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Tamilnadu Attractions

Marina Beach

The natural sandy beauty and spacious promenade and beautiful gardens of the beach attracts tourists visiting Chennai. Chennai is blessed with the second largest beach in the world,this beach is a 12-km long stretch, made beautiful by the wonderful face lift given by Governor Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff in the early 1880's, and is a major tourist attraction today.With its natural silver sand and spacious promenade and exotic gardens, the beach attracts tourists visiting Chennai. It has acquired a South Indian aura with vendors hawking wares ranging from shell and glass baubles to kites and fruit juices. The Marina, however, is large enough to accommodate all visitors as well as the hawkers and is often the venue for important state functions.

Chennai Aquarium

Aquarium that lies close to the the Marina beach and has some of the most exotic collection of tropical sea fishes and fresh water fishes. The aquarium gives a chance to have a closer look at the aquatic life. The Ice House, which was used to store ice brought from Great Lakes in North America, is south to the Aquarium and of course the Anna And MGR Samadhis are worth watching. Situated on the beach, the Anna and MGR Samadhis, that are the memorials of the most popular, former Chief ministers of the state, attract good crowd everyday.

Fort St. George

Fort St. George in Chennai that symbolizes the beginning of British rule in India. The guide told me that presently that place is used as the offices of the Tamil Nadu Secretariat and the Legislative Assembly. In fact. today it is the commercial center of Chennai where the streets are crowded by the buyers and sellers of different goods.

Fort Museum :

It is at Fort St. George. Museum has 10 rooms displaying the documents of Indian History. The old uniforms, coins, padlocks, old prints and palanquins are displayed here. The banquet hall upstairs has a collection of paintings of the governors and officials of the British regime. Timing : Saturday to Thursday from 1000 to 1700.

The Government Museum

The Government Museum in Chennai is located on Pantheon Road in Egmore. What was originally a group of buildings spread over 16.25 acres of land belonging to eminent British citizens is now a repository of paintings, antique jewelry, sculpture and archaeological wonders. The Madras Literary Society mooted the proposal for a museum and was assisted by Sir Henry Pottinger in setting it up. This museum was housed in the College of Fort St. George, which was located on College Road. It then developed and expanded and moved to its present location. The Public Library (Connemara Public Library) was started here in 1853. The Chennai Museum celebrated its Centenary on November 27, 1951.

Valluvar Kottam

Opened in 1976 in memory of the poet-saint Thiruvalluvar, Valluvar Kottam is a massive auditorium, constructed on reclaimed land from an unused lake filled with the city's garbage and debris. The auditorium can seat up to 4000 people.

All 1330 verses of the poet's epic - the Thirukkural, are inscribed on the granite pillars that surround the auditorium. The auditorium itself is not supported by any pillars!

There is a 101-feet high temple chariot structure with a life-size image of the poet in it. The base of the chariot shows in bas-relief the 133 chapters of the Thirukkural. Over 3000 blocks of stone were used to create this memorial to Tamil culture.

Open from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm.
Closed on Fridays and National holidays.

Basilica of Saint Thomas

This Cathedral is at the end of Kutchery Road, Mylapore. It is believed that the Apostle Saint Thomas lived his last years in South India. This Cathedral was originally built in 1504. It was rebuilt in 1890 with a 180 ft basilica. It is believed that St. Thoma's body was entombed inside this neo-Gothic structure.

Kapaleeshwar Temple

The Kapaleeshwar Temple is located in Mylapore in Chennai is a fine example of eight-century Pallavan architecture and is the oldest temple in the city. This temple forms a nucleus for the crowded residential area of Mylapore. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Kapaleeshwar Temple is characteristic of the Dravidian architectural style with its elaborate and intricately carved Gopuram, mandapams and a tank. You can find

fragments of inscriptions dating back to 1250 AD. As legend has it, Lord Shiva is purported to have pinched off one of the heads of Brahma so as to arrest his pride. As a form of penance, Brahma installed a Shiva Lingam in this spot to do penance. This Lingam is known as Kapaleeshwarar. In the courtyard of the Kapaleeshwar Temple, you can find a small shrine of Goddess Parvathi in the form of a peacock worshipping her consort Lord Shiva.

Thousand Lights Mosque

Built in mid-1800 in the land donated by Nawab Wallajah, this mosque last rebuilt in 1981, has two 64' tall minarets. The mosque also houses a library, a burial ground and guesthouses. It is called the Thousand Lights Mosque because of the legend that over one thousand lamps had to be used to light up the Assembly Hall that stood at this same spot. This multi-domed mosque, with sayings from the Holy Koran painted on its walls, comes alive during the annual Moharram.

Snake Park

There are more than 40 species of common snakes of India here. The crocodiles, chameleons, monitor lizards and tortoises can also be seen in their natural setting.

St. Thomas Mount

St. Thomas Mount was built in 1523 by the Portuguese at the summit where Saint Thomas was said to have been killed. St. Thomas was the apostle of Christ who was believed to have reached the western coast of India around 52 and 72 AD. He is then said to have traveled to Mylapore in Chennai. The Little Mount area or Chinnamalai is the area where he spent the last years of his life.

A flight of 160 steps takes you to the church on St. Thomas Mount. In the church at St. Thomas Mount, you can find the painting of the Madonna that is said to have been done by St. Luke. The Bleeding Cross is an interesting relic here. This cross has stains resembling bloodstains that seem to reappear even after they are scrubbed off. The Cross is said to have 'bled' first during Mass in 1558.

T. Nagar

The place is an important center for shopping and entertainment. The main marketplace in T. Nagar is Pondy Bazaar. Located on Theyagaraya Road, Pondy Bazaar spans a stretch of slightly over a kilometre. Pavement shops found in Pondy Bazaar sell everything ranging from soap cases to combs, at cheap and affordable rates. Some of the bigger stores adorning Pondy Bazaar are Rathna Stores, Raymonds, Krishna Tulasi, Titan watches and Naidu Hall.

On the other side of Panagal Park is South Usman Road. In this vicinity are located Chennai's biggest silk saree shops - Nalli Chinnaswamy Chetty and Sri Kumaran Silks. Some new entrants also compete with them, mainly The Chennai Silks, RMKV and Pothys.

Many prominent jewellers are also to be found here. The famous GR Thanga Malagai, Lalitha Jewellery, Balu Jewellers and many new players have set up shop next to each other.The road to the Mambalam station (Renganathan Street) is crowded with shoppers during the day time. The Saravana stores dominates this street.