College Street: A Walk Through the World's Largest Second-Hand Book Market

College Street runs for about 900 metres through central Kolkata and is known to the city simply as Boi Para, or Book Town. It is described as the largest book market in India and Asia, and as one of the largest second-hand book markets anywhere in the world.

Books at every scale

The street takes its character from the bookshops that line it, ranging from established publishing houses to small kiosks that spill onto the pavement. Visitors browse everything from new editions and school and college textbooks to old, second-hand volumes and rare titles. The government tourism description notes that the range is so wide that almost any book in print, and many out of print, can be tracked down somewhere along the row.

The academic heart

The street draws its name from the concentration of colleges and universities around it, including the University of Calcutta, Presidency University, the Sanskrit College and University, and Calcutta Medical College. That academic setting has long made the area a centre of intellectual life in the city.

Set among the stalls is the Indian Coffee House, a cafe that has drawn students, writers and the city's intelligentsia for decades and remains a landmark stop for many who visit the street.

How to approach a visit

The best way to experience College Street is on foot, allowing time to wander between stalls rather than searching for a single shop. Prices for second-hand books are typically settled in conversation with the seller, so visitors should be prepared to browse patiently. A mid-morning or afternoon walk, ending with coffee, is a natural way to take in one of the city's defining cultural districts.