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INTRODUCTION

Kolkata the capital of West Bengal is the nerve centre of intellectual and human values having given birth to numerous modern movements in literature, art, cinema, theatre, science, politics and industry.Kolkata is regarded as the cultural capital of India for her immense contribution in these fields.Kolkata is also the hub centre of West Bengal. The Kolkata port is one of the major ports of the country.

ORIENTATION

Kolkata in the Ganges delta is located in the eastern part of India at 22°82'N latitude and 88°20'E longitude.
The Sundarbans delta which is located at a distance of 154 km to the south of Kolkata separates the city from the Bay of Bengal.

HISTORY

Kolkata was founded more than 300 years ago out of 3 villages namely Sutanuti, Gobindpur and Kolikata.After London; Kolkata was the British empires second city of pride. Once the capital of the British India, the capital of undivided Bengal and the capital of West Bengal since independence.Kolkata retains the aura of days long gone weaving the glorious past, the fascinating present and integrating a mix up of Indian and colonial heritages.

FESTIVALS

Durga Puja is by far the most popular festival of Kolkata.When her invocation begins there is autumn ambience in the air;fields look emerald green, seeds are sowed and every heart is filled with expectation of her joyous home coming. The other religious festivals include Kali Pooja, Diwali, Rathajatra, Holi, Id, Muharram, Christmas and Sraswathi pooja.

PLACES OF WORSHIP

Kali Temple - This temple of Kalighat rebuilt in 1809 an important shrine of Hindu Shakthi worship.

Dakshineshwar Kali Temple

This temple was built in 1847 associated with Lord Ramakrishna Paramahansa Deva, 3km to the south of Kamarpukar, engineering who had been an exponent of integration among different religions.

Nakhoda Mosque - This mosque modelled on Akbar Tomb in Sikandra, distinctively marked for its unique architecture and huge capacity to accommodate nearly 10000 people.

Parswanth Jain Temple - This temple is known for its architecture and spiritual environment.

St.Johns Church - This church located in the town of Kolkata was built in 1878 with Grecian columns.

Armenian Church - This was built in 1764, which is the oldest place of Christian worship in Kolkata.

St.Pauls Cathedral - This cathedral was consecrated in 1847 which is famous for its gothic style of architecture.

MONUMENTS

Victoria Memorial
This was built in 1921 on the lines of Taj Mahal in memory of Queen Victoria, now housing valuable paintings, manuscripts and other objects of historic value, museum and art gallery.

Raj Bhavan

This was built in 1803, to be used as the residence of Governor General of India, presently used as the residence of Governor of West Bengal, remarkable for wonderful architecture and collection of rare works of art.

Town Hall

This was built in 1813, in Doric style of architecture, now housing the first high - tech story telling museum in the country.

Indian Museum

This was built in 1887 in Italian style of architecture, housing the largest collections in the country.

Fort William

This is one of the massive British citadels built in 1773, still in use retaining the well guarded grandeur.

Ochterlony Monument

This was built by the British government in 1828; renamed Shahid Minar in 1969 is an old witness to great events in history and politics.

PLACES OF INTEREST

National Library

This was initially Vice Regal house now housing the biggest library in the country with the rarest collection of books.

Tagore House

This is situated at Jorasanko; birth place of Rabindranath Tagore is now housing a centre for Indian Classical Fine Arts.

Marble Palace

This palace was built in 1840, famous for its marble walls, pillars, mirrors and beautiful architecture presently housing a museum.

Rabindra Setu

This is popularly called as Howrah Bridge, a huge cantilever bridge strung on two 196 feet high pillars connecting Kolkata with Howrah and still framing the skyline of the riverfront along with the newly built Vidyasagar Setu, the latest style of cable stayed bridge.

Museums

Birla Planetarium

This is one of the largest in the world, offering regular shows on different aspects of space sciences.

Nandan

This houses Satyajit Ray film archive and cinema halls with a number of auditoria and exhibition centres namely Academy of Fine Arts,Rabindra Sadan, Bangla Academy etc.

forming a large cultural complex and attracting people interested in film, music and other facets of art and architecture.

Science City

This is a sprawling convention centre also famous for space theatres, museum and ropeway.

Parks and Gardens

EdenGarden This is one of the sprawling gardens with a bandstand and a beautiful Burmese pagoda.

Ganga River

This river front comprising outram ghat and the newly set up Millenium park, offering cool breeze of the river, pleasant walks and visual delight.

Zoological Garden

This is at Allipur having a vast collection of animals, birds, snakes and reptiles and this attract a major tourist crowd especially in the months of winter.

Nicco Park

This is a popular amusement park offering the modern sports opportunities.

