Victoria Memorial at Kolkata – Travel Guide
Today’s article is about the sweetest city you can be at – Kolkata. With the Mishti Doi(Sweet Curd), Rosogolla, and also Bengali the sweetest language of the world this city can be voted as the sweetest city of the world or at least in India.
This was my second visit here as the last time was when I came here almost 10 years back with my family. And any visit to Kolkata isn’t done without heading towards the Victoria Memorial which in itself is a symbol of Kolkata. This was a short visit as I was there mainly for my friend’s wedding and whenever I had some spare time I visited the 2-3 places Kolkata is famous for including the Victoria Memorial, Mother’s House, and the famous Eco Park(The largest park in India). And the next few articles are going to be about them so let’s start.
Reaching Victoria Memorial
The best way to travel around Kolkata is the metro which is the first metro system built in India. Inaugurated in 1984 by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi which comprises of 12 stations. And if you wanna take a walk towards the Victoria Memorial you can grab any metro towards Maidan metro station. From where it’s just a km walk to the Victoria Memorial. And it’s quite affordable too as you pay from 5-15 INR depending on the number of stations you are covering to the memorial. Other options include the famous yellow taxis, Uber, Ola, or the public bus which can drop you at the entrance of Victoria Memorial.
Victoria Memorial
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The Victoria Memorial is one of the famous buildings built in the British Raj in India. And is included among the majestic and elegant monuments of not just Kolkata but the whole of India. It was proposed by Lord Curzon, to build the memorial in honor of Queen Victoria’s reign of 25 years in India. He appealed the people and royalties of India to donate generously and surprisingly the British government didn’t add a penny in the construction. In 1906, the Prince of Wales and King George V laid down the foundation stone of Victoria Memorial and it took around 15 years for its completion. In 1921 it was opened for people to visit the memorial.
The huge memorial is built of the same white marble used in the Taj Mahal. Which was brought from Jodhpur, Rajasthan in huge quantity. As the total expense for the building came up to 1 crore 5 lacs all money was donated by the people of India. William Emerson, the president of the Royal Institute of British Architects was the chief architect in the construction of Victoria Memorial. He gave a hybrid style to the memorial, including the inspirations from Venetian, Egyptian, Mughal, and various Islamic styles during that time. With a huge lush-green garden around the monument designed by botanist Lord Redesdale and Sir David Train.
The interiors of the Victoria Memorial are amazing too with twenty-five galleries including paintings, weapons, textiles, stamps, and much more. And a museum for which you need to pay some extra money contains the art and artifacts of the Victorian era. With collections of oil and watercolor paintings of European artists.
I think an ideal visit to the Victoria Memorial would be half a day. As you will be hungry by then and there is literally nothing around for you to eat. Some more info about the Victoria Memorial is below ——
Tickets –
Museum Entry Fee for Indians – Rs 20
Museum Entry Fee for Foreigners – Rs 200
Which is free for school children and Army personnel visiting in uniform
Timings –
Its open from 10 AM to 5 PM Except for Mondays and all national holidays.