Bandel Basilica

West Bengal

The chief reminder of the Portuguese presence on the Hooghly River is the Bandel Basilica, Bengal's oldest and perhaps most loved church, built in 1599 and often reconstructed since. There are good views from the balcony above its portico, with its statue of Our Lady of Happy Voyage.

The ship's mast in a glass-sided shed was gifted to the church by a 17th-century Portuguese sea captain in thanks for surviving a storm in the Bay of Bengal (it stood upright in the grounds until broken in a 1910 storm).

Contact

Address

Bandel

Get In Touch

https://www.bandelchurch.com/

Suggest an edit to this attraction

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Belur Math
19.89 MILES
Set very attractively amid palms and manicured lawns, this large religious centre is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, inspired by 19th-century…
Victoria Memorial
25.98 MILES
The incredible Victoria Memorial is a vast, beautifully proportioned festival of white marble: think US Capitol meets Taj Mahal. Had it been built for a…
Botanical Gardens
25.61 MILES
Despite being an awkward journey by public transport, Kolkata’s lovely 109-hectare Botanical Gardens makes for a great place to escape from the city’s…
Kumartuli Idol-makers
22.08 MILES
Countless clay effigies of deities and demons immersed in the Hooghly during Kolkata’s colourful pujas (offering or prayers) are created in specialist…
Marble Palace
23.31 MILES
Built in 1835 by a raja from the prosperous Mallick family, this resplendent mansion is as grand as it is curious. Its marble-draped halls are overstuffed…
Indian Museum
25.02 MILES
India's biggest and oldest major museum celebrated its bicentenary in February 2014. It's mostly a lovably old-fashioned place that fills a large…
Tagore’s House
23.13 MILES
The stately 1784 family mansion of Rabindranath Tagore has become a shrine-like museum to India’s greatest modern poet. Even if his personal effects don’t…
Mullik Ghat Flower Market
23.29 MILES
Near the southeast end of Howrah Bridge, this flower market is fascinatingly colourful virtually 24 hours a day. However, if you visit at daybreak, you'll…

View more attractions

Nearby West Bengal attractions

1. Hooghly Imambara

0.82 MILES

Between Chinsurah and Bandel, you can climb the lofty clock tower of the romantically crumbling Imambara, which has breathtaking views of the Hooghly…

2. Hanseswari Temple

3.11 MILES

About 6km north of Bandel, Bansberia is home to the imposing Hanseswari Temple, devoted to an avatar of the goddess Kali. With 13 pinnacled sikharas …

3. Institut de Chandernagor

4.62 MILES

In the old French governor's mansion on Chandannagar's riverfront road, the Institut has an interesting museum telling the story of colonial history on…

4. Dakshineswar

18.33 MILES

The heart of this vibrant riverside complex is the cream-and-red, multiturreted 1847 Kali Temple shaped like the Sacré-Cœur. The site is where the Bengali…

5. Ramakrishna Mandir

19.89 MILES

The centrepiece of the Ramakrishna Mission complex at Belur Math is the huge 1938 Ramakrishna Mandir, which somehow manages to look like a cathedral,…

6. Belur Math

19.89 MILES

Set very attractively amid palms and manicured lawns, this large religious centre is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, inspired by 19th-century…

7. Sri Sarada Devi Temple

19.9 MILES

Within the Ramakrishna Mission compound on the Hooghly riverbank, several small shrines include the Sri Sarada Devi Temple, entombing the mystic's wife.

8. Belur Math Museum

19.94 MILES

Accessed from the Belur Math car park, this beautifully presented dual-level museum charts Ramakrishna’s life and the travels of his great disciple Swami…

View more attractions

placement: superzone
path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],

targeting:

{
  "url": "india/up-the-hooghly/attractions/bandel-basilica/a/poi-sig/1612078/1329406",
  "destination": "West-Bengal",
  "continent": "Asia",
  "country": "India",
  "region": "West-Bengal",
  "position": "superzone"
}