Central Kolkata

Bowbazar

Gold, teeth and the Chinese breakfast market, on one road.

Known for
Jewellers, dentists, Tiretta Bazar, kochuri at dawn
Best hour
Six in the morning, at Tiretta Bazar
Walk
30 min, 5 stops
Bowbazar

A road of goldsmiths and dentists that also holds the last of the old Chinese quarter and one of the best breakfasts in India.

01

Photographs

Photographs of the quarter. Open one to see it full size.

02

Must-see buildings

  • Tiretta Bazar

    The old Chinese quarter. Sea Ip and Toong On temples are nearby.

  • Bowbazar goldsmiths' lanes

    First-floor workshops, working to order, with the shutters half up.

  • Sealdah Station

    East along the road. Where the first tram line started in 1873.

03

Where to eat

  • Tiretta Bazar breakfast market

    Off Bowbazar, 6–7:30am

    Pork buns, fish ball soup, momos. Gone by eight.

  • Sharma Tea House

    Bowbazar

    Kochuri and cholar dal at dawn.

  • Chacha's Hotel

    Bowbazar

    Mughlai paratha and mutton curry, at a shared table.

04

Things to see

  1. 01

    Tiretta Bazar at six

    Twenty minutes of it, then it is over for the day.

  2. 02

    A goldsmith at work

    Blowpipe, charcoal, and a bench that has not changed in a century.

  3. 03

    Sea Ip Church

    One of the surviving Chinese temples in the old quarter.

Where this sits

Loading map

27 quarters · pinch or use + / − to zoom

Also in Central Kolkata