The Best Things To See and Do In North Kolkata

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Second home to the intellectuals, scholars, academicians, students and book lovers of Kolkata city, College Street is an eminent centre of Kolkata’s literary crowd. It houses Kolkata’s most prestigious and renowned academic institutions like University Of Calcutta, Calcutta Medical College, Presidency College, Sanskrit College, Hare School and Hindu School. Dotted with makeshift bookstalls constructed with bamboo, wood, canvas and sheets of tin on both sides of the road, College Street is a paradise for book lovers. It’s a one of its kind book marketplace in the world, the largest second-hand book market in the world and largest book market in India and a dream for literary locals and tourists alike. Bowbazar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Born in the 1940s when the Coffee Board set them up, the Indian Coffee House has become synonymous with Kolkata. It’s a favourite destination for hangouts, not only for the students of nearby schools and colleges (Presidency College, Vidyasagar College etc.), but also the office goers and intellectuals of Kolkata. Discussions here range from campus tete-a-tete, study plans, politics, business, sports, films, music, future plans, dreams and almost anything under the sun. The walls are painted, and portraits of greats like Rabindranath Tagore are put up, the marble top tables are still there but the wooden chairs have given way to the new plastic chairs. It’s a great place sip coffee while taking part in a good conversation or just watching time pass by. Price: Budget Opening hours: 9am-9pm Watch out for: Superb conversations 15, Bankim Chatterjee Street, Kolkata, West Bengal, India +91 99 03 41 47 17

One of the best preserved and most elegant houses of 19th century Kolkata, this structure is famous for the marble floors and walls that give it its name. The palace houses collections of western sculpture and Victorian furniture, as well as paintings by European and Indian artists and other objets d’art. Located next to the palace is the Marble Palace Zoo, the first zoo to open in India. Price: Free Opening hours: 10am-8pm Panchkori Ghosh Road, Barisha, Kolkata, West Bengal, India +91 98 31 51 44 62

A South Asian Buddhist society founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and the British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold. The organization’s self-stated initial efforts were for the resuscitation of Buddhism in India and restoring the ancient Buddhist shrines at Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinara. A small, but interesting Theravadan Buddhist temple is located in a historic building. There is a library and shrine room on the second floor. Meditation classes are held every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month. Bankim Chatterjee St, Bowbazar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India +91 33 2241 5214

Bridge

Howrah Bridge is a cantilever bridge with a suspended span over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. The bridge is one of two on the Hooghly River and is a famous symbol of Kolkata and West Bengal. It weathers the storms of the Bay of Bengal region, and carries a daily traffic of approximately 100,000 vehicles and possibly more than 150,000 pedestrians, easily making it the busiest cantilever bridge in the world. The third longest cantilever bridge at the time of its construction, the Howrah Bridge is the sixth longest bridge of its type in the world.