Kolkata (Calcutta) Trip Overview
Every city has its own scent. If you want to feel the fragrance of the historical city of Kolkata in a day, this tour awaits you. Planned fully according to your choice, this 8 hours will take you through journey where you will touch the Colonial and Historical landmarks and also the modern Kolkata. All along you will be accompanied by a Professional Tour Guide who will route according to your interest and choices. So come, take the unique opportunity of a time travel in a day.
Additional Info
Duration: 8 hours
Starts: Kolkata (Calcutta), India
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Kolkata (Calcutta) Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India
Every city has its own scent. If you want to feel the fragrance of the historical city of Kolkata in a day, this tour awaits you. Planned fully according to your choice, this 8 hours will take you through journey where you will touch the Colonial and Historical landmarks and also the modern Kolkata. All along you will be accompanied by a Professional Tour Guide who will route according to your interest and choices. So come, take the unique opportunity of a time travel in a day.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Malik Ghat Flower Market, Southeast end of Howrah Bridge, Kolkata (Calcutta) India
Malik Ghat Flower Market is the largest flower markets in Asia and located near the famous Howrah Bridge on the Hooghly River at the Mallik Ghat. The Flower Market was built in the year 1855. Starting as early as 03:30 am in the morning. Here you will see a picture of vigour, life, vibrancy.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Howrah Bridge, Jagganath Ghat 1, Strand Road, Kolkata (Calcutta) 700001 India
Howrah Bridge commissioned in 1943 over the Hooghly River. 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 (Calcutta). 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. The bridge is one of four on the Hooghly River and is a famous symbol of Kolkata and West Bengal. It is the busiest cantilever bridge in the world. The third-longest cantilever bridge at the time of its construction, the Howrah Bridge is currently the sixth-longest bridge of its type in the world. The bridge does not have nuts and bolts, but was formed by riveting the whole structure. It consumed 26,500 tons of steel, out of which 23,000 tons of high-tensile alloy steel, known as Tiscrom, were supplied by Tata Steel. It is still popularly known as the Howrah Bridge.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Mother House A J C Bose Road, Kolkata (Calcutta) 700016 India
Mother House is a holy place and reverence for those who are searching for a more meaningful existence. It was established by the Blessed Mother Teresa in 1950 with the purpose of selfless service to mankind and to uplift the plagued humanity towards the path of salvation. After Mother Teresa left her mortal body in 1997, she was laid to rest in a tomb inside the house where she lived and served. The site of the tomb is very simple yet it exudes enormous amount of benign and pure vibration that fills the heart with gratitude and peace. Situated amidst noise and crowd, Mothers tomb is a true reflection of her life which contemplated the example of soulful and mindful meditation. Attached with the building, a small museum named ‘Mother Teresa’s Life, Spirit and Message’ displays Mother Teresa’s worn sandals, battered enamel dinner-bowl, sari, crucifix, rosary, a few handwritten letters and spiritual exhortations. The ‘Mother’s room’ is preserved in all its simplicity with a crown-of-thorns above her modest camp-bed.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Parashnath Jain Temple, 11/A Heysham Road Near Elgin Road Forum Mall, Kolkata (Calcutta) 700020 India
Parshwanath Temple is a Jain temple at Badridas Temple Street and a major tourist attraction in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. The temple was built by a Jain named Rai Badridas Bahadoor Mookim in 1867. The temple is dedicated to Parshwanath, who was the 23rd Jain Tirthankar, and he is worshipped by the Jains, and this is one of the most important Jain temples in Kolkata. The deity of Lord Shitalnathji is seated in the sanctum sanctorum, and his diamond-studded forehead is a major attraction for the visitors. There is a lamp, which burns with ghee inside the sanctum sanctorum, which has been continuously burning ever since the initiation of the temple since 1867. The lamp bears silent testimony to the contemporary world since ages and it is wonderful to acknowledge the mysticism associated with.
