Top Places to Visit on a Chennai Holiday:Chennai Charm is Irresistible

A colorful- crowded city full of great contrasts and diversities, Chennai, India, and has remarkable temples, fine dining, pompous festivals and shining beaches that add gusto to the city’s attractions…..

Madras to some and Chennai to some, this is a rugged city that will take a toll on you.  Crowded, dusty and polluted, Chennai is definitely not the city that will allure many at the first sight; however, with a little sweat one can find the city’s numerous treasures characterized in delicious cuisine, astonishing historical monuments and popular shopping places.

Chennai is a city where modernity and traditions co-exist in the light of wealthy heritage and culture. Chennai is fast evolving as one of the most sophisticated and advanced metropolitans. With its glut of ancient temples, art forms and historical features, the city is widely known as the Gateway to South India.

Perched on the Coromandel Coast, Chennai is an interesting fusion of the modern and ancient. With a riveting past, it is a window to incredible art forms and culture of South India. From Bharatnatyaman to Carnatic music, from beautiful churches to ancient temples, this city is a delight for tourists.

Chennai is a marvelous tourist attraction and every year hundreds of thousands of European visitors take flights to this city. Chennai tour-packages are always in huge demand and along the key British airlines, many India-based carriers provide convenient and affordable London to Chennai flights. 

Places to See on your Chennai Holiday

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Following are the Places to visit on a Chennai Holiday

By the Bay – Explore Beaches

Beaches are the top attractions in the magnificent city Chennai. Chennai is a coastal city offering myriad beaches to choose from. You could explore Marine beach, the world’s 2^nd largest beach and the most famous beach in the city.

The beach boasts of 14-galleries, a high-tech lighting system that attracts visitors during night and an internal walkway along the sands. Or you can choose Elliot’s beach in Besant Nagar, a nice young sibling of the revered Marine Beach.

Explore the Golden Sand, Shimmering Blue Marine Beach in Chennai 

Spend an Evening at the Magnificent Elliot’s Beach in Chennai

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There are serene and quaint beaches along the coastline including Covelong beach or Thiruvanmiyur beach, as well as Rameswaram, Muttukkadu and Kurusadai islands. 

Sacred Tales – Pay a Visit to the Temples

Chennai is a place with immense spirituality and spiritual faith, which is clearly reflected by means of medley of temples in the city. Temples in the city range from giant monumental structures to small stone edifices, each embracing some sort of significance in the lives of people.

A charming temple, Kapaleeswarar Temple is over 2,000 years old and is dedicated to the Great God, Lord Shiva. The temple observes special prayers and hosts festivals almost daily.

Satisfy your Spiritual Side, Visit Kapaleeswarar Temple in Chennai 

Parthasarathy Temple is one of the chief tourist attractions in the city. Dedicated to Lord Krishna, the temple is situated in the heart of the city and offers peaceful refuge in the hustle-bustle of the city.

Parthasarathy Temple in Chennai

Other marvelous temples in Chennai are Mangadu Kamakshi Temple, Thiruverkadu Mariammam Temple, Kalikambal Temple and Vadapalani Dandayudhapani Temple.

Southern Talkies…….. Explore Dakshinachitra

Other must visit place on Chennai Holiday is Dakshinachitra. Situated in Muttukkadu, a 25km ride from the centre of the city, along the East Coast Road is this living museum and heritage centre. Established in 1996, Dakshinachitra is truly a showcase of South India along with elaborative models of the performing arts, architecture and crafts of the Deccan region.

Carnatic music concerts and exquisite performances of southern dance styles like Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam are hosted at the spacious open air theatre.  Weavers, traders and potters can be seen at work here and some of their wares are offered for sale.

The craftsmen are always willing to show and teach, so you can try your hand at any or all these activities. The heart of the museum has life-sized models of conventional Southern homes to take you back to older days.

Dakshinachitra in Chennai

Shopping Spree

With innumerable shopping opportunities, Chennai is rightly a shopper’s delight, popular especially for its silk; the city has a wide range of hip malls and high-street designer boutiques off late. Traditional and modern artworks, paintings, jewelry and antiques items are also fairly sought-after in the area.

The great place for street shopping in the city, you must not-dare-to-miss Chennai being jostled in the rush of famous Ranganathan Street. Narrow roads full of shops and wide assortment of goods for sale make this street the busiest stretch of Chennai.

These artifacts are generally pretty affordable and ideally complement the cheap flights to India.

Ranganathan Street in Chennai

Speak Philosophy…… Vivekananda House

Nestles opposite to Marina, this is a remarkable landmark everyone passes by, but only a few walk into. The great Philosopher Swami Vivekananda resided here for a small duration in 1897 after which the building was transformed into a museum.

It houses a wide collection of Swami Vivekananda’s pictures, plaques engraved with his famous quotes and paintings showing the cultural evolution of India.

The bedroom of Vivekananda has been transformed into a place for meditation; however, the dining room, parlor and kitchen are open for visitors to see how the legend lived.

Vivekananda House in Chennai

Fauna and Flora……..Rendezvous with the Wildlife

Apart from the holy temples and magnificent beaches, wildlife is one of the most significant places to visit on Chennai Holiday. The wildlife in Chennai attracts travelers worldwide to its stunning shores.

Guindy National Park is a splendid attraction that irresistibly appeals to the nature buffs. It is relatively a small national park, but is among the very few situated inside the city. Having tropical dry evergreen vegetation, the Park is home to black bucks, jackals, snakes, spotted deer, and numerous differed invertebrates and over 100-species of birds.

 Guindy National Park in Chennai

The Arignar Anna Zoological Park is a not-to-miss for animal lovers. Frequented by around 700,000 people every year, the park has a wide variety species of wild life. The zoological park is a home to different species of amphibians, mammals, birds and reptiles.

Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Chennai

Picturesque Landscape….. Alamparai Fort

Get ready in the morning and pack up a picnic basket to head to Alamparai Fort for a serene picnic away from the hustle-bustle of the city. The fort is based near Kadapakkam, a simple village 50km away from Mamallapuram and is one of the lesser known intriguing places near the city.

Built in the 17^th century during the Mughal era, Alamparai Fort was captured and destructed by the British in 1760AD and even recently the structure was further harmed in 2004 tsunami. Only the battered ruins of the Fort now remain; nevertheless it is a picture-perfect spot by the beautiful sea by the waves resting at its base.

Alamparai Fort in Chennai

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These were some of the sumptuous attractions of the city that allures tourists from all over the world to take flights to Chennai. Lots of stunning sights to explore is what make Chennai Holidays adventurous. Hoodaki.com has a great array of flights to Krabi, Thailand from all key London and UK airports.