The Maidan
ময়দান
Also known as Gorer Math.
The great open ground at the centre of the city.
About The Maidan
The Maidan was cleared in the eighteenth century to give the guns of the new Fort William a clear field of fire. It became the city’s lung instead: about 400 hectares of grass and trees, with football and cricket pitches, club tents, grazing horses and the winter fairs. Bengalis call it Gorer Math, the field of the fort. The fort itself is an army headquarters and is not open to the public.
Why visit
Space and sky, minutes from the densest streets in India.
What to see and do
- Football and cricket on the club grounds
- Morning walkers and horses in the mist
- The line of colonial buildings along Chowringhee
Plan your visit
- Area
- Maidan & Chowringhee, Central Kolkata
- Nearest landmark
- Chowringhee Road
- Best time
- Sunrise, morning or evening. October to March is the most comfortable time of year.
- Time needed
- About 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Entry
- Open to everyone: a street, ghat, market or park you can walk into. Public open ground. Fort William and other fenced army areas are closed to visitors.
- Metro
- Maidan, Park Street or Esplanade (Blue Line)
- Walking
- A lot of walking
- Photography
- Good for photography.
Nearby and related places
- Maidan Football Grounds: The club grounds where Indian football grew up.
- Victoria Memorial: The white-marble memorial museum and its gardens.
- Eden Gardens: The cricket ground, and the old garden with a Burmese pagoda beside it.
- St Paul’s Cathedral: The Gothic Revival cathedral beside the Maidan, consecrated in 1847.
- Birla Planetarium: A domed planetarium of 1963, modelled on the Sanchi stupa.
- Academy of Fine Arts: Galleries and the stage that is the home of Bengali group theatre.
More guides
- Places in Maidan & Chowringhee
- Free places to visit in Kolkata
- Family-friendly places
- Places to photograph in Kolkata
- Parks, lakes and green spaces
- Places near a metro station
- All places to visit in 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.