Kolkata
India · Country profile
Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal and the great cultural city of eastern India, the former seat of the British empire that the colonial city built on the hooghly river and that remains the intellectual, literary and political heart of the Bengali world. The city is famous for its grand colonial architecture, its bookish cafes, its intellectual culture, its exquisite sweets and its enormous, chaotic, profoundly human street life, reflected in the trams, the hand-pulled rickshaws and the packed bazaars of the historic centre. Kolkata was the capital of the empire before New Delhi, and its universities, its theatres, its films and its Bengali literary life have shaped the modern India. Passionate, layered, crumbling and glorious, Kolkata is the most characterful of the great Indian metropolises.
About Kolkata
Kolkata is a city in India. The city's documented population is around 5,000,000 people. For visitors from abroad, the local currency is the Indian Rupee (INR) and Hindi and English are spoken; the dialling code is +91. It is served by 1 airport in our guide: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
The Colonial Capital, the Trams and the Bookish Culture
Kolkata is a vast, historic, bookish city whose faded glory and overwhelming human life are its real attractions. The colonial centre, with its enormous monuments, its gardens and its markets, anchors the old empire, while the intellectual life, the literature, the football and the famous sweetness of the city run through everything. The trams, the yellow taxis and the hand-pulled rickshaws of the centre are themselves the sight, and the city moves at its own intense, talkative pace. It is less a checklist of monuments than a city to surrender to, and the everyday dramas of its streets, its markets and its cafes are the true experience of visiting Kolkata.
The Winter Season, the Rupee and the Marathon of the Days
The best seasons are the winter and the early spring, cool and dry, with the summer punishingly hot and the monsoon of the summer months bringing the flooding of the low-lying city. The colonial centre, the ghats of the river and the markets are the essential circuit, and the tram and the yellow taxi rides of the centre are part of the experience. The Indian rupee is the currency, the Bengali and the English are both spoken and the metro is the quick way across the city. The city is exhausting and intense, so pace the days, keep the hydration and take the usual care of the crowded places and the traffic.
The Great Memorial, the Sweets and the Flower Market of the River
The monumental centre of the city, with the great memorial of the colonial era in its gardens and the enormous cathedral and the university district around it, is the classic walk of the imperial Kolkata, and the river with its ghats and its boats holds the spiritual heart of the city. The market of the New Market and the flower market of the river add the sensory chaos of the everyday, and the cafes of the centre, with their long traditions of the literary and the political debate, preserve the intellectual soul of the city. The sweets of the city, the rasgulla and the sandesh, are legendary and not to be missed, and the tram rides and the river ferries of the old spirit of the city complete the journey.
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- Country
- India
- Population
- 5,000,000
- Coordinates
- 22.6547, 88.4467
- Capital
- New Delhi
- Region
- Asia
- Currency
- Indian Rupee (INR)
- Languages
- Hindi, English
- Calling code
- +91
- Country code
- IN
Entry requirements for India
Visa status for travellers from common origins visiting India for tourism.
Getting to Kolkata
Airports we list for Kolkata:
Other airports in the area:
- Rajiv Gandhi International AirportHYD≈ 1,207 km from Kolkata
- Indira Gandhi International AirportDEL≈ 1,312 km from Kolkata
- Chennai International AirportMAA≈ 1,385 km from Kolkata
- Kempegowda International AirportBLR≈ 1,547 km from Kolkata
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International AirportBOM≈ 1,666 km from Kolkata
Cities in India
Other cities we cover in India:
Frequently asked questions
Is Kolkata the capital of India?
No — the capital of India is New Delhi.
What currency do I need in Kolkata?
The local currency is the Indian Rupee (INR). Languages spoken in India include Hindi and English.
What is the dialling code for India?
The international dialling code for India is +91.
Which airport should I fly into for Kolkata?
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) is the airport we list for Kolkata.
How far is Kolkata from the nearest airport?
Kolkata is about 1,207 km from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
Do I need a visa to visit India?
It depends on your passport. For the origins we track, the current tourism visa status is Morocco (e-visa), United Kingdom (e-visa) and United States (e-visa). Check the entry requirements tool for your own nationality.
Flying out of Kolkata? Check the entry requirements for your destination in our entry requirements tool before you fly.