Things To Do in Chennai

Unfortunately, the city's attractions are very spread out, and getting around can be nightmarish; select a few choice sights in one area or get an air-conditioned taxi for the day.

South Chennai -- Exploring Marina Beach and the temples and churches of Mylapore, the old heart of Chennai, can be done on foot; to cover the sights further south you're probably best off hiring a car for the better part of the day; be prepared for traffic.

Presuming you've already spent the night in Chennai, get a predawn start by taking in the early morning activities along the 12km (7 1/2-mile) Marina Beach -- if you're there early enough (around 6am) you can watch the fishing boats being launched. If you'd rather sleep in, save the beach for dusk, when it becomes a colorful pageant of boys playing cricket, families strolling, vendors selling souvenirs, and food carts offering fast-food snacks. Given that it's the world's second-longest city beach you might want to concentrate your energies on the best area: the vicinity of Triplicane, along Kamaraj Road, walking towards South Beach Road.

The 8th-century Parthasarathy Temple (off Triplicane High Rd., west of South Beach Rd.; daily 7am-noon and 4-8pm) is very near the main drag of Marina Beach; dedicated to Krishna, it is believed to be Chennai's oldest temple, though extensively renovated by the Vijaynagar kings in the 16th century.

Farther south (this is quite a long walk, but pleasant enough given it's along South Beach Rd. with views of the beach and sea; if it's too hot, catch a rickshaw), near the lighthouse, lies Mylapore's Basilica of San Thome (San Thome High Rd., Mylapore; daily 6am-6pm), where the so-called final resting place of Thomas the Apostle has become a neon-lit attraction. Legend has it that St. Thomas, one of Christ's disciples, was martyred at St. Thomas Mount after spending the final years of his life preaching on a nearby beach. Stained-glass windows recount the slain saint's tale, and wooden panels depict Christ's final days on earth. The interior is also now decked with modern kitsch: bits of tinsel, polystyrene, and a halo of fairy lights.

Near the basilica (1km west) is Chennai's most impressive temple: Kapaleshvara (also spelled Kapaleeshwar/Kapaleswarar; off Kutchery Rd. and Chitrukullan N. St., Mylapore; daily 6am-12:30pm and 4-8:30pm) is a classic example of Dravidian architecture, and the thronging devotees will give you an idea of what Tamil Nadu's devout worship is all about. The temple is marked by a 36m (118-ft.) goparum (gateway) tower adorned with detailed figures and inscriptions dating from A.D. 1250; if you're destined for the temples of Tamil Nadu this is a fine foretaste (though by the same token, missable if you're pushed for time). A hive of activity at the best of time, the place really comes alive during the Arupathumoovar Festival, held usually around 10 days in March. From here you can walk to Luz Church (Luz Church Rd.), built by the Portuguese, and said to be the oldest church in Chennai.

If the congestion and chaos of Chennai has you beat, hop in a cab and visit the peaceful 16th-century Church of our Lady of Expectations (Senhora da Expectação), atop St. Thomas Mount. Built in 1523 by the Portuguese, the little church provides fine views over the city and is serenely removed from the city's nonstop commotion. Along the way (or on the way back), spend some time roaming the gardens of the Theosophical Society, a sprawling 108 hectares (270 acres) of rambling pathways and shaded by trees including an enormous Banyan tree, said to be 400 years old. The society was founded in 1875 in New York by American Civil War veteran Col. Henry S. Olcott and Russian Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. They based their belief primarily on Hinduism but promoted the equality and truth of all religions. The duo moved it to Chennai in 1882. The international headquarters of the society is still here, in the 1776 Huddlestone mansion, where relief imagery and quotations representing various faiths are on display, and there is an excellent library, though to gain full use of the latter you need to register with the society (E. Adyar; tel. 044/2491-3528, -7198, or -2904; daily 8:30-10am and 2-4pm).

