Tourism in West Bengal of much of the architectural variety in Kolkata owes its origins to European styles and tastes imported by the British and, to a much lesser extent, by the Portuguese and French. Currently Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan is the brand ambassador of West Bengal Tourism. The promotional films on West Bengal starring Shah Rukh Khan have been directed by Indian National Award winning filmmaker Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury. The state of West Bengal has significant architectural and natural heritage. The capital of the state, Kolkata is also known as the "City of Palaces". West Bengal is famous for its terracotta temples
Tourism in West Bengal which is 13.38% of the state's geographical area, compared to the national average of 21.02%. Part of the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, is located in southern West Bengal. The southern part of West Bengal can be divided into two regions: the Gangetic plain and the littoral mangrove forests of the Sundarbans. The coastal region of Purba Medinipur exhibits coastal vegetation. A notable tree from the Sundarbans is the ubiquitous "sundari" ("Heritiera fomes"), from which the forest gets its name. The distribution of vegetation in northern West Bengal is dictated by elevation and precipitation. For example, the foothills of