belur Math is a popular temple with a notable design that exhibits different religions such as Christianity, Hindu, Buddhism, as well as Islam. The different exhibits symbolizes unity in terms of religion. Belur Math serves as the nerve-centre of the Ramakrishna movement. The unique feature is that the place looks like a mosque, as well as a temple, and also a church, at the same time.

You’ll also notice a statue that sits upon the lotus which is that of Sri Ramakrishna who was the initiator of the Ramakrishna movement. Belur Math is truly among the most preferred places to visit in Kolkata.

Location: Belur, Howrah, West Bengal 711202.

Timing: 8:30AM to 5:30 pm.

1. Santiniketan

Shantiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal and about 212 kms north of Kolkata. In 1862, Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, the poet, and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore s father, while on a boat journey to Raipur, came across a landscape with red soil and lush green paddy fields. He decided to plant more saplings and built a small house. He called his home Shantiniketan, the abode of peace. He founded an Ashram here in 1863 and became the initiator of the Brahmo Samaj.

Shantiniketan was later expanded by Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town Visva-Bharati University. The place now attracts thousands of visitors each year. In 1901, Rabindranath started a Brahmacharya Ashram, which was later called Patha Bhavana. In 1921, he founded the Visva Bharati University, which was declared a central university and an institute of national importance in 1951.

How to Reach: 

Air: The nearest airport is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose international airport, which is located at Kolkata.

Rail: The nearest railhead is Bolpur. Frequently Trains are available from both Howrah and Sealdah Kolkata to Bolpur.

Car: An excellent road connects Santiniketan with Kolkata. Other major cities are well connected by road with the place.

2. Mayapur ISKON Temple

Mayapur is situated in an area somewhere in the middle of the rivers Hoogly and Jalangi and is one of the main of the nine islands of the Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’sdhamNabadwip. It is located 130 km from kolkata and well connected by roads and rail networks from there.

The holiest of all places in entire India, Mayapur Chandrodaya Temple of ISKCON is the major reason why devotees all over the world come to this sacred land. Inside you can see the magnificent deities of Pancatattva, Lord Nrisingha Dev, Srila Prabhupada and Radha-Madhav with the Gopis. This is a place flowing with devotion like no other place on earth.

How to Reach: 

Air: The nearest airport is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose international airport, which is located at Kolkata.

Rail: There is no railway station in Mayapur. However, you can catch a train from Howrah Junction. The train will run across Nabadwip Dham, where you can halt. From the railway station, you can easily reach Mayapur which is around 30 km away.

Car: An excellent road connects Mayapur with Kolkata. Other major cities are well connected by road with the place

3. Digah & Mandarmoni

Digha is a seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in Purba Medinipur district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. It has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach. It is a popular sea resort in West Bengal.

The beach is approximately 180 km away from Kolkata on the Kolkata-Digha route. The beach is known for the red crabs sprawling across the 13 Km long beach. The beach is an ideal destination during the winters with temperatures ranging from 10° C to 28°C. The beach has horse riding activities for the tourists.

How to Reach: 

Rail: The nearest rail station is Digha. From there it is nearly 37 km away, which takes 1 hour to reach by car.

Car: From Kolkata, the property is approximately 183 km away, and it takes around 4 hours and 40 minutes to reach via NH16.