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Which is the Best Area to Stay in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta)

The luxurious Oberoi Grand Hotel in Kolkata’s best neighbourhood – Chowringhee (Jawaharlal Nehru) Road.

Kolkata’s The Oberoi is the grand old dame of hotels in northeast India. Started in the Year 1888, this luxury heritage hotel is an illustrious landmark in the City of Joy and offers well-appointed rooms, world-class dining, great amenities and truly amazing service a stone’s throw from the main sights.

Grand Hotels to stay in kolkata

Hotels to stay in kolkata

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Roomy and modernised outer suburbs offer malls and top-end hotels that contrast uncomfortably with the crunch of the inner city, home to millions of people, countless markets and temples, and the hand-pulled rickshaws banished in other Indian cities still operational here. Often used as just a transit point for far-flung destinations like Darjeeling and Nepal. Kolkata is worth traversing, but come with plenty of time (because the road system has barely changed since colonial days) and book a nice hotel (to minimize any downsides).

The Chowringhee (Jawaharlal Nehru) Road, where access to top-end hotels are often cloaked by busy markets, the area is very handy to various colonial-era attractions and the metro. Budget hotels can found around BBD Bagh, the commercial area past the northern end of Chowringhee Road by the majestic Hooghly River.

**Chowringhee (Jawaharlal Nehru) Road** – Best Hotel in Kolkata

Read More: Top 15 Places to Visit in Kolkata

Sudder Street in Central Kolkata is famous for cheap hotels. Foreign tourists, backpackers often prefer the living places in this street during their stay in Kolkata, which is conveniently located near the metro.

**Sudder Street** in Central Kolkata – Best Hotel in Kolkata

Park Street, also known as Mother Teresa Sarani, is a famous street in the city of Kolkata, India. Park Street, the city’s most posh area, has boutiques, bistros, and bars. The inner southern suburbs in and around Ballygunge are also upmarket. To escape the city traffic, pollution, and squalor, the new Kolkata better known as Salt Lake City (Bidhan Nagar) has the bonus of being home to wonderful malls. To avoid long taxi trips and ensure a quick getaway, many boutique and top-end hotels are located near the airport also called Rajarhat or New Town.

Which is The Best Places to Stay in Kolkata – (Kolkata Hotel)

**New Trams In Kolkata** – Best Hotel in Kolkata

Best Luxury Hotels in Kolkata

Best Boutique/Moderate Hotels in Kolkata

Best Cheap Hotels in Kolkata

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Which is the Best Area in Kolkata for Sightseeing: Chowringhee (Jawaharlal Nehru) Road

The city centre is within walking distance from Chowringhee Road. This major road stretches alongside Maidan Park, home to the majestic cathedral, relics (such as the fort), and numerous sporting facilities. The road leads to the north in the BBD Bagh district (the previous colonial hub featuring narrow lanes with disintegrated buildings), and south to the Indian Museum, the country’s largest and oldest.

**Best Area in Kolkata for Sightseeing: Chowringhee (Jawaharlal Nehru) Road** – Best Hotel in Kolkata

Which is the Best Area in Kolkata for Shopping: Park Street

Chowringhee Road, has sidewalks that are filled with roadside stalls, while the spacious New Market spreads across several blocks behind the road. Park Street is the most popular shopping hotspot. It is packed with inviting bookshops, dazzling jewellers, trendy boutiques, western-style supermarkets, and bistros much similar to many in Europe.

**Best Area in Kolkata for Shopping: Park Street** – Best Hotel in Kolkata

The less elegant shops and stalls along sidewalks heading off Park Street the place too good for haggling over the silk saris and terracotta items for which Kolkata is renowned.

Read More: Top 15 Places to Visit in Kolkata

Which is the Best Area in Salt Lake City (Bidhan Nagar) Kolkata for Families

Salt Lake City, midway between the airport and downtown has features: broad streets, real sidewalks with shade, and low traffic. Families appreciate escaping the squalor, traffic, and pollution of the city centre and enjoy the pleasant outdoor mall featuring a cinema, games arcade, and numerous eateries (including familiar fast-food outlets).

**Best Area in Kolkata for Family : Salt Lake City (Bidhan Nagar)** – Best Hotel in Kolkata

Picture Credit: www.prasundutta.com

Other attractions are the metro which links to downtown and the airport and proximity to several family-oriented facilities, such as the Wet O Wild waterpark.

