Asansol is an important commercial centre and the second largest city in West Bengal.  Being the central city for the coal belt, Asansol is heavily industrialized though many of the industries have fallen on hard times in recent years, leading to its transformation into a trading town that utilizes its position as the transport centre.
Around two thousand five hundred years ago, the region became an area of significant Jain activity. According to some, the last Tirthankar of Jain religion, Mahavira Vardhamana, used to live and work in the area.

Since Asansol is an industrial town and a transport hub there is little of tourist interest here though there are a few interesting places nearby that you can visit.
Nearby Places:
Shantiniketan - Visva-Bharati, founded by Rabindranath Tagore and now a central university and an institution of national importance, is located here. It is about 90 km from Asansol.
Vishnupur - the famous terracota temple town and home to major art and craft is about 100 km from Asansol. The Bankura horse, symbol of Indian handicrafts is produced at Panchmura, near Vishnupur. It is also the home of the Baluchari sari, initially woven with Ramayana and Mahabharata motifs but now modernized
Bakreswar – hot spring and temple is about 70 km from Asanasol.
Source:wikipedia