Digha is West Bengal's most popular sea resort, 187 km from Kolkata on the Bay of Bengal coast. Warren Hastings mentioned it in a letter to his wife in 1780 as a beautiful spot — then called Beerkul — and the 20th-century development of the town as a resort was pushed by West Bengal's first chief minister, Bidhan Chandra Roy. Today it is crowded on weekends with Bengali families and honeymooners, and quieter mid-week.
The beach is hard sand, wide, and gentle — the sea is shallow for about a mile out, which makes it relatively safe for swimming. You can drive on the beach at low tide. The town itself is a strip of hotels and restaurants along one main road, not especially pretty but functional. Sunrise and sunset are both visible from the beach, which faces roughly south.
New Digha is an extension of old Digha a few kilometres to the east, with more hotels and a small park with a lake. It tends to be slightly less crowded.
Shankarpur, 14 km east of Digha along the coast road, has a fishing harbour and a wide, less crowded beach with casuarina trees lining the shore. It is developing slowly as a resort and is a good alternative if you want Digha-style beach without the weekend crowds.
Chandaneshwar, 8 km from Digha across the Odisha border, has an old Shiva temple that draws pilgrims from both states.
The Jagannath Temple, built as a replica of the Puri original, is the main religious landmark in town and draws large numbers of pilgrims on weekends and festivals.
The best season is October through March. April–June is hot and humid. The monsoon (June–September) makes the sea rough and swimming inadvisable; local resorts are largely empty.