Which is the Best Area in Kolkata for Food & Restaurants: Park Street

Kolkata is renowned for its hot and spicy fish and prawn curries, tangy street food, and local versions of Indian staples such as paratha (flatbread). Bengali food can be enjoyed in luxury air-conditioned restaurants along Park Street. Distant from the rest of India, Bengali local cuisine is unique, some menu items can be enjoyed at the local eateries. Other choices range from chic tapas bars to Italian Pizza joints. Meat-lovers will appreciate the trendy bistros serving fish chips, kebabs and other savouries.

The Saffron – The Park Hotel – Kolkata – Best Hotel in Kolkata

Which is the Best Area in Kolkata for Transport: Chowringhee (Jawaharlal Nehru) Road

Chowringhee Road, the main road through the city centre is connected by Metro. The Metro Network is expected to connect all major train and bus stations and the airport by the year 2020, this will make commuting for tourists more easy and affordable. The area around Chowringhee Road is just over the river from Howrah Railway Station, the largest train terminals in Kolkata. For hassle-free flight connections and to avoid the overcrowded city centre, various hotels are in and around the airport, about an hour from the city centre by taxi.

Which is the Best Area in Kolkata for Vibe & Culture: Chowringhee (Jawaharlal Nehru) Road

This inner-city road is choked with traffic during peak hours, and the sidewalks are desperately overcrowded with market stalls, but it is the true spirit of all that’s vibrant (and chaotic) about this amazing metropolis. On the other side of Chowringhee Road, Maidan, the world’s largest city parks, is where families seek respite from the traffic, couples like to spend time together, and boys play cricket, India’s most popular sport.

**Best Area in Kolkata for Vibe & Culture: Chowringhee (Jawaharlal Nehru) Road** | kolkata hotel

Which is the Most Romantic Area in Kolkata: Sudder Street

‘Kolkata’ and ‘romantic’ have ever been seen as a synonym. With Mangroves at Sundarbans and the beautiful mountaintop region of Darjeeling within a few hours by plane, very few people come to Kolkata for a honeymoon or a romantic getaway. Still, for some peace, yet convenience to the inner-city sights and tourist facilities rarely found elsewhere, there is no nicer place in Kolkata than Sudder Street.

**Most Romantic Area in Kolkata: Sudder Street** | kolkata hotel

Which is the Best Area in Kolkata for First Timers: Sudder Street

Sudder Street is the most preferred location to stay in Kolkata. The noise, traffic, pollution, is expected at most of the major Indian city Sudder Street, quietly tucked away within the inner city. This area also offers essential facilities such as money-changers and agencies that sell railway train tickets. You can also find bars and cafés serving excellent western food in this area.

Which is the Safest Area in Kolkata: Salt Lake City (Bidhan Nagar)

Salt Lake, is one of the lively residential areas with lush green spaces. These include Salt Lake Central Park, the home to lakes and paths and famous for birdwatching. The family-friendly Nicco Park, with water slides and a roller coaster, is also a great option. Salt Lake Stadium hosts numerous soccer games. Most of the High-end Bengali restaurants sit alongside. The casual global eateries such as Starbucks, KFC, Mc Donalds and bars group around office parks in the Sector

Kolkata is considered one of the safest cities in terms of crimes. However, you have to be careful while crossing busy roads. Always use the Zebra Crossing.

The 7 Best Neighborhoods in Kolkata for Tourists

The LaLiT Great Eastern Kolkata hotel is luxurious and sophisticated, with a lot of history.

Chowringhee (Jawaharlal Nehru) Road

Chowringhee Road, located in the Chowringhee area of Kolkata, is the arterial road running from the eastern peripheries of Esplanade southwards up to the intersection with Lower Circular Road, in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the single most important road in the city of Kolkata. There are sidewalks packed with market stalls. The main attraction is its proximity on foot to prominent colonial-era sights such as the Indian Museum, Victoria Memorial, and St. Paul’s Cathedral, as well as the former colonial hub at the adjoining the BBD Bagh. Adding to the attractiveness of staying along or just off Chowringhee Road is its convenience to the expanding metro service and extensive parks alongside.

