Location: North of Maidan
Visiting Hours: 10 A.M.-5.30 P.M.
Admission Fee: Nil
(Tourists can contact the Joint Secretary to the Governor of West Bengal at Raj Bhawan, Calcutta. Telephone: 033-22001641)
Hit the Spot: One can avail of any bus to BBD bag or take any tram to Esplanade.
Photography / Video charges: Strictly prohibited.
Nearest Metro Station: Esplanade
Nearest International Airport: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
Time required for sight seeing: 2 hours.


The construction of the magnificent Raj Bhavan which had started in 1799, neared it's completion on 18 January 1803 by the Marquis of Wellesley and was inspired by the Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire. Interestingly, the Kedleston Hall is the ancestral house of Marquess Curzon, who became the Viceroy of India (from 1899 to 1904) and resided in the Government House exactly a century after Wellesly. This splendid structure is spread over an expansive 27 acres of land, with a total floor space of 84,000 sq.feet, and housed twenty-three Governors-General and, later, the Viceroys of British India, until the capital was shifted to Delhi in 1912.

In keeping with Lord Metcalfe’s imperial vision, the mansion soon emerged as the emblem of the powerful British Empire in India. Orchestrated by Wellesley’s famous doctrine “that India should be governed from a palace not a farmhouse”, the mansion is divided into a quatret of suites: The Prince of Wales suite in the north-west wing of the first floor, The Wellesley suite on the second floor in the north-eastern wing, The Dufferin suite on the second floor of north-west wing and the Anderson suite. The Wellesley suite houses the President, Vice President and the Prime Minister during their time of official visit whereas, the Anderson suite contains the famous Marble room. The Bhavan also has a Brown Dining Room which is used as the Breakfast room and the Throne Room which is the space for welcoming princes and holding royal audiences. The Banquet Hall with its archaic ceiling with recessed panels and gold embroidered pillars is built around a rectangular shaped open terrace and resembles a Roman courtyard. Even nowadays, the Banquet Hall hosts grand banquets in honor of eminent personages.

One can also find a gun mounted on a dragon towards the north gate of the Bhavan. Surrounding it are ten guns which were taken from the Chinese, in commemoration of the peace initiated by Treaty of Nanking by the Naval and Military forces of England and India under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker and of Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Gough.

A recent addition to the grandeur of the Raj Bhawan is an attractive herbal garden filled with twelve rare varieties of herbal and forested plants.

The last British occupant of the mansion was Sir Frederick Burrows. After the independence of India, the Bhavan housed the distinguished Mr.C. Rajagopalachari. Following Rajaji, the following people have lived at the Governor’s House as the governor of West Bengal:




Dr. Kailash Nath Katju:
21.06.1948
Dr. Harendra Coomar Mookerjee:
01.11.1951
Shrimati Padmaja Naidu:
03.11.1956
Mr.Dharma Vira:
01.06.1967
Mr.Shanti Swarup Dhawan:
19.09.1969
Mr.Anthony Lancelot Dias:
21.08.1971
Mr.Tribhuvan Narayan Singh:
06.11.1977
Mr.Bhairab Datt Pande:
12.09.1981
Mr.Anant Prasad Sharma:
10.10.1983
Mr.Uma Shankar Dikshit:
01.10.1984
Professor Saiyid Nurul Hasan:
12.08.1986
Mr.T. V. Rajeshwar:
02.03.1989
Professor Saiyid Nurul Hasan:
07.02.1990
Mr.K. V. Raghunatha Reddy:
14.08.1993
Dr. A. R. Kidwai:
27.04.1998
Justice Shri Shyamal Kumar Sen:
18.05.1999
Mr.Viren J. Shah:
04.12.1999
Mr.Gopalkrishna Gandhi:
14.12.2004 to till date

Special Event / Annual Event

Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations are held at the Bhavan on the 15th of August and the 26th of January respectively.

Grub Joints

Near to the Governor’s House lies the Chowringhee-Park Street-Esplanade stretch which is a Grubbers delight in Kolkata. There are numerous restaurants which offer a range of mouth watering delights: blends of home- feel Bengali cuisines, to the spicy Mughlai, to the sizzling Chinese, to Italian and Continental spreads.

If one wants to try on the flavours of Bengal one should visit the Peerless Inn or the Oh! Kolkata. For Mughlai freaks, there is Aminia, Rahmania and Shiraz; Mainland China, Marco Polo, Chung Wah and Golden Dragon offer delicious Chinese cuisine whereas Domino's at Russel Street and Pizza Hut at Camac Street excel in Italian delicacies. Indian Cricket icon Saurav Ganguly's signature restaurant-Saurav's- The Food Pavilion is a
grubbers delight whereas the British legacy is still examplarily followed by the Flury's. One could drop in at One Step up for Continental spreads whereas people looking for some cool beverages can drop in at the Barista or CCD!

Related External Link:
Rajbhavan Website