Central Chennai -- At the heart of Chennai, Anna Salai is the city's major business-lined artery. North of Anna Salai is Egmore, where you will find Chennai's top museum, and to the west, Nungambakkam, an upmarket residential area that is home to an increasing number of hotels and businesses, as well as Khader Nawaz Khan Road, where you will find the densest concentration of Chennai's boutique and high-street stores. Best to hop onto auto-rickshaws to get around this congested part of the city.

The Government Museum and National Gallery (Pantheon Rd.; tel. 044/2819-3238; admission to Pantheon Complex Rs 250; camera fee extra; Sat-Thurs 9:30am-5pm) is considered one of the finest receptacles of 10th- and 13th-century bronze sculpture in the country, including the Chola Nataraj -- sculptures of Shiva dancing in a ring of cosmic fire, these are almost as definitive of India as the Taj Mahal. The museum, a complex of six buildings and 46 galleries, is a definite stop if you're at all interested in Indian art as there are also 11th- and 12th-century handicrafts and Rajasthani, Mughal, and Deccan paintings. One of the buildings in this complex is the beautifully renovated Museum Theatre, where you can sometimes catch a dance or a music performance. While in Egmore, pop into St. Andrew's Kirk (off Periyar E.V.R. High Rd., northeast of Egmore Station, Egmore; tel. 044/2561-2608; daily 9am-5pm) -- inspired by London's St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. Andrew's steeple rises 50m (164 ft.) into the air; you can climb this to reach a small balcony for a good city view. Alternatively, head south to Khader Nawaz Khan Road for some retail therapy.

Northern Chennai -- A tour to admire George Town's grand architectural colonial heritage -- the main reason to venture north -- can mostly be covered on foot (heat allowing) -- best on a Sunday when traffic is at a minimum.

Set aside a few hours to visit Fort St. George (Kamaraj Rd.) -- the first bastion of British power in India, constructed in 1640. The cluster of gray and white colonial buildings with pillared neoclassical facades now houses the Tamil Nadu State Legislature and the Secretariat. Visit its Fort Museum (tel. 044/2567-1127; admission Rs 100; Sat-Thurs 10am-5pm; still camera without flash allowed with permission from tourist office; video camera extra fee) to see the collection of portraiture, oil paintings, sketches, vintage photographs, silverware and etchings that reveal the nature of colonial life in early Madras. In the compound you will also find Asia's oldest existing Anglican church, St. Mary's (daily 9:30am-5pm), incidentally where Yale University's founder, Gov. Elihu Yale, was married. The church has numerous 17th- and 18th-century gravestones -- look for the Latin memorial to Mrs. Elizabeth Baker (1652), believed to be the oldest British inscription in India.

Just north of the fort is the red-sandstone High Court (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm), built in the mid-19th century in the Indo-Saracenic style, and still in use today. Guided tours of the building take in the various courtrooms, many of which are remarkably decorated. Busy George Town, bounded by Rajaji Salai and N.S.C. Bose Road, was once known as "Black Town," a racist appellation for a settlement occupied by East India Company textile workers who came from Andhra Pradesh in the mid-1600s (the name "Chennai," incidentally, is derived from the name given to the area by the dyers and weavers who lived here: Chennapatnam). Today, George Town is a bustling collection of streets that should be explored on foot -- but again, not a good idea in the middle of the day.

Tip: Fans of the iconic Enfield Bullet, a contemporary classic due to its looks rather than performance, may know that it is manufactured in a Chennai factory (18km/11 miles north of Anna Salai); you can arrange for a 90-minute tour of the factory, a highly recommended experience for motorbike enthusiasts or anyone with a yen for the nostalgic (tel. 044/4204-3300; www.royalenfield.com; Rs 500; Mon-Fri 9:30am-5:30pm). Ironically there are no Enfield tours of Tamil Nadu.

