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Kolkata, a sprawling & thriving place of joyful individuals, rich culture, and a sweet dialect is a well-known metropolitan city towards the eastern periphery of India. The city is popular for its amazing collection of traditional dishes as well as places where you can shop to your heart’s content. The city is well connection with varied option for transportation such as government operated buses, autorickshaws, manual rickshaws, the age-old trams, and the latest metro rails. With such an amazing connectivity throughout the city, its easy to shop around without having to worry about the issue of getting from one place to another. From affordable markets in Kolkata to posh markets in Kolkata, this city is a paradise for shoppers that is spread across various popular areas.
Let’s get started with some of the popular markets of Kolkata that will amaze you with deals that are too good to deny.
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1. New Market
Kolkata was once the capital city of India before New Delhi took over in its position. Given its rich background, it’s obvious that the city holds a collection of things that are worth a visit. A similar history follows the New Market of Kolkata that started back in the year 1874 by the developer Mackintosh Burn and currently operates under the Kolkata Municipal corporation. With a series of 2000+ stalls aligned one after another beside the streets and incredibly amazing variety of fashion and goods for daily needs, you can get everything at cheap prices in this market, but you need to bargain.
If its your first time in the city and you have been looking for cheap markets in Kolkata, New Market surely makes a great place for pocket-friendly shopping. Although the market can get hot & crowded especially during the evening and Sundays, plan a trip on the weekdays during the afternoon or before it gets dark. Being one of the best markets in Kolkata, New Market will never disappoint you with anything you require from bags to earrings or maybe a beautiful dress.
2. Gariahat Market
Hopping from one corner to another in search of good markets in Kolkata? Drop down to the Gariahat Market which is one among the famous shopping markets in Kolkata. Located in the southern periphery of Kolkata, Gariahat Market spreads across the streets on either side with piles of clothes aligned in the shops with amazing variety of jewellery, clothes, as well as electronics.
A major faction of the market is comprised of the makeshift tents that house interesting collection of items that light up with the glittery lights that deck this long road. Every now and then, you will come across restaurants & food stalls that provide you amazingly aromatic food to amp up your energy to shop more. Shop for beautiful and cheaply priced kurtis and salwar that are great for a casual day to college or office.
Also Check : Water Parks in Kolkata
3. Esplanade Market
Located just beside New Market, the Esplanade Market flaunts a similar collection as its neighbour. From items that are pocket friendly to the expensive exotics, one can find ample products in budget price at this location. The streets are aligned with cosmetics, apparels, toiletries, products for daily use, fashion items, and so on. You can also find an underground market in the area comprised of brands and local shops that offer variety of collection when it comes to clothes, bags, shoes, jewelleries, etc.
Shop from the amazing collection of stoles to wrap up with your favourite outfit when looking for things at cheap prices at this top scorer among the local markets in Kolkata. You can also find cheap remakes of your favourite brand at this market with open spaces to hang out and rest a bit while you shop around watching the beautiful historic construction from the British era all around this most preferred name among the wholesale markets in Kolkata.
4. Hatibagan Market
The Hatibagan Market previously operated as one of the popular pet markets in Kolkata. The place once sold every variety of pets such as birds, rabbits, dogs, guinea pigs, etc. Now, due to the lack of space for keeping the pets, the market has been shifted to the Galiff Street Market. So, if you are looking for the dog markets in Kolkata, you can visit the same which is close to Hatibagan Market. Haitbagan Market now serves you with an amazing collection of sarees brought down from the Bengali tradition along with chunky jewelleries that gel well with the beautifully crafted ethnic sarees. Located in the northern periphery of Kolkata, if you are hunting for markets in Salt Lake Kolkata, you can reach this market by catching a local bus or cab by covering 7 kilometres.
Do not forget to help yourself with the phuchkas and chats available by the street to indulge in a savoury experience. The market is in close proximity to the popular area known as Shyambazaar. Hatibagan Market is a collection of shops, cinema halls, and small mark-shift stalls that have been a part of the market for generations. Apart from fashion wears, the market allows you access to home décor items that can be a great addition to your present style. One more thing that you need to keep in mind while shopping in Kolkata is to get cash as per your budget for shopping. The shopkeepers here do not have the means or gadgets to accept cards. While some might accept cards, its better to have some spare cash with you.
5. College Street Market
Need books at cheap prices? The College Street Market is one of the famous street markets in Kolkata with the largest collection of used-books ever seen in India. Not just that, it is largest in the entire globe. The streets all over are aligned with an endless show of bookstores with huge collections curated from cheaply available second-hand books.
The market also flaunts good collection of the books from renowned publishing houses with Kolkata’s rich culture jotted down with the use of beautiful words. When looking through the list of markets in Kolkata to shop at, do not forget to visit the College Street to look for a book of your choice. Even if you aren’t interested in purchasing anything from the market, the area can be a great subject for object photography or lifestyle photography for budding photographers.
