Check local listings in The Telegraph, The Times of India and Kolkata This Fortnight. Cal Calling, a handy monthly booklet with listings of exhibitions, retail outlets, bars, restaurants and more, is available from some of the more upmarket hotels, or you can buy it in the West Bengal Tourism Centre. Not quite as thorough (but still useful), CityInfo comes out every fortnight, available at major hotels.

The largest choice of cultural events is at the Academy of Fine Arts, 2 Cathedral Road (tel: (033) 2223 4302; website: http://academyoffinearts.tripod.com), with regular art exhibitions. The Alternative Art Gallery, 12D Park Street (tel: (033) 2229 1945), specialises in contemporary works by local artists.

Theatre and Dance: Regular dance, music and theatre programmes are held at Nandan Complex, 1/1A AJC Bose Road, which includes the Rabindra Sadan (tel: (033) 2223 9936), specialising in Bengali poetry readings, dance and drama and Sisir Mancha (tel: (033) 2223 5317), which hosts mainly Bengali musical evenings. Kala Mandir, 48 Shakespeare Sarani (tel: (033) 2247 9086), often puts on English-language music, drama or dance performances. There are also regular music, dance and theatre performances at the Academy of Fine Arts, 2 Cathedral Road (see above).

Film: A handful of local cinemas screen English-language films (check newspapers for details) including 89 Cinemas, EM Bypass, Salt Lake City (tel: (033) 2320 8900; website: www.89cinemas.com), Inox, Forum Shopping Mall, 10/3 Elgin Road and City Centre DC Block 1, Sector 1 (tel: (033) 2358 4499; website: www.inoxmovies.com), and New Empire Cinema, 1-2 Humayun Place (tel: (033) 2249 1299).

Nandan Cinema (see above) shows foreign art house films. The Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre, 36C Shyama Prasad (SP) Mukherjee Road (tel: (033) 2455 6942; website: www.seagullindia.com/samrc/samrchome.html), sometimes holds film festivals. The Goethe Institut, Max Mueller Bhavan, 8 Ballygunge Circular Road (tel: (033) 2486 6398; website: www.goethe.de/ins/in/kol/enindex.htm), has film festivals, especially featuring German films.