Great Guided City Walks

Storytrails (tel. 994-004-0215; www.storytrails.in) conducts a number of interesting walking tours through Chennai -- in many ways, this is the best introduction to an Indian city, particularly for newcomers to India. The Peacock Trail (Rs 595, including breakfast; 7 or 7:30am-10 or 10:30am, or evenings) covers the ancient temples and heritage of Mylapore, the old heart of modern Chennai, said to predate the city by some 2,000 years. The Bazaar Trail (Rs 795; 4:30-7:30pm) takes you through the historic, colorful, chaotic, and vibrant George Town on foot and cycle rickshaw, visiting (among others) flower and vegetable markets, an experience that gets you feeling as close to local as is possible. But perhaps the best (if you're as much as a fan of southern Indian cuisine as we are) is the Spice Trail (Rs 1,500, including lunch; 9am-2pm), in which you are taken from narrow streets to fine-dining restaurants to experience the delicious and diverse flavors of South India, with advice on how to re-create some of the recipes provided along the way; come hungry!

Chennai isn't charming, but it does offer good shopping -- if you want a one-stop mall destination, head to the labyrinthine Spencer Plaza, conveniently located opposite Taj Connemara. Said to be the largest shopping complex in South India, Spencer Plaza was Chennai's first mall, and is still the most popular, but with low ceilings and claustrophobic corridors, and a generally confusing layout, this is not mall shopping as you know it in the West. It has around 400 shops; if you haven't for instance had a chance to shop at the famous FabIndia, where you can pick up cotton garments, kurtas (tunics), and ethnic furnishings and linens for next to nothing, you can do so at the small Spencer Plaza outlet. There are however five more outlets in the city, all open daily; if you hate malls, the best (and biggest) FabIndia outlet is in a beautifully renovated heritage home: Ilford House, 3 Woods Rd. (off Anna Salai; tel. 044/2851-0395 or 044/5202-7015). Spencer Plaza also has an outlet of Hidesign, the Pondicherry-based outfit renowned for top-quality leather goods, created by Indian craftsmen and internationally renowned Italian designers. There is also a Hidesign in the Ispahani Center (one of the city's smallest, glitziest and most peaceful malls) located on Nungambakkam High Rd.; tel. 044/2833-2111 or 044/5214-149); here you can also pop into Casablanca for men and women's wear (women shouldn't miss a look at particularly the Gecko range). But perhaps the best shopping experience, also in Nungambakkam, is to stroll along Khader Nawaz Khan Road: potholed it may be, but Chennai's retail "golden mile" holds the densest concentration of Indian high-street designer stores in the city (as well as, bizarrely, a Marks & Spencer). If you're not going to Pondicherry, this is where you can browse the goods produced by the community in the City of Dawn at Naturally Auroville Boutique (8 Khader Nwaz Rd.; tel. 044/2833-0517); also pop into Cotton World just above, and don't miss Evoluzione at #3 (tel. 044/4213-9800).

If you prefer a more sanitized environment, browse the Taj Coromandel's Khazana Shop (37 M.G. Rd.; tel. 044/5500-2012 or -2827), where you'll find a particularly good selection of top-quality silks, saris, and various objets d'art in an upmarket, luxurious environment (and pay the price). Across the road from the Coromandel, Central Cottage Industries Emporium (672 Anna Salai; tel. 044/2433-0809 or -0898) is the fixed-price government emporium with a virtual monopoly on package tourist shoppers. Farther up the road is Poompuhar, the government emporium of Tamil Nadu (818 Anna Salai, near recommended bookstore Higginbothams), which has a better selection of art pieces unique to the state -- this is a good place to pick up a Thanjore painting or woodcarving, or bronze figurines. Before you reach Poompuhar you will pass the respected Victoria Technical Institute (www.vitichennai.com), also on Anna Salai, which stocks predominantly paintings and carvings.