6. Burra Bazaar
Also known by the name Bara Bazaar, this market located in the Central Kolkata area serves as one among the popular supermarkets in Kolkata that started as yarn & textile market expanding to a commercial nucleus that is one among the largest in India when it comes to wholesale items. The market is divided into four specialized sub-markets named Dhotipatti, tulapatti, fancypatti, and chinipattithat deal in several items. Searching for electronic goods? Burra Bazaar also specializes as one among the popular electronic markets in Kolkata.
Get beautifully crafted local jewelleries which can be paired with your clothing style. During festivals, the market transforms into beautiful collection of religious ingredients with makeshift stalls as high as 800 in numbers. When walking the streets in this market, you can easily notice people bargaining to get a good deal for items such ass footwear, clothing, or a new pendrive or mousepad.
7. Maniktala Fish Market
Who knows the art of cooking fish better than a Bengali? Although you can find amazing collection of fishes all around the city, wholesale fish markets in Kolkata serve you with the freshest pieces in multiple varieties. Maniktala Fish Market begins early in the morning at 5:30 am. Located at the northern periphery of Kolkata, this fish market brings you several choices such as bele, puti, mourala, bata, singhi, koi, papda, ilish, magur, etc. This market is especially crowded during the weekends, especially on Sundays, so if you are looking for Sunday markets in Kolkata, make sure you are ready for the crowd.
It is one among the oldest strips that serves as a shopping destination for the best thing Kolkata is known for when it comes to food practices. You can also grab local species of fishes which includes the prawns, catfish, and carp. On days with low supply, the prices here can reach heights but if you know the tricks to bargain good, you can get your favourite fish variety at cheap prices. However, when looking for markets to visit in Kolkata for buying fish, make sure you don’t go overboard and purchase too much as fishes go stale soon if not refrigerated in time. Moreover, fresh fishes taste much better than the refrigerated ones.
8. Kidderpore Fancy Market
As fancy as it sounds, the Kidderpore Fancy Market houses some of the best options when it comes to shopping in this joyful city. If you have been looking for fashion markets in Kolkata or markets in Kolkata for clothes, this market is a big collection of fancy good smuggled into the country from locations such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.
Make sure you tread through the market to hunt for amazing collection of the electronic goods. Not just that, this market brings you perfumes, accessories, clothes, food products, household goods, etc. Never agree on the first price laid down by the store owners in the market.
9. Terreti Market
Hungry for some Chinese food in the city? The Terreti Market is one among the best food markets in Kolkata that serves as a prime destination meant for the Chinese immigrants that have come to India from the later half of 18th century. The area once had a major population of 20,000 Chinese-Indian descendants. It is nicknamed as the city’s Chinatown. It is located at Tangra area of Kolkata that houses the rich legacy of dwindling Chinese-Indian population depicted via a huge collection of food.
From mouth-watering delicacies that come from the Indo-Chinese generations all the way to authentic Chinese food that comes from herbs found in China. You can also get some herbal Chinese medicines for various ailments in this area. The market is especially famous for the endless variety of the popular momos. The momos are actually dumplings that are steamed, deep fried, or simply fried comprised of fillings such as fish, chicken, vegetables, and pork.
10. Sealdah Fruit & Vegetable Market
The city houses a number of vegetable markets in Kolkata but the most renowned one among them all is the one at Sealdah. The market without a doubt is great for the wholesale collection of vegetables. However, one can also get fresh fruits from the local farms being sold by the farmers nearby. Everyday, several sellers from nearby villages come to town with the help of the local train and sell their produce at amazingly discounted tag. The market starts during the early half of the day with the dawn’s break.
Sacks packed with the fresh produce from farms are unloaded at this market every day. The market brings to you collection of high-quality fruits such as oranges, papayas, grapes, pomegranates, gooseberries, as well as the potassium-rich bananas at good prices. The more you purchase, the higher is the discount that you bag for yourself at this market. Popular restaurant owners and hotel industry name holders drop down at this market to for bulk purchase of vegetables and fruits at very economical prices in its freshest form.
Other Markets in Kolkata
- Juto Bazaar/Birsulhaat located at the Padmapukur CIT Road is one among the popular leather markets in Kolkata popular for items such as belts, shoes, bags, as well as raw materials.
- Rabindra Sarani is one among the popular ethnic retail markets in Kolkata known for hand-stitched collection of Angarkha, Lucknowi Kurta, Aligarh Kurta, etc.
- Malik Ghat Flower Market is a famous locale to shop for flowers at amazing prices with a collection of both common flowers as well as the exotic varieties.
- Floating Market Patuli is first of its kind in Kolkata with a big collection of anything that you want to buy such as chicken, vegetables, fish, etc.
- Chandni Chowk is all about electronics and electrical accessories.
So whether you are scrolling through the list of pet markets in Kolkata or shoe markets in Kolkata, the city brings you a plethora of places to hunt for your favourite items. The city is decked with vibrant, historic, and cheap flea markets comprising of local colourful goods. The vendors here usually pitch a price that is 3 to 4 times higher than what they will sell you at after you pitch some effort in bargaining. The sellers can be pushy at times, so remember to take your time before you give out your money for the item that you need.
