Artful evening floodlighting brings out the best of the Astor’s solid 1905 architecture, while inside walls are lavished with B&W photos of old Kolkata. A creative palette of chocolate, beige and iridescent butterfly blue brings to life beautifully furnished rooms. Some suites include a four-poster bed. Sizes and shapes vary. There's no lift, however.
Astor
Top choice in Kolkata (Calcutta)
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
5.96 MILES
Set very attractively amid palms and manicured lawns, this large religious centre is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, inspired by 19th-century…
0.59 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…
4.16 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…
3.77 MILES
Countless clay effigies of deities and demons immersed in the Hooghly during Kolkata’s colourful pujas (offering or prayers) are created in specialist…
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2.54 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…
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0.83 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…
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2.72 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…
1.9 MILES
This ancient Kali temple is Kolkata’s holiest spot for Hindus, and possibly the source of the city’s name. Today’s version is the 1809 rebuild, with…
Nearby Kolkata (Calcutta) attractions
1. Harrington Street Arts Centre
0.1 MILES
Exhibitions of contemporary artworks by Indian and international artists in diverse media are spread through four spacious rooms of this classic Kolkata…
0.16 MILES
Revolutionary nationalist-turned-guru Sri Aurobindo – who later went on to establish the famous ashram at Auroville near Pondicherry – was born in…
0.28 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 …
0.28 MILES
Loosely styled on Sanchi’s iconic Buddhist stupa, this 1962 planetarium presents slow-moving, half-hour audiovisual programs on the wonders of the…
0.3 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)…
0.36 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…
0.45 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…
0.45 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…