2. BBD Bagh (Dalhousie Square)

Spreading north from Chowringhee Road, this centre of old Calcutta is the position of the original fort (now disappeared) and Chinatown (now mostly populated by Muslims). The narrow lanes of BBD Bagh are crowded with abandoned colonial-era buildings and new constructions, part of a more recently redeveloped market area alongside Hooghly River. Dominated by the beautiful Writers’ Building, BBD Bagh (still known by its old name of Dalhousie Square) is one of the contrasts, decreased by slums only 50m from the entrance to the 5-star LaLiT hotel.

Best Luxury Hotel: The LaLiT Great Eastern Kolkata
Best Cheap and Moderate Hotel: Broadway Hotel

3. Sudder Street

It’s a separate identity, this backpackers frequent has been serving budget-conscious travellers since the 1960s. Homeless people can be found on some footpaths, the area is invitingly cleaner, safer, and less crowded than downtown. It still provides essentials for all travellers – e.g. money-changers, Travel Agencies selling Railway train tickets, and pizzerias – and elegant colonial-era guesthouses which are affordable. Added major advantage is one of the city’s prime fascinations: the Indian Museum.

Best Cheap and Moderate Hotels: The Elgin Fairlawn • Lytton Hotel

4. Park Street (Mother Teresa Sarani)

Park Street, officially known as Mother Teresa Sarani, is a famous street in the city of Kolkata, India. The street runs through what was a deer park of Sir Elijah Impey, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Calcutta from 1773 to 1789, hence the earlier name. The backstreets are lined with internationally recognized fast-food outlets, English pubs, nightclubs, and restaurants that serve pizzas rather than parathas. At Park Street, the shopping is among the finest in India, buy anything from western-style supermarkets, tempting bookshops and impressive boutiques selling silk saris.

Best Luxury Hotel: The Park Hotel
Best Cheap and Moderate Hotel: Hotel Great Western

5. Ballygunge & South Kolkata

The suburbs in the inner south stretching from Park Street to Rabindra Sarobar lake and gardens are often given the general term ‘Ballygunge’, named since colonial times after the namesake main road that runs through it. Parts vary enormously from affluent business districts with popular bars in office blocks to area where there are chic boutiques and fancy studio apartments adjacent to slums. Area is closer to Chowringhee Road and convenient to the expanding metro, and the whole area is within a short taxi trip of the numerous attractions in the city centre.

Best Luxury Hotels: Radisson Kolkata Ballygunge • Hindusthan International
Best Cheap/Moderate Hotels: The Ivy House • The Senator Hotel

6. Salt Lake City (Bidhan Nagar)

**Salt Lake Stadium**– **Find the best hotel in kolkata**

Salt Lake City (as it’s more commonly known) offers genuine rarities: wide streets, sidewalks, and minimal traffic. Other advantages are the City Centre Mall, the metro that is expected to connect to downtown and the airport by 2021, and family-oriented attractions like the Wet O Wild waterpark.

Best Cheap/Moderate Hotels: Hotel De Sovrani • The Sonnet

7. Rajarhat or New Town

Many vague terms are used to represent the area between Salt Lake City and the airport. All hotels here are convenient to the airport; distant from the crowds, in the newer Kolkata. It offers substantial gardens and other facilities seldom possible elsewhere. Some hotels (like the Novotel and Westin) are isolated, while others (such as the Holiday Inn and Ibis Rajarhat) are surrounded by decent Indian-style places to eat, drink, and shop.

**Rajarhat – Find the best hotel in kolkata**

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Fall in Love with the City of Joy- Top 15 places to visit in Kolkata

Top 15 places to visit in Kolkata- Video Credit : Ethereal

A Guide to the Memory Lanes of Kolkata

With the former capital of the Indian subcontinent in colonial era, being heralded as ‘The City of Joy,’ Kolkata is one of the most bustling, cheery, rich yet nostalgic cities in India. With an abundance of sweet shops that sell some of the most delicious delicacies to being a haven for the history buff with its sprawling colonial manors and marble columned heritage monuments, the city has something for every taste. For travellers and hitchhikers who want to get a glimpse of the sunset of British empire, Kolkata is the sojourn.

