Best Places to visit in Chennai

Chennai (Madras) has a population of 11 million people, it is the home of Royal Enfield motorbikes and is the capital of Tamil Nadu. Probably not a first choice of tourist destination, however if you are here, why not make the most of it?

Grit your teeth and hail a tuk tuk. Agree a price before you set off and tell him you want a tour.

Fort St George is still in use as a military base. It was built in 1644 but you can go in the museum to see colonial era relics - coins, medals etc.. Not the most well set out, however the history of the East India Company (EIC) and subsequent British takeover is interesting.

There is St Mary's Church inside the Fort complex, dating from 1680 which is the oldest Anglican church in India. It is also one of the oldest British built buildings in Asia with grave stones sponsored by the EIC.

Walk along the beach with its many food stalls and stop for lunch along the way. Not the prettiest beach but it is certainly a pleasant change from the city chaos and frenetic pace of life in India. A drive along the beach road shows the demarcation line where the tsunami hit in 2004.

It is built over the tomb of St Thomas and one of only three churches in the world built over one of the twelve Apostles. Visit the underground tomb behind the church for a little piece of tranquility.

Interesting temple to walk around. Leave your shoes outside and you may choose to take a guide or not. It's a colourful temple of Dravidian architecture and originally dating back to 7th century. It was destroyed by the Portuguese and rebuilt in 16th century. There is a huge religious water tank tucked away behind the temple.

This is a beautifully calm temple situated in Mylapore. The surrounding gardens are a lush green with flowers and it is used as a prayer and meditation centre.

https://wanderlog.com/place/details/1706359/church-of-our-lady-of-light-luz-church?utm_source=chatgpt.comThis was the last religious building we could cope with and was probably the smallest and most interesting. The history portrayed in murals outside shows the story behind its construction. It was built in 1516 by Portuguese Franciscan missionaries who avoided a storm by following a divine guiding light. It is still used today which makes it quite enchanting.

Not really one for shopping, however a lively market is always interesting. There were cafes, restaurants, stalls selling belts, shoes, handbags, false plaits made from real hair, dangly decorations for your tuk tuks and so many sock stalls. Who on earth wears socks in India? I started looking, I couldn't see anyone wearing socks.

After so much chaos, dodging traffic, hooting vehicles, no pavements and hoards and hoard of people I gave up and sought sanctuary in Starbucks. Great coffee, a/c, lovely toilet with loo roll, peace and quiet for 30 minutes - this restored me back to my usual chilled out persona. A lovely experience to end our stay in Chennai

Hopefully you have a few more ideas now on how to spend some time in the heart of Tamil Nadu or maybe how to make the most of it. Good luck.