Victoria Memorial is a kind of tourist and culture hub of Kolkata, just like the Gateway of India is for Mumbai. Your Kolkata trip is incomplete if you haven't visited this area. Overlooking Victoria Memorial are vast stretches of green, which play host to football and cricket matches all year round and the massive Calcutta Book Fair in late January. This is the Maidan, parts of which are also home to the legendary football clubs - East Bengal , Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting. Not too far away is the lovely Eden Gardens, probably the best cricket stadium in India with a capacity of over 100,000.
Running alongside Victoria Memorial is Cathedral Road that takes its name from the adjoining Saint Paul's Cathedral, a marvel of Gothic architecture. Studded with Florentine frescos, the church conducts regular services. In its backyard is the Rabindra Sadan, which stages a medley of plays and stage entertainment. Nandan, a multiplex movie theater located next to Rabindra Sadan, has daily screenings of alternative
Indian cinema and European movie fare. It is also the venue for the much-awaited Kolkata film festival. Also nearby is the Academy of Fine Arts, which hosts exhibitions of established and budding painters and sculptors. In the same area, you'll also come across the Nehru Children's Museum, which houses the largest collection of dolls from around the world.
Parallel to Cathedral Road is Red Road, the venue for the Republic Day Parade. It connects you to Outram Ghat, which has a nice promenade with the Hooghly River on one side and the Circular Railway tracks on the other. Here, you'll also find the mausoleum of Job Charnock, who is attributed to have founded Kolkata in 24 August, 1690. You should also be able to get a splendid view of the Second Hooghly Bridge, also called the Vidyasagar Setu, which links the city to its suburbs.
If you travel southwards from Victoria, you can reach the Calcutta Zoo, the lovely Taj Bengal Hotel and the lush green lawns of the National Library, which apparently has a copy of every book printed in India or shipped into the country.
Chinatown
If you swear by Chinese cuisine you will simply love Chinatown in Tangra. This place is located off the Eastern Metropolitan (EM) Bypass that hooks up the Eastern suburbs, especially the Salt Lake satellite city, to the main city. Chinatown is replete with tanneries and big and small eating joints-all owned by the expatriate Chinese community settled in this area since the early years of the last century.
Along the EM Bypass is Science City, which has a huge science and technology museum and a giant dome theatre. As you travel north along the Bypass, you can also visit Nicco Park, an amusement park, and Aquatica, a water park.
A little further, located in the outskirts of Kolkata are other interesting travel destinations, which you should visit if your schedule permits. Pre-eminent among these are the Dakshineswar Temple, Belur Math and Shibpur Botanical Gardens.