College Street Book Trail

বইপাড়ার পথে

Books, coffee and a hundred-year-old sherbet

A short, slow trail for readers: the stalls of Boi Para, a museum inside the university, the Coffee House and the old cabins.

Difficulty

Easy

When to start

Late morning on a weekday or Saturday. Many stalls are shut on Sunday.

Getting to the start

Mahatma Gandhi Road metro (Blue Line), then about 10 minutes on foot.

The route

1. College Street (Boi Para) Browse the pavement stalls and the old publishers’ shops.
2. Asutosh Museum of Indian Art Bengal’s folk and temple art inside the university, if it is open to visitors that day.
3. Indian Coffee House Climb to the hall for an infusion and an hour of adda.
4. College Square A turn round the tank where the city learns to swim.
5. Maha Bodhi Society Temple A quiet Buddhist shrine hall on the east side of the square.
6. Paramount Daab sherbet at marble tables, as served since 1918.
7. Favourite Cabin Finish with tea and toast where Nazrul and Netaji once sat.

Other walks

• Old North Kolkata Walk
• Kumartuli Art Trail
• Riverfront Trail
• Colonial Kolkata Walk
• Bengal Renaissance Trail
• Many Faiths Walk
• Food Heritage Trail
• Old Chinatown Exploration
• South Kolkata Cultural Trail
• Behala Heritage Trail
• Baranagar Riverside Trail
• Barrackpore Heritage Trail