Being an industrial city, Durgapur as such, has very little to offer to the casual tourist. The main tourist attraction is the Durgapur Barrage over the Damodar. It is most beautiful during the monsoons, when the river is swollen. The gardens around it are a good place to picnic. The Kumarmangalam Park in the Steel township with its artificial lakes and small hills is another attraction for picnickers and joggers. There is very little else you can see in Durgapur.

About 100 km to the north of Durgapur is Shantiniketan (district Bolpur), the university town founded by the Nobel Laureate (1913) Rabindranath Tagore (1860-1940). It is home to the famous Vishwabharati University, renowned for its fine arts departments. It also houses the great poet's works, where he spent the last 2 decades of his life. Among other places nearby, good for spending a day, are Mayapur (headquaters of ISKCON), Maithon, Tilaiya.