Calcuta-the most beautiful tourist place on earth    History of Calcutta  Although the name Kalikata had been mentioned in the rent-roll of the Great Mughal emperor Akbar and also in Manasa-Mangal, to explore the history of Calcutta, we have to go back to the 17 th. century. It was in 1690....Job Charnock came to the bank of the river Hooghly (it's the part of the Ganges) and took the lease of the three villages- Sutanuti, Govindapur and Kolikata(Calcutta) as a trading post of British East India Company. The city became famous in 1756, when Siraj-Ud-Dawlah, the last independent nawab of Bengal, captured the city . But the British regained their power in 1757 and the city was recaptured under Robert Clive. Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India, made it the seat of the supreme courts of justice and the supreme revenue administration, and Calcutta became the capital of British India in 1772. By 1800 Calcutta had become a busy and flourishing town, the center of the cultural as well as the political and economic life of Bengal.   Calcutta - Landmarks, memorials and places of interest  you can visit Birla Planetarium : Located at the top end of Chowringhee, the only planetarium in the country, whose dome houses a collection of projectors and optical equipments expensively imported from East Germany. It is the largest planetarium in South-East Asia and the 2nd. largest planetarium in the world.  Rabindra Sadan  Nandan  Academy of Fine Arts   Fort William: citadel of Calcutta . With the permission of the Nawab of Bengal, this fort was built between 1696 and 1702 by the British East India Company and named after King William III of England. In 1756 the fort was taken by the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-dullah. In 1757 East India Company regained their power and demolished this fort and they started reconstruction of the fort. The new fort was completed in 1773 and it is still there.  25584eln35zgz6n  Rajbhavan  Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture  Netaji Bhawan: where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose lived and worked. His personal belongings are on exhibition here.   Aurobindo Bhawan  lg584e5235zggz  Birla Academy of Arts and Culture  Kala Mandir  Mahajati Sadan  Gorky Sadan  Rabindra Sarovar  Sisir Mancha        Calcutta - Parks and stadia  Botanical Garden : The garden was founded in 1787 
                      by the East India Company and formerly known as Royal Botanic 
                      Garden. It is famous for its huge collection of bamboos, 
                      orchids, palms and the plants of screw pine genus. The area 
                      of the garden is more than 270 acres and more than 1700 
                      plant species can be found. The Central National Harbarium 
                      of the Botanical Survey of India is here and has 2500000 
                      dried plants in its collection.  Zoological Garden : laid in 1876, extending over 
                      an area of 16 hectares, it has considerably large collection 
                      of animals. White tiger, tigon ( a hybrid between tiger 
                      and lion), the reptiles (huge collection), the Royal Bengal 
                      tigers are the special exhibits. During winter, the migratory 
                      birds from all over the world are the special attractions.  Rabindra Sarovar Stadium  Ranji Stadium  Race Course  Victoria Memorial Garden  Golf Course  Polo Grounds  Bidhan Children's Park : a great place for kids.  Calcutta - Museums  Art Industry Museum  Nehru Children's Museum :It's a great entertaining place for the children, named after the first prime minister of India,Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It's located at Jawaharlal Nehru Road (formerly Chowringhee Road). The stories of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata have been depicted nicely with the help of the animated dolls. Some science models are also on exhiibition; must see for the kids.  Ashutosh Museum : maintained by the University of Calcutta; housed lot of exhibits on the folk art of Bengal.  Victoria Memorial Museum  Birla Industrial and Technological Museum  Floating Museum: world's first floating museum , located at the "Man-o-War" jetty.  Rabindra Bharati Museum     Calcutta - Places of Worship and Meditation  Parsi Temple  Mother Teresa Mission of Charity  Jewish Synagogue  International Society of Krishna Consciousness  Mahabodhi Temple  Japanese Buddhist Temple  Bara Sikh Sangat Sikh Gurudwara  Tipu Sultan's Mosque  St. John's Church : a beautiful old stone church 
                      laid in 1784.  St. Andrew's Church  St. Thomas Church  Baikunthanath Temple    Accomodation – Calcutta Hotels Luxary Taj Bengal, 348 Belvedere Road, Cal-27 (Tel:2483939, Fax: 248 1766) Hotel Oberoi Grand, 15 J. N. Road, Cal-13(Tel: 2492323, Fax: 2911217) Best Western Kenilworth, 1 & 2 Little Russel Street, Calcutta- 71 (Tel: 4483949, Fax: 225136) Airport Ashok, Calcutta Airport, Cal-52 (Tel: 5529111, Fax: 5529137) Great Eastern Hotel, 1-3, Old Court House Street Hindusthan International, 235/1, Acharya J. C. Bose Road Ritz Continental, 12 J.N. Road, Cal-13 Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark YMCA, 25, J. N. Road, Cal-13 Minerva Hotel, 11 Ganesh Chandra Avenue Park Hotel,17 Park Street  Moderate Air Continental Lodge, 2 Airport Gate, Dumdum Asia Hotel, 11 A & B Jamir Lane, P-1A, Rash Behari Avenue Santiniketan Hotel, 16B Mahatma Gandhi Road Capital Guest House, 11B Chowringhee Road Park Guest House (P) Ltd.20/C Gariahat Road(South), Dhakuria Saket, 23 Mukhram Kanoria Road Saptarshi, 23 Gariahat Road, Goal Park Sunview Guest House, 20/1/1A, Ballygunge Station Road  Elev:Ciupitu Bogdan Mihai                                              Clasa:XG