Victoria Memorial

Rising from manicured gardens at the edge of Kolkata's Maidan, the Victoria Memorial is a vast white marble building crowned by a central dome and a bronze statue that turns with the wind. Walk around the reflecting pools in the early morning and you will share the paths with joggers, families and couples escaping the city's bustle.

Inside, the memorial is a museum with galleries of paintings, manuscripts, weapons and artefacts that trace the history of Kolkata and of colonial India, including works by artists such as Thomas and William Daniell.

Conceived by Lord Curzon after Queen Victoria's death in 1901, the memorial was designed by Sir William Emerson and built in white Makrana marble from Rajasthan – the same marble used for the Taj Mahal. It opened to the public in 1921. Today it is administered by the Government of India's Ministry of Culture.

The building blends British and Mughal architectural ideas and remains one of the best-known landmarks of Kolkata, which was the capital of British India until 1911.

The memorial is near the Maidan in central Kolkata. Maidan and Rabindra Sadan stations on the Kolkata Metro Blue Line are within walking distance, and Howrah and Sealdah stations are a short taxi ride away.