EAT OUTS 1.The Astor 15 Shakespeare Sarani 2.Aaheli J. L. Nehru Road 3.Kewpies 2 Elgin Lane 4.Saffron Park Street 5.The Marble Room Little Russel Street 6.Shiraj Park Street 7.Sonargaon Belvedere Road 8.Guchhi Salt Lake 9.Teej Russel Street 10.Mirch Masala Gariahat Road, Ballygunge SHOPPING Shopping complex includes those at New Market, Shyambazar, Hatibagan, Burrabazar, Sealdah, Park Street, Russell Street, Gariahat, Dakshinpan, Central Cottage city emporium and Bow bazaar. This provides very good shopping items including handlooms, jewelery, leather goods, clothes and garments. The other main shopping area includes Forum of Elgin Road and Charnok city at Salt Lake. How To Reach Chowringhee Market ? ACCOMMODATION HIGH RANGE HOTELS 1.Lytton hotel 14 & 14/1, Sudder Street, Kolkata 033 2249-1875 to 79, 3984 1900 2.The Kenilworth Group Of Hotels 1 & 2, Little Russel Street, Kolkata 033 22823939/40 3.The Golden Park 13, HO CHI MINH SARANI, KOLKATA 033 22883939 4.Hotel Pushpak International 10, KYD Street Kolkata- 700016 033 2226 5841 / 2227 0803 / 0778 5.Hotel Royal Garden Address 163 A, Park Street, Kolkata, 033-22841153/22849410/22840486/22843536

Travel Guide Resources: Embassy of India International Tourist Facilities Foreigners Regional Registration Office Foreigners Exchange Management Act Visas Baggage Rules Immigration Services in India Travel Information Airlines   Buses   Railways   Hotels   Eat Outs   Cabs

BUDGET HOTELS

1.Beeu Hotels
267, Bipin Behari Ganguly Street, Bowbazar
Kolkata, Kolkata
033 22349440 2.Art Land Hotel
Diamond Harbour Road,
Joka, Kolkata - 033 24978090 3.Astoria Hotel
6/2, 6/3, Park Street
Sudder Street, Kolkata
033 22261227 4.Hotel Rutt-Deen 
21b Dr U N Brahmachari Sarani,
Park Street, Kolkata

FOREIGN EMBASSIES

Austria -  96/1, Sarat Chandra Bose Road, Kolkata 700 026, 24752795
Bangladesh - 9, Circus Avenue, Kolkata 700 017 22475208
Belgium - Shivam Chambers, 5th Floor, 53, Syed Amir Ali Avenue, Kolkata 700 019 22473886
Bolivia -  20, Loudon Street, Kolkata 700 016 22473283
Denmark - McLeod House, 3, Netaji Subhas Road,Kolkata 700 001 22487476/78
Egypt - Nilhat House, 11, Rajendra Nath Mukherjee Road, Kolkata 700 001 22484268/3597
Finland -  Chitrakoot, 230, A J C Bose Road, Kolkata 700 020 22474757
France -  26, Park Mansions, Kolkata 700 016 22990978/0979/2793
Greece -  41, Chowringhee Road, C/o Stewarts & Lloyds of India Ltd, Kolkata 700 071 2229819498
Germany -  1, Hastings Park Road, Alipore, Kolkata 700 027 24792150/1141/1142
Hungary -  Gooptu Court, 7A, Middleton Street, Kolkata 700 071 22473635/7997
Indonesia - 128, Rashbehari Avenue, Kolkata 700 029 24662279
Italy - 3, Raja Santosh Road, Alipore, Kolkata 700 027 24792414/2426
Japan - 12, Pretoria Street, Kolkata 700 071 22422241/5
Liberia - 186, Sarat Bose Road, Kolkata 700 029 24661164
Nepal - 1, National Library Avenue, Alipore, Kolkata 700 027 24791224/1154/1085/1103
Netherlands - RPG Enterprises, 31, Netaji Subhas Road,Kolkata 700 001 22208948/9281/8515
Norway - Chitrakoot, 230, A J C Bose Road, Kolkata 700 020 22474757
Phillipines - 14, Government Place East, Kolkata 700 001 22481507/7102/6962 
Russian Federation - 7, Alipore Avenue, Kolkata 700 027 24797006/9973/7982
Singapore - 8, A J C Bose Road, Kolkata 700 017 22474990/0400
Sri Lanka - 2, Hare Street, C/o Nicco House, Kolkata 700 001 22485102
Sweden - 6, Poonam Building, 5/2, Russell Street,Kolkata 700 001 24701594
Switzerland - C/o Titagarh Steels Limited, 113, Park Street,Kolkata 700 016 22295542/43/49/57
Thailand - 18B, Mandeville Gardens, Kolkata 700 019 24407836
Turkey - 2, Nazar Ali Lane , Ballygunge, Kolkata 700 019 22475605/1601/7748
United Kingdom - 1, Ho Chi Minh Sarani, Kolkata 700 071 22425171/5175
United States of America - 5/1, Ho Chi Minh Sarani, Kolkata 700 071 22423611/3615/2336/2337

HOW TO REACH

By Air

Kolkata can be easily accessed by flights for there are number of domestic airlines that connect Kolkata with other major cities of India like Ahmedabad, Bagdogra, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Port Blair. The airport is located in Dumdum.

By Rail

The city has two major railway stations-one at Howrah and the other one at Sealdah.There are train services to the rest of the country from Kolkata. Super-fast trains such as Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express connect the city to Delhi and nearby cities such as Bokaro and Rourkela. Coromandel Express connects Kolkata to the southern regions of the country.

By Road

West Bengal state buses connect all parts of the state with Kolkata. Deluxe and A/C luxury buses are available from Kolkata to various cities in the state and neighboring states.