Alipore is threaded by Judges Court Road, Alipore Road, Burdwan Road, AJC Bose Road and Diamond Harbour Road (NH-117), linking it to central and south Kolkata, with extensive city bus services. It is served by Majerhat and Kidderpore stations on the Kolkata Suburban Railway's Circular line, while Kalighat and Jatin Das Park metro stations (Blue Line) lie close by.

The Kolkata Metro Purple Line's Majerhat station is operational, with the line being extended underground toward Khidirpur, Park Street and Esplanade/Eden Gardens.

Alipore is home to Lakshmipat Singhania Academy (CISCE, est. 1996) and lies close to well-regarded schools such as Sushila Birla Girls' School and Calcutta Boys' School in the adjoining Alipore/New Alipore belt.

The locality also houses the National Library of India at Belvedere Estate - India's largest library, under the Union Ministry of Culture, with a collection exceeding 2.5 million books and manuscripts - giving Alipore a strong institutional and academic character alongside its residential profile.

Alipore's economy is institutional, not industrial. It hosts the National Test House (est.

1912) on Judges' Court Road - a government testing laboratory under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs; the IMD's Alipore Observatory, India's first meteorological/seismological observatory (1875-77) and former IMD headquarters; the Alipore Judges' Court/District & Sessions Court; and a new GST Appellate Tribunal bench. Premium housing development by Godrej, Tata, Salarpuria Sattva and Merlin Group is a major local economic activity.

The Zoological Garden, Alipore (Alipore Zoo) is India's oldest formally established zoo, opened in 1876 and spread over about 18.8 hectares, with roughly 1,267 animals across 108 species and about 3 million visitors a year.

Nearby stand the National Library of India at Belvedere Estate, the 21-acre Agri-Horticultural Society of India garden (founded 1820, noted for its rose garden and orchidarium), and heritage sites tied to the freedom movement, including the Alipore Bomb Case courthouse and Alipore Jail.

Entertainment in Alipore leans toward shopping, dining and heritage leisure rather than large multiplexes: residents cite Simpark Mall and cinema halls such as Purna Cinema and Bharati Cinema Hall as nearby options.

The Agri-Horticultural Society's Annual Flower Show each January and the Alipore Zoo's peak winter crowds around Christmas and New Year are the area's biggest recurring public draws.

Alipore falls under Kolkata Municipal Corporation wards 74 and 82. The Kolkata Metro Purple Line's Joka-Majerhat stretch has been operational since 2024 and is being extended underground via new Mominpur and Khidirpur stations toward Park Street and Esplanade/Eden Gardens.

KMC has resurfaced DH Road and Alipore-area roads using plastic hot-mix technology to reduce potholes. As in much of low-lying south Kolkata, parts of the area see monsoon waterlogging during intense rainfall.