Victoria Memorial

Memorial To Queen Victoria And Museum Of Colonial India, Administered By The Government Of India · Kolkata, West Bengal

A vast domed memorial of white Makrana marble, the same stone as the Taj Mahal, built between 1906 and 1921 at the edge of the Maidan in Kolkata as a monument to Queen Victoria and to the British Raj at the height of its confidence. It was designed by William Emerson in a blend of Renaissance and Mughal styles, and a bronze Angel of Victory turns on top of the dome in the wind. Ironically it was completed a decade after the capital had moved to Delhi. Today it is a museum of the city and of colonial India, with paintings, including many by Thomas and William Daniell, manuscripts, weapons, the Calcutta gallery on the city's history, and the royal gallery. The museum is closed one day a week. The sixty-four acres of gardens around it, with reflecting pools and statues, are one of Kolkata's great public spaces, busy with families, couples and joggers, and the building is beautifully lit at night, when a sound and light show is held. It is at its best at sunrise from the gardens, or at dusk across the water.

1 Queens Way, Maidan, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700071, India

NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED; confirm before planning. The usual pattern: the museum galleries open from about 10 am to about 5 pm, with the ticket counter closing earlier, and CLOSE ONE DAY A WEEK, usually Monday, and on some national holidays. The gardens open early, around dawn, and close around dusk. The sound and light show runs in the evening with separate Bengali and English slots. Arriving on the closed day or at the last ticket hour is the usual way to lose the visit.

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