Cities in West Bengal: Kolkata, Siliguri, Chandannagar and More
Photo: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
The Hooghly below Vidyasagar Setu in Kolkata, late afternoon, with a ferry crossing towards Howrah.
Most of West Bengal's cities grew along one river or one railway line, and that still tells you how to move between them.
Kolkata and Howrah, the cities on the Hooghly
Kolkata is the capital and the only true metropolis in the state. The 2011 Census counted about 4.5 million people inside the municipal corporation, and far more in the towns that run into it. It is a city to walk slowly: the old offices around BBD Bagh, the book stalls of College Street, the Maidan and its museums. Howrah faces it across the river, with the great railway station and the Botanic Garden. For a visitor the two are one city.
The metro now has five lines. Since August 2025 the Green Line runs under the river from Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake Sector V, so Howrah station and the office district are on one line. The Yellow Line reaches Jai Hind station at the airport. Ferries cross the Hooghly, and yellow taxis and app cabs fill the gaps.
The old river towns north of the city
Upriver, between about 25 and 60 km from Kolkata, four towns were once European trading posts. Serampore was Danish, Chandannagar French, Chinsurah Dutch and Bandel Portuguese. Today they are crowded suburbs, but each keeps something. Chandannagar keeps the most. It stayed French until 1950, and its Strand is a tree-lined walk along the river, with a museum in the old house of the French governor Dupleix. Bandel has its Portuguese church, Serampore its Danish church and college, Chinsurah a Dutch cemetery.
Suburban trains from Howrah towards Bardhaman stop at all four. A day is enough for two of them; a weekday is quieter than a Sunday.
Siliguri, Cooch Behar and Malda, the cities of the north
Siliguri is the north's working city, where the roads to Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal and the north-east meet. Its use is as a base, with Bagdogra airport on one side and New Jalpaiguri (NJP) station on the other. The Vande Bharat Express from Howrah reaches NJP in about seven and a half hours. From Siliguri, shared jeeps and taxis climb to Darjeeling and Kalimpong, which are hill towns rather than cities.
Cooch Behar, further east, is a calm town laid out by the Koch kings, with their brick palace of 1887, now partly a museum. Its small airport has had no regular flights since a nine-seater service ended in 2026, so come by train or road. Malda, on the main line south of Siliguri, is the base for the ruined mosques and gateways of Gaur and Pandua, and for mangoes in early summer.
The steel and railway towns: a stop, not a trip
West of Kolkata lie the cities built by coal, steel and the railway. Durgapur grew around a state steel plant after independence. Asansol, near the Jharkhand border, is a coal and railway town. Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport at Andal, between the two, has flights to a handful of large cities; check the current timetable. Neither city has much for a visitor, but both are road bases for the temples of Bishnupur and the hills of Purulia. Kharagpur, to the south-west, is a large railway junction and the home of the first Indian Institute of Technology.
Kolkata's metro in October 2026
Five lines run: Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple and Orange. The Orange Line runs from Kavi Subhash to Beleghata; trial runs on to Sector V began on 10 October 2026, and while they last its trains run only from about 8.40 am to 8.20 pm. The Blue Line's southern end at Kavi Subhash has been closed for repairs; check before you go.
For the river itself, from the ghats rather than the trains, read Kolkata at dawn on the river.
From Kolkata to the north in a week
Spend three days in Kolkata and Howrah and a day in the river towns. Then take the early Vande Bharat from Howrah, which leaves at 5.55 am and does not run on Wednesdays; get off at Malda Town for Gaur, or ride on to New Jalpaiguri for the hills. Fly home from Bagdogra.
Cities to know
- Kolkata (Kolkata): the capital; 4,496,694 people in the municipal corporation (Census 2011).
- Howrah (Howrah): the station, the bridge and the Botanic Garden.
- Chandannagar (Hooghly): the French Strand and its museum.
- Serampore and Bandel (Hooghly): a Danish and a Portuguese church, a short train ride apart.
- Siliguri (Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri): the gateway to the hills, Sikkim and the Dooars.
- Cooch Behar (Cooch Behar): the Koch kings' palace and a quiet planned town.
- Malda (Malda): the base for Gaur and Pandua, and mango country.
- Durgapur and Asansol (Paschim Bardhaman): steel and coal cities, with an airport at Andal.
- Kharagpur (Paschim Medinipur): a railway junction and the first IIT.
Follow the Hooghly north from Kolkata and the old flags change every few kilometres: Danish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, and then Bengal again.
Plan your visit
| Best season | October to March. April to June is hot and humid, and the monsoon brings heavy rain. In 2026 Durga Puja runs from 16 to 21 October, when Kolkata is crowded and rooms cost more. |
|---|---|
| How to reach | Airports at Kolkata, Bagdogra (for Siliguri) and Andal (for Durgapur and Asansol). Main stations: Howrah and Sealdah in Kolkata, New Jalpaiguri (NJP) in the north. |
| Getting around | In Kolkata, the metro, ferries, yellow taxis and app cabs. Suburban trains for the river towns; express trains between the cities. |
| Where to stay | Kolkata: Park Street and Esplanade, or Salt Lake near the airport. Siliguri near NJP station; Cooch Behar near the palace. |
| How long to spend | Three days for Kolkata and Howrah, one for the river towns, and a night each in Malda or Siliguri on the way north. For the hills and the delta, see our West Bengal guide. |
Questions people ask
Which is the most developed city in West Bengal?
There is no official ranking of 'developed' cities. Kolkata is by far the largest and best connected. Asansol, Durgapur and Siliguri come next, but they are working towns rather than places to visit.
Does the Kolkata Metro reach Howrah station and the airport?
Yes. Howrah station is on the Green Line, and the airport is on the Yellow Line at Jai Hind station.
Can I see Chandannagar and Serampore in a day from Kolkata?
Yes. Suburban trains from Howrah stop at both. Check the Chandannagar museum's opening days before you go.
Should I stay in Siliguri or go straight up to Darjeeling?
If you reach NJP or Bagdogra by early afternoon, go straight up; the drive takes three to four hours. Stay in Siliguri only if you arrive late.
Read next
Written by Muthu, editor of Aura of India. Sources: Metro Railway Kolkata (Indian Railways): lines and timetables, The Telegraph: Orange Line trial runs begin on the Beleghata-IT Centre section (October 2026), West Bengal Tourism: Chandannagar, West Bengal Tourism: Cooch Behar Palace, Census of India 2011: District Census Handbook, Kolkata, The Telegraph: Cooch Behar and Malda flights stay grounded (2026). Last verified: 15 October 2026.
Your turn: Have you walked the Strand at Chandannagar? Which of the old river towns would you send a friend to first?
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