There was a time when the decisions that mattered in Bengal were made here, on this bank of the Hooghly where your boat moors. Murshidabad preceded Calcutta as the capital of the province, and what remains is a group of monuments that astonishes anyone who had never heard its name. River cruise ships stop practically at the foot of the main one: you walk down the gangway, cross a lawn, and the story begins. It was also near here, at Plassey, that a battle in 1757 tipped Bengal into British hands; the splendours you are about to explore date mostly from the century following that defeat of the nawabs, who became sovereigns without a crown.

The Palace of a Thousand Doors

The Hazarduari occupies the riverbank like a stage set. Built between 1824 and 1838 for Nawab Humayun Jah, it bears the signature of Duncan McLeod, a Scottish architect who gave Bengal a Doric-style monument worthy of a Greek temple. Its name means "a thousand doors": nine hundred actually exist, while the other hundred are merely trompe-l'œil, said to have served to disorient potential intruders. The interior, now a museum, lines up European paintings, porcelain, ceremonial weapons and enormous chandeliers. Allow a good hour to walk through its rooms, more if the colonial collections hold your attention.

Around the Esplanade

Coming out, look up at the white building facing the Hazarduari: the Nizamat Imambara, completed in 1847, ranks among the largest Shia congregation halls in India. Between the two stretches an esplanade where schoolchildren, goats and tea vendors cross paths, with an old mosque and a clock tower in the background. The scene is worth lingering over for a few minutes, simply to watch life flow between these 19th-century façades. On the lawn also sits a ceremonial cannon that local guides present with more or less embellished tales; let them tell you the various versions, as they are part of the local folklore.

By Rickshaw Through the Former Capital

The next attractions require a short ride, handled by electric rickshaws, often organized by your crew. The Katra Mosque, built in 1724, raises its massive minarets above a lively neighbourhood; its patron, Murshid Quli Khan, the city's founder, lies beneath the entrance staircase, a deliberate humility that still surprises visitors. Farther on, the Kathgola mansion tells another story: that of wealthy Jain merchants who built themselves a Georgian-inspired residence surrounded by gardens, proof that local prosperity did not belong to the nawabs alone.

A Few Practical Pointers

The stop generally takes place in the morning or afternoon, without great distances: everything happens within a radius of a few kilometres. Bring water, a hat and shoes that are easy to slip off for places of worship, which you enter barefoot. Stalls offer Murshidabad silk, woven in the region for generations; a few rupees in small bills make purchases easier. Traffic remains light compared to India's big cities, which makes rickshaw rides surprisingly peaceful: you meet more bicycles and carts than cars, and drivers take the time to slow down in front of each monument to let the cameras do their work.

When it is time to go back on board, the evening light softens the façade of the Hazarduari and fishermen haul in their nets in the current. You leave with a singular impression: that of having visited a capital that history set aside, but which has never stopped inhabiting its monuments. The river, for its part, continues on its way to Calcutta, as it always has.