Kolkata rewards a thin wallet better than any other Indian metro: most of its great sights ask nothing at the gate, the Hooghly commuter ferry costs ₹6, and a full street meal rarely passes ₹100. Three days here run comfortably under ₹700 a day.
Kolkata's 1767 Christian burial ground at the Mullick Bazar corner: some 1,600 moss-eaten pyramids, urns and obelisks under old banyans. Open 08:00–16:30 daily with no ticket, only a visitors' register at the lodge.
Mother Teresa's plain white tomb and the bare upstairs cell where she lived, at 54A AJC Bose Road. Free entry 08:00–12:00 and 15:00–18:00, closed Thursdays; the tomb room opens straight off the inner courtyard.
An 1835 neoclassical mansion still lived in by the Mullick family, crammed with Rubens canvases, Murano chandeliers and a courtyard menagerie of pelicans. Entry is free but requires a no-cost permit; shut Mondays and Thursdays.
The 1841 Palladian riverside colonnade below Vidyasagar Setu, restored with lawns and a paved Hooghly promenade. The ghat and the adjoining Circular Railway platform cost nothing; families arrive at dusk for ₹10 clay-cup tea.
The 1874 red-brick Gothic warren off Lindsay Street holding over 2,000 stalls. Entry is free; Nahoum & Sons, the Jewish bakery inside, sells fruit-cake slices from ₹40, and the fish and meat halls open at 07:00. Closed Sunday.
A single alley off Esplanade East where clerks queue at wooden benches for Chitto Babu's chicken stew with buttered bread at around ₹70, and fish fry at ₹50. Cooking starts near 11:00 and the pots empty by 16:00.
A 1.5km stretch of secondhand book stalls around Presidency University where paperbacks start at ₹30 and haggling is expected. Upstairs in Albert Hall, the Indian Coffee House has poured infusion coffee at ₹25 since 1942.
The lane beside Nakhoda Mosque becomes a pavement grill strip after dark: beef suta kebab at ₹40 a skewer, Adam's mutton kebabs, winter haleem and shami patties. Busiest 19:00–23:00, with most plates under ₹100.
The commuter launch from Fairlie Place jetty to Howrah Station costs ₹6 and takes eight minutes, passing directly beneath the cantilevers of Howrah Bridge. Boats leave every 15 minutes from 08:00; buy a metal token at the window.
The 1938 Ramakrishna Mission headquarters on the Howrah bank, its facade deliberately fusing Hindu, Islamic and Christian forms into one silhouette. Grounds and temple are free, open 06:00–11:30 and 16:00–20:00, with shaded riverside lawns.
Rani Rashmoni's 1855 temple with twelve Shiva shrines along the river, where Ramakrishna served as priest. Entry is free and the ₹15 ferry from Belur Math jetty lands at the steps; shoe deposit at the official counter costs nothing.
A quiet stepped ghat in north Kolkata where the Hooghly broadens and neighbours play carrom on the platform at sunset. No ticket, no vendors chasing you, and the Kumartuli idol-makers' workshops sit ten minutes south along Rabindra Sarani.