Places to photograph in Kolkata

Streets, ghats, workshops and buildings photographers come back to. Each page says whether photography is allowed and what to keep in mind.

Kumartuli

Kumartuli: The lanes where the city’s gods are made from river clay.
Kumartuli Ghat: The potters’ own ghat on the Hooghly.

Bagbazar

Bagbazar Ghat: A wide northern ghat with a long view down the river.

Maniktala

Pareshnath Jain Temple: A garden of four Jain temples glittering with mirror-work and coloured glass.

Jorasanko & Chitpur

Nakhoda Masjid: The city’s principal mosque, in red sandstone.
Chitpur Road (Rabindra Sarani): The oldest road in the city, lined with trades that survive nowhere else.

Bowbazar & Old Chinatown

Tiretta Bazaar Chinese Breakfast: Momos, pork buns and fish-ball soup sold on the pavement at dawn.
Bow Barracks: A lane of red-brick blocks, home to an Anglo-Indian community and its Christmas.

Burrabazar

Magen David Synagogue: A red-brick synagogue of 1884 with a tall clock spire.
Mullick Ghat Flower Market: A vast wholesale flower market under Howrah Bridge.

BBD Bagh (Dalhousie)

BBD Bagh & Lal Dighi: The tank and square at the centre of the colonial capital.
General Post Office: A domed post office on the site of the first Fort William.

Esplanade & New Market

Shaheed Minar: A 48-metre column of 1828 at the edge of the Maidan.
Kolkata Tram: The last tramway in India, running since 1873.
Kolkata Yellow Taxi: The yellow Ambassador cab, as much a symbol of the city as Howrah Bridge.

Park Street

South Park Street Cemetery: A walled garden of obelisks and pyramids, opened in 1767.

Maidan & Chowringhee

Victoria Memorial: The white-marble memorial museum and its gardens.
St Paul’s Cathedral: The Gothic Revival cathedral beside the Maidan, consecrated in 1847.
The Maidan: The great open ground at the centre of the city.

Kalighat

Kalighat Patuapara: The south’s own idol-makers’ lane, near the temple.

Ballygunge & Gariahat

Birla Mandir: A white-marble temple on Ashutosh Chowdhury Avenue, lit at night.

Lake Gardens & Southern Avenue

Rabindra Sarobar: A 73-acre lake ringed by trees: South Kolkata’s morning walk.

Garia

Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary: A 17-acre patch of dense orchard forest at Narendrapur, full of birds and butterflies.

Thakurpukur & Joka

BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir: A large carved-stone temple on Diamond Harbour Road beyond Joka.

Tangra (Chinatown)

East Kolkata Wetlands: A Ramsar wetland of fish ponds that cleans the city’s waste water.

New Town

Eco Park: A 480-acre park round a lake, with gardens, cycling and replicas of the world’s wonders.
Biswa Bangla Gate: A steel arch over the main road with a viewing gallery in a hanging ring.

Lake Town & Bangur

Lake Town Clock Tower: A 30-metre replica of London’s Big Ben on VIP Road.

Dakshineswar

Dakshineswar Kali Temple: Rani Rashmoni’s nine-spired temple on the Hooghly, where Sri Ramakrishna lived.

Khardah

Twenty-six Shiva Temples, Khardah: Twenty-six aatchala temples round one courtyard near the river.

Titagarh

Annapurna Temple, Chanak: Dakshineswar’s near-twin, built in 1875 by Rani Rashmoni’s daughter.

Barrackpore

Gandhi Ghat: A riverside memorial where Gandhi’s ashes were immersed.

Strand Road & the Ghats

Howrah Bridge: The cantilever bridge that is the city’s emblem.
Hooghly Ferry Crossing: The commuter ferry between Howrah station and the city’s ghats.
Babughat: A colonnaded ghat of 1830, built by Rani Rashmoni in her husband’s memory.
Prinsep Ghat: A Palladian pavilion by the river, under the Vidyasagar Setu.

Howrah & the West Bank

Indian Botanic Garden: A 1787 garden at Shibpur, home of the Great Banyan.
Santragachi Jheel: A lake beside a railway station that fills with migratory ducks each winter.
Belur Math: The headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, on the west bank.

More ways to explore Kolkata

Last checked on 2026-10-02. Each place was checked to exist and its position confirmed. Timings, closing days and ticket prices are shown only where known and can change: confirm before you travel.