A day in colonial Kolkata: the Maidan, the Memorial and the river

Kolkata's colonial core is compact enough to walk in a day, and the walking is the point — this is a city that reveals itself at street level and hides at speed.

Start at the Victoria Memorial early, when the gardens open and the light is on the white marble. The building is the obvious photograph; the museum inside is better than most visitors expect, particularly the Kolkata gallery.

Walk north across the Maidan. It is enormous — a park the size of a district in the middle of the city — and crossing it on foot is the only way to understand how much space the colonial city gave itself. There will be cricket. There is always cricket.

The route north takes you past the Eden Gardens and towards BBD Bagh, where the government buildings and the Writers' Building sit around a tank of water and the architecture is unapologetically imperial.

End at the river. Howrah Bridge is best seen from underneath at the flower market — which runs along the bank and is at its most extraordinary early in the morning, so consider reversing this route entirely if you can manage the start.

Then take the ferry across to Howrah rather than the bridge. It costs almost nothing, takes ten minutes, and gives you the view of the city that every photograph of Kolkata is trying to reproduce.

One practical note: this is a monsoon city. Between June and September, plan around the afternoon rain rather than pretending it will not come.