We have listed here the top 15 places to visit in Kolkata while you are on a trip to the quaint city of Kolkata

Top 15 places to visit in Kolkata

The Indian Museum

If you are curious to know of the bygone days of our origin, this place is definitely your aim. It is the official museum of the city of Kolkata with marble balustrades beckoning the traveller to rest awhile before engaging with the more cultural aspects of the city. A visit to Indian Museum Kolkata will expose you to an exciting collection to boast of with an Egyptian section to boot along with the terracotta figurines which were found all over Bengal and reflect the history of the city.

It was founded in 1814 by the Asiatic Society of Bengal to further historical studies into the world of India and to help historians and sociologists get an inkling of the country that they were dealing with. The building is in almost spick and span condition with care taken of the gardens and the archaeological objects. A Dutch botanist started the museum under the British, called Dr Nathaniel Wallich.

Victoria Memorial Hall

When Keats uttered his memorable line, “A Thing of Beauty is A Joy Forever”, he might have seen British gardens along with stately architecture. The building as it is called in Kolkata to be the white building with the fairy at the top is one of the gorgeous examples of colonial-era Indo Western architecture with Grecian columns and a massive statue of The Queen in front, with beautiful gardens to boot all around. Ideal for a picnic near water, the grounds are open to the public and so is the museum inside.

**Victoria Memorial:** Top 15 places to visit in Kolkata

The inside is sparkling and boasts of a vast collection of paintings with one painting that covers from floor to ceiling and is a rarity for a museum. There are swords, daggers and snuff boxes belonging to the Mughals and the British on display along with some rare handwritten Persian books.

Book Your Dream Stay In the City of Joy Kolkata

After the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, Lord Curzon funded the construction of this memorial which was constructed in the then-popular yet the unique architectural blend of the Mughal and the British Edwardian styles. It is also the space for the Kolkata Literary Festivals that take place every year usually during the winter months. Enjoy a taste of the colonial-era life with a ride in one of the several horse-driven carriages just waiting outside to cater to passengers.

Read More: Top 10 Haunted Places in Kolkata to visit (avoid) in the City of Joy

The Howrah Bridge

Zooming past over the Howrah Bridge has been a constant source of enjoyment for even the native folk of Kolkata, let alone tourists. The bridge is central to the heart of the city with the river flowing underneath, giving glimpses of the lives of the boatmen, fishers and the ferry takes passengers way down. The aesthetic quality of the bridge can be seen from the beautiful photographs that it provides to shutter happy tourists from all over the world. Furthermore, your trip to Kolkata cannot be complete without whooshing over the bridge in a traditional yellow taxi or the ever-present General Motors masterpiece that still runs all over the city to retain the past and let it breathe in the fast and new life of the old city. The sixth-longest cantilever bridge in the world, the Howrah Bridge is one of the most important places in Kolkata.

Mullik (Malik) Ghat Flower Market

As a cultural tourist who wants to see a portrayal of the daily lives of the ordinary people of the city of Kolkata, dropping by the flower market at the 130-year-old Malik bazaar is one of the most bizarre and chaotic experiences that you will ever encounter. The Flower Market has hundreds of people selling flowers of different colours and fragrances for the lover, the devotee and the mourner. It is a conglomeration of everything that Kolkata stands for and provides a beautiful opportunity to see how the city functions at an idle yet boisterous manner, with traders selling, shouting and buyers haggling for the best at the lowest.

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The assimilation of such a plethora colours is breath-taking and sends tourists on a spree to click as many pictures as possible. You can occasionally spot sellers sitting on the stone steps of the ghats and making garlands out of marigold flowers. The market is filled with sacks that have in excess long garlands of marigolds, yellow, orange and brown, traditionally used in Hindu devotional rituals. However, the occasional roses are sensational as they are vivid.

Mother House

**Mother Teresa**‘s **House** -Top 15 places to visit in Kolkata

If love, piety and care met their confluence in a single person, it was Mother Teresa. The epitome of selfless motherly love, Mother Teresa or Saint Teresa of Kolkata was the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. She dedicated her life to serving the ill and the castaway people of Kolkata. The institute has her grave, her bedroom and a tiny museum to show her simple life. It displays objects like her handwritten letters, spiritual books, saris, sandals, and her beloved crucifix. Get some time off the humdrum and bustle of daily life and put your mind to peace in this place for meditation and warmth, to contemplate on the transient nature of human life.