The Temple has displays of exquisite designs and it is an impressive structure consisting of mirror-inlaid pillars and windows that have made of stained glass. The interiors of the temple are splendidly beautiful, along with the outdoors, which are surrounded with many beautifully colored flower gardens and fountains. There is a small stream flowing through it, which also has amazing variety of flowers all around it. The fountains look brilliant when water gushes out of them in perfect harmonization. A well-maintained reservoir, adds up to the surrounding beauty. Colorful fishes swarm the surface of the glistening water at the slightest hint of food grains. The floor of the temple is elaborately paved with marble that gives it a solemn look and also a mark of purity. The temple exhibits extraordinary artistic tendencies that are visible in the whole pattern of the decoration of the interiors and the exteriors. One can also find the paintings of renowned painter Ganesh Muskare, adorning the walls, which enthralls the visitor. Chandeliers or Jhar Battis are another feature that makes the interiors sparkle and lends the extra shimmer to the serenity of the temple. The interiors of the temple are lavishly decorated with high quality mirrors and glasses. The quintessential Jain temple chandeliers (Jhar Battis) decorate the ceilings adding beauty to the top. The floor is intricately paved with marble and embellished with exquisite floral designs that provide a classy look to this colossal architecture. The Temple gateway is splendidly eye-catching.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Kumartuli, Hatkhola, Kolkata (Calcutta) India
Kumartuli is a traditional potters’ quarter in northern Kolkata. The city is renowned for its sculpting prowess, which not only manufactures clay idols for various festivals but also regularly exports them.
Most of the artisans living in the north Kolkata neighbourhoods dwindled in numbers or even vanished, as they were pushed out of the area in the late nineteenth century by the invasion from Burrabazar. In addition, Marwari businessmen virtually flushed out others from many north Kolkata localities. The potters of Kumortuli, who fashioned the clay from the river beside their home into pots to be sold at Sutanuti Bazar (later Burrabazar), managed to survive in the area. Gradually they took to making the images of gods and goddesses, worshipped in large numbers in the mansions all around and later at community pujas in the city and beyond.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: College Street (Boi Para), Kolkata (Calcutta) India
College Street is a 1.5 km long street in central Kolkata. Its name derives from the presence of many schools and colleges (Calcutta University, Presidency University, The Sanskrit College, Hindu School, Hare School to name a few). Housing many centres of intellectual activity especially the Indian Coffee House, a café that has attracted the city’s intelligentsia for decades. Kolkata’s historic College Street is India’s largest book market, lending it the endearing nickname Boi Para–”Book Town.”
The College Street is most famous for its small and big bookstores, which gives it the nickname Boi Para (Colony of Books). People from whole city and different parts of the state gathers here for their books. The street is also dotted with countless very small book kiosks which sell new and old books. An article in the journal Smithsonian described College Street as a half-mile of bookshops and bookstalls spilling over onto the pavement, carrying first editions, pamphlets, paperbacks in every Indian language, with more than a fair smattering of books in and out of print from France, Germany, Russia and England. One can buy rare books at throw-away prices and extensive bargaining take place.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: St. John’s Church, 2/2 Council House Street Opp Dewars Garage, Kolkata (Calcutta) 700001 India
St. John’s Church, originally a cathedral, was among the first public buildings erected by the East India Company after Kolkata became the effective capital of British India. It is located at the North-Western corner of Raj Bhavan, and served as the Anglican Cathedral of Calcutta till 1847, when the see was transferred to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Construction of the building, modelled on St Martin-in-the-Fields of London, started in 1784 and was completed in 1787. It is the third oldest church in the city, next to the Armenian and the Old Mission Church.
The land for the St. John’s Church was donated by the Maharaja Nabo Kishen Bahadur, the founder of the Shovabazar Raj Family. The foundation stone was laid by Warren Hastings, the Governor General of India on 6 April 1784. Two marble plaques at the entrance mark the two historic events.
The church is a large square structure in the Neoclassical architectural style. A stone spire 174 ft tall is its most distinctive feature. The spire holds a giant clock, which is wound every day.
Duration: 30 minutes
Pass By: Victoria Memorial Hall, 1 Queen’s Way, Kolkata (Calcutta) India
The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building in Kolkata which was built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria (1819–1901) and is now a museum and tourist destination under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. The memorial lies on the Maidan (grounds) by the bank of the Hooghly River.
The Prince of Wales, later King George V, laid the foundation stone on 4 January 1906, and it was formally opened to the public in 1921.
