College Square

কলেজ স্কোয়ার

Also known as Vidyasagar Udyan.

A tank ringed by colleges where the city learns to swim.

About College Square

A large rectangular tank surrounded by a walkway, facing the university and Presidency. Swimming clubs here have trained generations of Kolkata’s swimmers, and the benches fill with students and old men in the evening. During Durga Puja the pandal on its bank is lit so that its reflection fills the water.

Why visit

A breath of open space in the middle of the book district.

What to see and do

Swimmers in the tank
The Vidyasagar statue and busts round the park
The Durga Puja illumination on the water in autumn

Plan your visit

Area: College Street, North Kolkata
Nearest landmark: University of Calcutta
Best time: Morning or evening. October to March is the most comfortable time of year.
Time needed: About 25 minutes
Cost: Free
Entry: Open to everyone: a street, ghat, market or park you can walk into.
Metro: Mahatma Gandhi Road or Central (Blue Line)
Walking: Little walking
Photography: Photography is fine with some care.

Nearby and related places

College Street (Boi Para): A kilometre of book stalls between the city’s oldest colleges.
Maha Bodhi Society Temple: A Buddhist vihara on College Square, built in 1920.
Paramount: A sherbet shop from 1918 with marble tables and a famous daab sherbet.
Thanthania Kalibari: A small, very old Kali temple on Bidhan Sarani.
Indian Coffee House: The high-ceilinged hall where Bengal’s writers and students argue over coffee.
Favourite Cabin: A 1918 tea cabin where revolutionaries and poets met.

Walks that include it

College Street Book Trail: Books, coffee and a hundred-year-old sherbet

More guides

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.