New Market or Lindsay Street

Shopaholics, here’s your chance to shop till you drop, and that too at surprisingly affordable prices. New Market is a historically significant place to visit in Kolkata for shopping, built during the colonial period in 1874. This sprawling arcade is home to more than 2,000 stalls, categorically put together in lieu with the type of objects sold. This place has almost everything, and the tourist has only to ask. The site is also well known for the brick buildings and the age-old Aminia restaurant, heaven for Mughlai cuisine and the Jewish bakery shop called Nahoum’s that has been catering to people since forever.

Park Street

The most famous street in all of Kolkata, Park Street (formally called as Mother Teresa Sarani now) is for the clubbing tourist with its promise of entertainment, restaurants, and old historic landmarks. This star-studded street was home to India’s first nightclub and has been the focus of Kolkata’s nightlife since the glorious days of the 1960s. Home to the jazz clubs of Moulin Rouge and Trincas, it will definitely transport you back to the era when the musicians crooned, the wine flowed, and enjoyment was endless.

Birla Planetarium

Prepare to get stunned by one of the most astounding marbled dome structures in Kolkata. It gives out the promise of a star-studded afternoon, taking one on an escape to outer space, with the night sky being shown through projectors and guiding voices, while the amphitheatre is dark yet so beautifully lit with stars. An informative and entertaining space, the planetarium is suitable for children as well as for people who love astronomy.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

One need not be a Christian to visit this cathedral. The St. Paul’s Cathedral is among the very first architectural marvels commissioned by the British Empire in India. This gigantic cathedral was initially known for its gothic style of architecture and is one of the most awaited Kolkata sightseeing places. The interior of the cathedral has the flag emblems initially from the time of the British empire with the names of the different states then. The gardens are also remarkable for walks.

Jorasanko Thakur Bari

Culture connoisseurs, here’s an awe-inspiring legacy to enrich your imagination and intellect. The house of the thakurs to whose family the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore belonged is now a museum that also serves as the Rabindra Bharati University. A sprawling mansion well maintained gardens and literature mark it as a must-visit spot.

College Street

Also called the Boipara (the zone of books), this is the book lover’s paradise with rare and captivating books in tiny stalls all over the place. It has old book shops in pristine antique condition, the well-reputed Presidency University, Hare School and several other colonial colleges all around. College Street is also home to some of the oldest cafes near about like the Indian Coffee House, Paramount and Putiram’s. Stop by for a delectably hot breakfast meal of kachuris and potato curry. For Kolkata visit in one day, this destination should definitely be in your bucket list.

Eden Gardens

Eden Gardens is the largest stadium in India and second in the world. Visit Eden Gardens Kolkata to get a stupefying and electric ambience. The empty grounds roar to life when the fans stand up and cheer for their favourite cricket teams, and it is at that moment a spectacle to watch.

Rabindra Sadan

Rabindra Sadan and the region around it is the art lovers’ bounty. It has everything from fine arts to the theatres to photography to the excellent movies. The art galleries have paintings by Indian maestros, and new contemporary artists on display and Nandan has all the recent plays to watch with affordable ticket pricing.

Alipore Zoological Garden

The Alipore zoological garden is the best place among Kolkata tour destinations to look at beautiful animals and have a little picnic. It is undoubtedly one of the perfect places to go to in Kolkata with family and friends. Children especially enjoy looking at the various games of the animals.

Fort William

Called after King William III, this fort is one of the oldest buildings of the British Presidency in India. The defence is located on the River Hooghly’s eastern banks and is a major attraction for tourists in Kolkata. It is currently the headquarters of the Army and a spectacle during Independence Day on 15^th August.

Before we take our leave, let us inform you about the origin behind Kolkata’s title of “City of Joy”. The real faces of Kolkata are its warm-hearted people, with radiant smiles on their faces as they receive you to their beloved city with open arms. Prepare to be amazed as you stroll down the labyrinthine alleys of Kolkata or ride the city’s own Hogwarts Express, the tram, a train on the road. You will occasionally be halted for a delectable treat of street food, or if you have a friend who resides here, a taste of the authentic Bengali cuisine to fill your taste buds with ingenious flavours. Hence, do not hesitate and pack your bags to prepare for a quintessentially Kolkata tour experience.