Kolkata (Calcutta), the capital of West Bengal, is the second largest city in India and is home to over 11 million people. Kolkata is known in different names – ‘the Cultural Capital of India’, ‘the City of Joy’ and ‘the city of Indian Nobel Laureates’. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Sri C. V. Raman, Mother Teresa and Amartya Sen have all worked in Kolkata.

Some of the major tourist spots in Kolkata include B.B.D.Bagh, Fort William, Lal Dighi, Marble Palace, Raj Bhawan, Shahid Minar, Indian Museum, Calcutta Town Hall, Victoria Memorial, Writer’s Building, Swabhumi, and the 1837 built St. Paul’s Cathedral. Howrah Bridge – which links Howrah with Kolkata – and Vidyasagar Setu Bridge – the longest cable stayed bridge in Asia – are the two major bridges in Kolkata. There are many parks and gardens in Kolkata such as Eden Gardens, the Indian Botanical Gardens in South Howrah, Maidan, Nalban Boating Complex, Victoria Memorial Hall Lawn, Shahid Bhagat Singh Park, Nicco Park, and Zoological Gardens.

Kolkata is also famous for its numerous religious sites such as St. Paul’s Cathedral, Armenian Church of St. Mary, St. John’s Church, Belur Math, Dakhineshwar Kali Temple, Kalighat Temple, Adyapeth Temple, Birla Mandir, Tipu Sultan’s Mosque, Nakhoda Masjid (Mosque) & Makhan David Synagoue.

Kolkata also features several museums and galleries for tourists to visit. The list of museums and galleries include Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, Indian Museum, Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, Ethnographic Museum, CIMA Art Gallery, Nehru Children’s Museum, Science City, Philatelic Museum, Rabindra Bharati University Museum, Gurusaday Museum, Kolkata Police Museum, Sri Aurobindo Parichay Gallery, Academy of Indian Coins and History, Rabindra Gallery, State Archaelogical Gallery, and Victoria Memorial Hall.

In the field of education, Kolkata has an important place in country. There are many Post-Graduate, Graduate, Under-Graduate, Teacher’s Training, Medical and Engineering Colleges in Kolkata. Apart from these colleges and institution there are some Distance Education Study Centers and other Educational Institutions of which Jagadis Bose National Science Talent Search (JBNSTS) needs special mentioning. Jadavpur University, Netaji Open University, University of Kalyani, University of Calcutta, Rabindra Bharati University, Vidyasagar University, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya and West Bengal Institute of Technology are some of the premier universities in and around Kolkata.

There are number of basic and applied science research institutes in and around Kolkata including Indian Institute of Science for Education & Research; Indian Association for Cultivation of Science; Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Indian Institute of Management, Indian Statistical Institute, Bose Institute, S. N. Bose Physics, Variable Energy Cyclotron, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Disease, National Institute of Research in Jute and Allied Fibre Technology, Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibre, Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, etc.