Chennai (Tamil: சென்னை), formerly Madras (மெட்ராஸ் Meḍrās), is the capital of the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. With a population of 8.6 million (2011 census), Chennai's urbanised area is the most populous in Southern India and the fourth most populous in India. It is on the east coast of peninsular India. Though Chennai traces its history to Fort St George and the adjoining village of Madrasapattinam founded by the British East India Company in 1640, some residential districts of the city are older.
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For travel purposes, this article covers the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), spread along the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. It can be divided roughly along Coovum and Adyar rivers into North, Central and South Chennai.
The name "Madras" was adopted during the British rule. The Tamil Nadu government changed it to Chennai in 1996, claiming that Chennai is the original name of the city. However, the origin of both names are uncertain. As per local legend, the name "Madras" comes from "Madrasapattinam" (மதராசப்பட்டினம் Madarājappaṭṭinam) and the name "Chennai" from "Chennapattinam" (சென்னப்பட்டினம் Chennappaṭṭinam). Madrasapattinam was the name of the British settlement, and Chennapattinam was a fishing village nearby. However, it is not clear if the village was there beforehand or grew up around Madrasapattinam.
Getting around the heart of Chennai city often takes time, due to traffic and heavy congestion. So it is advisable to plan your journey accordingly. Travelling within Chennai is not so cheap by Indian metropolitan standards, and is quite cheap by European and USA standards. Chennai has a suburban railway network. There are six suburban lines as of June 2023: North Line N (Moore Market Complex–Bitragunta) South Line S (Chennai Beach–Tambaram–Villupuram) South West Line SW (Chennai Beach–Arakkonam) West Line W (Moore Market Complex–Jolarpet) West North Line WN (Moore Market Complex–Tirupati) West South Line WS (Chennai Beach–Vellore–Villupuram) The suburban trains are generally…
Individual listings can be found in Chennai's district articles Chennai is a diverse mix of cultures, with over 15,000 temples and a couple of mosques and churches.
Chennai has several well-known beaches. The Marina Beach in Central Chennai is the second-longest beach in the world after Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. Chennai is home to Guindy National Park, the smallest national park in India. During summers it becomes too hot and humid to venture out during the day. So go out for a stroll during the night (7-9PM) on the Marina beach and Elliots Beach (Besant Nagar). It's a nice idea to pack dinner and have a picnic on the beach as most locals do. If you happen to drive a car you can also consider taking along a few foldable chairs. Beyond 10PM, no one is permitted to be on the beach.
Chennai has numerous restaurants, offering an assortment of cuisine. The beach restaurants are well-maintained and serve great food during the evenings. The eat-outs in Chennai range from budget, midrange and to up-market. There are swanky star-quality restaurants, plain open traditional vegetarian or non-vegetarian restaurants- where you share a table with strangers, street stalls, tea kadais, Indian fast food centres, western fast food centres, food courts, coffee shops, bakeries to exclusive speciality establishments. Vegetarian restaurants serve tiffin and vegetarian meals.
Chennai is a difficult place to drink. Government rule states that only establishments with a minimum of 21 rooms can obtain a bar or liquor license. All the bars that are around are (at least on paper) part of some hotel or the other and in general overpriced. Government-run liquor stores called TASMAC are all over the place but in general not at all a pleasant experience. They usually have unpleasant staff and environment and usually will have local brands. Also, they always tend to mark up each bottle by ₹5-10 over the listed price. Go for it if you want a one-time war-like experience in order to obtain some booze!
Chennai is generally a safer area of India in terms of crime, although pickpocketing, muggings, and robberies sporadically occur. Keep your doors and windows shut and locked at night and do not carry or display large amounts of cash if possible. It is advisable for women, especially unaccompanied ones, to dress modestly and limit their interaction with unfamiliar local men. Foreigners are generally overcharged by autorickshaws simply because they are ignorant of the prevailing fares. It is necessary to confirm whether the driver knows the exact destination and to fix the fare before boarding.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Jul, Chennai typically sees ~35°C daytime highs and 22 rainy days.
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