Revolutionary nationalist-turned-guru Sri Aurobindo – who later went on to establish the famous ashram at Auroville near Pondicherry – was born in Calcutta in 1872. His childhood mansion-home has been preserved and its garden creates a small oasis of peace in the city centre. While most of its facilities are available only to members, visitors can walk around the campus and explore its peaceful environs. A souvenir shop on-site sells some fantastic handmade products at reasonable prices.
Sri Aurobindo Bhawan
Kolkata (Calcutta)
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.43 MILES
The incredible Victoria Memorial is a vast, beautifully proportioned festival of white marble: think US Capitol meets Taj Mahal. Had it been built for a…
4.02 MILES
Despite being an awkward journey by public transport, Kolkata’s lovely 109-hectare Botanical Gardens makes for a great place to escape from the city’s…
6.01 MILES
Set very attractively amid palms and manicured lawns, this large religious centre is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, inspired by 19th-century…
3.84 MILES
Countless clay effigies of deities and demons immersed in the Hooghly during Kolkata’s colourful pujas (offering or prayers) are created in specialist…
2.62 MILES
Built in 1835 by a raja from the prosperous Mallick family, this resplendent mansion is as grand as it is curious. Its marble-draped halls are overstuffed…
2.79 MILES
The stately 1784 family mansion of Rabindranath Tagore has become a shrine-like museum to India’s greatest modern poet. Even if his personal effects don’t…
0.87 MILES
India's biggest and oldest major museum celebrated its bicentenary in February 2014. It's mostly a lovably old-fashioned place that fills a large…
0.37 MILES
A vast expanse of green in the heart of the city's brick-and-mortar matrix, the Maidan is where Kolkata's residents congregate for walks, spirited cricket…
Nearby Kolkata (Calcutta) attractions
0.13 MILES
Loosely styled on Sanchi’s iconic Buddhist stupa, this 1962 planetarium presents slow-moving, half-hour audiovisual programs on the wonders of the…
0.13 MILES
This statue of India's first (and so far, only) female prime minister is one of many statues located around the Maidan that were set up to occupy plinths …
0.2 MILES
Arguably Kolkata's most iconic Gothic superstructure, decorated with a central crenellated tower, St Paul’s would look quite at home in Cambridgeshire but…
4. Harrington Street Arts Centre
0.24 MILES
Exhibitions of contemporary artworks by Indian and international artists in diverse media are spread through four spacious rooms of this classic Kolkata…
0.29 MILES
By day you can exit the Victoria Memorial park from the east gate but not enter this way. From 5pm, a ticket booth here starts issuing tickets for the…
0.3 MILES
Several bright, ground-floor gallery rooms in this 1933 building feature changing exhibitions by local artists. It's a good place to check out young-and…
0.37 MILES
A vast expanse of green in the heart of the city's brick-and-mortar matrix, the Maidan is where Kolkata's residents congregate for walks, spirited cricket…
0.38 MILES
Opened in 1842, this understated Catholic church has a Doric-columned portico topped by a short octagonal spire. It was here that the body of Mother (St)…