Kolkata : Capital of West Bengal, earlier known as Calcutta is nicknamed as 'City of Joy'. The city has a leisurely lifestyle and the calm which has acculmulated over time. Kolkata was the capital of British India (till 1912) before it was shifted to Delhi. It is a city, which till a few years ago, was the most densely populated city in the world.

Kolkata has the country's first metro railway (underground - 16.5 km from Dumdum to Tollygunje) and also retains some of the buildings, which are more than 100 years old. Fort William was formed in 1696, which marked the birth of the city. Job Charnok founded the city. Kolkata is a home of many of India's great leaders. The clam of the Hooghly river combined with the rush of the people in the streets make Kolkota a city worth visiting. If India was the jewel in the British crown, Kolkata was its pearl.

Other tourist attractions in Kolkata are Howrah bridge is one of the busiest river hanging bridges in the world (457 m length and 8 m wide with 8 line traffic), Vidya sagar setu (1993, second hanging bridge across Hooglie), botanical gardens with 2000 year old giant Banyan tree (19 km), Alipore zoological gardens, National library, Indian museum, Birla industrial and technological museum, Shahid minar, Kalighat temple, Birla planetarium, St. Paul's cathedral, Raj Bhavan, Writer's building, trams, double deckker bus, Marble palace at Chor Bagan, Parasnath Jain temple, Nakhoda mosque, Belur (15 km, Ramakrishna mission headquarters), Dakshineshwar Kali temple (11 km, Built in 1855 by Rani Rashmonia - widow devotee), Tarakeshwar temple (80 km).

West Bengal photos