What to see in Calcutta, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including the Indian Museum, Kali Temple and Mother Teresa's House.
Tourist information
City of India and capital of the federated state of West Bengal, Calcutta stands along the eastern bank of the Hooghly River.
Former capital of British India, the city is called Calcutta, although it was renamed Kolkata in January 2001.
If Mumbai, ex Bombay, is the financial center of India, Delhi is the seat of government, Calcutta instead plays the role of cultural capital of the country, for being the birthplace of famous people, including the winner of the Nobel prize for literature Rabindranath Tagore and the famous director Satyajit Ray.
We must not forget the Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who carried out her mission in this immense city at the service of the poorest.
It constitutes one of the most densely populated cities in the world, where slums, poverty and chaotic traffic coexist, alongside luxurious hotels and boutiques.
What see
The Indian Museum, housed in a building dating back to 1875, is the main museum of the city, including several galleries dedicated to archeology, art, anthropology, geology, zoology and botany, as well as an important collection of Buddhist art, precious paintings, a Egyptian mummy and a reproduction of the Barhut Gateway dating from the second century BC.
The Kali Temple, an important pilgrimage center for Hindus, is characterized by the story of a legend, according to which, when the corpse of Sati, Shiva's wife, was cut into pieces by Sidarshan Chakra, one of his fingers would have fallen in this place.
In the morning, some goats' throats are cut in the temple to satisfy the goddess's thirst for blood.
BBD Bagh, once known as Dalhousie Square, represents a cross-section of the country's colonial history.
On the north side is the Writers' Building, which houses the Secretariat of the West Bengal government and on the south side there is Raj Bhavan, residence of the governor of West Bengal.
Recommended readings- India: useful information
- Mumbai (India): what to see in old Bombay
- Bangalore (India): what to see in the capital of Karnataka
- New Delhi (India): what to see in the capital
- Calcutta (India): what to see in the city of Mother Teresa
The Dakshineshwar Temple, dedicated to Bhavatarini and built in 1847, has a courtyard where there are 12 other smaller temples, dedicated to Shiva, Radha and Krishna.
Ramakrishna Temple was founded in 1899 by one of the disciples of the Indian philosopher from whom it took its name, who preached the unity of all religions.
The construction combines the typical architectural styles of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.
The Cathedral of San Paolo, which is one of the main places of worship of Christianity in India, built between 1839 and 1847, later rebuilt after earthquakes, stands out above all for its remarkable stained glass windows.
Maidan, a huge park that houses Victoria Memorial, Fort William, the Gardens of Eden, International Cricket Stadium Ranji Stadium, is home to the nation's greatest sporting passion.
Victoria Memorial, one of the main landmarks of the city, is a large colonial building made of white marble with classical European architecture characterized by Mughul influences, located at the southern end of Maidan, where a large collection of Anglo-historical objects is kept. Indians.
Marble Palace, formerly a private house built in the mid-nineteenth century, is an extraordinary building comprising a splendid collection of statues, paintings and antiquities, from the private collection of Raja Rajendra Mullick, including paintings by Rubens and Joshua Reynolds.
To visit it you need permission from the Bengal Tourism Center West.
Park Street Cemetery is a monumental cemetery with an evocative atmosphere, located near the home of Mother Teresa, where there are a large number of English tombs.
