The capital city of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, is a beautiful and authentic city that offers a wide variety of places to visit that leaves all the tourists awe-struck with its magnificent beauty. Chennai, which was formerly known as Madras, is famous for its British style of architecture and tourist spots that includes the Connemara library and various other places. It is a place that is perfectly balanced with modern technologies and cultural heritage, which comes as an ancestral gift to its people.
Best time to visit Chennai
Being situated near the Bay of Bengal, Chennai is a humid city. Hence, it is best to visit this place during the winter season or the pre-monsoon season, which makes t the time tween October and February. During the monsoon season, although the place provides a breathtaking view of the lush green mountain ranges, the lace is highly prone to cyclone and floods.
Best Places in Chennai to Visit
The following is a list of places to visit in Chennai to make that out of the trip and make it a memorable one.
1. Velankanni Shrine
Also known as the Basilica of our lady of good health, this is an enormous church situated in Velankanni town in Tamil Nadu. It is located in proximity to Eliot beach and offers a great view of the Bay of Bengal. The marine shrine is famous for its Gothic revival architecture and stands with tall towers. Mass prayers are also conducted in the church in many languages such as English, Tamil, etc.
2. Marina Beach
Marina Beach is a must-visit place in Chennai. It is considered as the largest beach of India. The entire beach lining is covered with palm trees on its side and provides a soothing ambiance with the cold breeze that follows the waves. It is one of the best places to visit in Chennai with friends. The view is absolutely breathtaking during sunrise or sunset as it creates scenery of the sun on the water that looks totally mesmerizing. The Marina beach is also one of the best places to visit in Chennai for couples as it has a relaxing and romantic vibe to it. The place also has an old lighthouse located towards the southern end of the beach and has other places to visit, such as an aquarium and a park.
3. Fort St. George
The St. George Fort used to serve as a central point for all the British official work during the British rule in India. At present, it stands as a museum and fort open for public visits that en houses a wide variety of paintings, important treaties, and other documents, silverware, coins, arms, and weapons. It is situated at the Rajaji road near the legislature and secretariat, just at a distance of 25 Km from the Chennai airport. It is considered to be the best places to visit in Chennai in one day.
4. Mylapore
Mylapore is a zone that contains many churches, temples, and mosques within itself and a combination of various religions in harmony with each other. The place is considered to be one of the oldest residential areas of the state and was formerly known as Vedapuri. It gives an ultimate insight into Tamil Nadu’s culture and art style in terms of music, dance, and various other art forms. It is highly praised for its architectural value with buildings and houses built in a geometrical manner of the neoclassical style. The famous attractions of this place are the Kapaleeswarar temple, San Thomas Basilica, Ramakrishnan math, and many more.
5. Elliot’s Beach
The recently renamed beach, Elliot’s Beach, is now also referred to as the Besant Nagar Beach. This marina is popular for being less crowded than Marina beach, which gives a peaceful surrounding and a surreal aura to this place. The place is filled with brown sand and palm trees and has the famous Schmidt Memorial in the corner. It was constructed in the memory of Karl Schmidt, who was a Dutch sailor. Towards the south of Elliot’s beach is the AshtaLakshmi temple and the Velankanni shrine that is a popular pilgrimage site for devotees.
6. Connemara Public Library
A paradise for the book- lovers and architectural enthusiasts, the Connemara public library is an absolute delight to the eyes and mind both. It is recognized for its unique way of book arrangement and the different forms of architectural styles it is made of. This place is a mixture of architecture forms like the Mughal style, Rajput, and Dravidian style of architecture along with the Indo- Saracenic, Gothic and Neo-Byzantine forms. Being one of the largest libraries of the Asian continent, the Connemara library has a collection of more than 600,000 books offering a wide variety from research purpose to fiction work.
7. Prakasam Salai
One of the most visited places in Chennai, the Prakasam Salai, was built in the year 1795, initially recognized as the Popham’s Broadway. It is an architectural milestone of Chennai and is also an important archaeological site of the place. It is an enormous monument that is made entirely of red brick stone and classic Roman- style of architecture. It is situated on the 88 Prakasam road in George Town.
8. Mahabalipuram
The Mahabalipuram is a seaport and a small town that is situated 58 km from Chennai. It is famous for its cultural value that provides a great deal of information about the rich Indian heritage. It has a combination of three temples constructed all together inside a single complex, the shore temple and the Pancha rathas are major attractions of this place. The artistic stone carvings on the walls and roof of these temples are worth the praise. Other famous tourist spots in Mahabalipuram are the crocodile farm, Arjuna’s penance, the cave temples, and the Indian seashell.
Conclusion
The city, which offers a beautiful blend of nature and cultural heritage well equipped with high tech advancements, Chennai is a must-visit place for everyone. It never fails to impress its visitors with its charming vibe of artistic culture, be it in modern art forms or traditional cuisines of South India, the place is meant for people of all interests and age groups.
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