Cane & Bamboo (21 Marshalls Rd., Egmore; tel. 044/2852-8672) is another good shop for curios and gifts -- trays, bowls, spoons, lamps, and other handicrafts made of different types of wood sourced from all over India -- and managed by the knowledgeable Mrs. Thangam Philip, who can tell you about the different artifacts she stocks. But perhaps our favorite Chennai shop is Amethyst at 14 Padmavathi Rd. in Gopalapuram: an excellent collection of clothing, furniture, and souvenir handicrafts made with Indian fabrics and a mix of traditional and fab modern Indian design elements (look out for the Avadh collection of contemporary clothes from Lucknow with "retro" accents, and stunning jewelry made by Amrapali) and a great coffee shop where you can relax while pondering just what to purchase. Nearby is Kalpa Druma (71 Cathedral Rd., Gopalapuram; opposite Chola Sheraton tel. 044/2811-7652 or -1695), spread across three buildings, one of them five stories high, for a huge variety of housewares, handicrafts, gifts, and antique furniture across all budgets -- hard to believe that Chennai has the only outlet! Like Amethyst, Chamiers (85 Chamiers Rd, tel. 24311495; www.chamiersshop.com) offers a holistic shopping experience, with a cafe where you can sip organic coffee or fruit juice. Aside from the variety of gifts, and the well-known international Indo-Western brand Anokhi, there's Lokessh Ahuja, an interesting menswear range. Finally, even if you have absolutely no intention of buying a silk sari, you must visit Nalli Chinnasami Chetty (9 Nageswaran Rd., T. Nagar, near Panagal Park; tel. 044/2434-4115; www.nallisilk.com), a Chennai institution, where you can't help but fall in love with the exquisite silks, including the famous Kanchipuram silks. While on the busy shopping mecca of T. Nagar, look out for Kazaana Jewellery (the other outlet is on Cathedral Rd., the first shop in India to introduce a "guarantee card" to buy back any item at market rate); aside from quality saris and silks, T Nagar street is one of the best places to look for clothing bargains, while Pantheon Road is the place for cheap but attractive linen. And eco-warriors shouldn't leave town without looking over Prana: Live Natural (D6 6th St., near Chintamani, Anna Nagar East; tel. 044/4217-0077): organic clothing for men and women, all natural or naturally dyed (or "safe-chemical" dyed).

Unlike Bangalore, Chennai doesn't have much of a nightlife, thanks to its rather orthodox values, and a police force that keeps a strict eye on official closing time: midnight. The only real options are located within upmarket hotels, making access relatively easy for foreign visitors. If all you want is to have a drink, one of the classiest places to do so is still the Leather Bar (tel. 044/4267-6000), at The Park hotel on Anna Salai. Afterwards, saunter over to The Park's nightclub, Pasha (tel. 044/5214-4000; Wed-Sun), a crowded club that's all about being seen -- it warrants a visit even just for a few minutes to watch (easy if you're residing at The Park, which automatically gives you free access). Another groovy watering hole, attracting a slightly older crowd, is Havana (tel. 044/4225-2525), in the Raintree Hotel -- this is more of a lounge-bar, comfortable for people-watching and particularly entertaining when the (small) disco floor gets productive. The Bike & Barrel at The Residency Towers is more faux English pub than disco, and has the awful habit of holding karaoke nights, but on certain nights the place is transformed into a more happening spot -- look out for evenings when DJs Anto and Vivek spin retro remixes and reedits, or play popular motion picture sound tracks. More highbrow fare is served at Rhapsody, the lounge-bar at Courtyard by Marriot -- while there's no dance floor it's a great venue, and like Havana attracts a more sophisticated local crowd. Alternatively, head over to Distil (tel. 044/5500-0000) at the Taj Connemara: With large-screen TVs, it has a bit of a sports-bar feel, but when it's full it has an energetic buzz, and the fresh fruit cocktails are great: try the lychee vodka or the watermelon martini. Fort St George (tel. 044/6600-2827) at Taj Coromandel serves the most expensive beer in the city, and attracts a suitably well-heeled and glossy clientele.