Kolkata/Esplanade



Esplanade (এসপ্ল্যানেড Esplyāneḍ) or Dharmatala (ধর্মতলা Dharmatalā) is the heart of Kolkata with all its colonial British buildings. The district takes a visitor back to the Raj era with nostalgic overtones. Many of the city's important buildings are here, the old central business district (CBD) of the city. The district covers Barabazar, B. B. D Bagh and Esplanade Row.

Understand
When the British arrived in Bengal, they decided to settle there, because it was less crowded than other areas. They built the old Fort William here (at the place where the General Post Office now stands). After their victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, they built a new fort in Gobindapur. However, Esplanade remained at the heart of what was then the 'White Town' of Calcutta. No Indian, rich or poor, dared to live in the district. They came for work during day time and went back to the 'Black Town' (North Kolkata) before sunset. With the Writers' Building occupying the north side and numerous commercial offices all around, it became the administrative and business centre of Calcutta.

B. B. D. Bagh, short of Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh, is the area of Kolkata surrounded by a tank called Lal Dighi (লালদীঘি Lāldīghi, literally "red tank"). It was the core of the British rule, and it houses many colonial-era buildings like the Writers' Building, General Post Office, Calcutta High Court etc.

Esplanade is also home to Kolkata's original Chinatown in Tiretta Bazaar. Although many of the ethnic Chinese have moved out to Tangra, a handful of Chinese restaurants and food stalls still remain in Tiretta Bazaar.

By metro
The North–South Metro runs over Central Avenue and Chowringhee Road with the stop at Esplanade. The Howrah Maidan–Esplanade section of the East–West Metro runs below the Hooghly River and terminates at Esplanade, with a stop at Mahakaran (near Writers' Building).

By train
Esplanade can be reached by the Kolkata Suburban Railway via its Circular Line, with a stop at.

By tram
While Kolkata's tram network has shrunk, there's still a few routes operating from.

Sleep
It is hard to find good-budget hotels in Esplanade and you should look for Chowringhee and North Kolkata instead. However, if money is of no object, you can stay at the following hotels.