Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras, is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India.
Chennai, also known as Madras, is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. As per the 2011 Indian census, Chennai is the sixth-most-populous city in India and forms the fourth-most-populous urban agglomeration. The city is coterminous with Chennai district, which together with the adjoining suburbs constitutes the Chennai Metropolitan Area, one of the largest metropolitan areas of India. It is administered by the Greater Chennai Corporation, which was incorporated in 1688, and is the second oldest municipal corporation in the world after the City of London Corporation. Being the capital of the state, it houses major government institutions including the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, and the Madras High Court.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Chennai
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01University of Madras
The University of Madras is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an act of the Legislative Council of India under the British government.
2 km · state public university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India · Wikipedia - 02San Thome Basilica
San Thome Church, officially known as the National Shrine of St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica, is a church of the Catholic Church in India, at the Santhome neighbourhood of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu.
5.4 km · church in Tamil Nadu, India · Wikipedia - 03Fort St. George
Fort St. George is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India.
1.3 km · fort in Chennai, India · Wikipedia - 04M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, commonly known as the Chepauk Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Chepauk, Chennai. It is named after M. A. Chidambaram, a former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and managed by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.
2.2 km · cricket stadium · Wikipedia - 05Marina Beach
Marina Beach, or simply the Marina, is a natural urban beach in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, along the Bay of Bengal. The beach runs from near Fort St.
3.3 km · longest beach of India · Wikipedia - 06Kapaleeshwarar Temple
The Kapaleeshwarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva. It is located in Mylapore, Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
5.4 km · temple of Shivan (Kapaleeswarar) and a form of Shiva's consort Parvati called Karpagambal ("Goddess of the Wish-Yielding Tree"), located in Mylapore, Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu · Wikipedia - 07Anna University
Anna University is a public state university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The main campus is in Guindy.
8.8 km · state-run university in Guindy, Tamil Nadu · Wikipedia - 08Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Chennai
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The stadium is located at Sydenhams road in Park Town, besides the Chennai Central suburban railway station.
500 m · Multipurpose stadium in Chennai, India · Wikipedia - 09Madras Observatory
The Madras Observatory was an astronomical observatory which had its origins in a private observatory set up by William Petrie in 1786 and later moved and managed by the British East India Company from 1792 in Madras. The main purpose for establishing it was to assist in navigation and mapping by recording the latitude and maintaining time standards.
3.5 km · observatory · Wikipedia - 10Parthasarathy Temple
The Parthasarathy Temple is a 6th-century Hindu Vaishnavite temple dedicated to Vishnu in Chennai, India. Located in the neighbourhood of Thiruvallikeni, the temple is glorified in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil literature canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th to 9th centuries CE and is classified as among the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu.
3.2 km · temple in India · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do
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).
From Wikivoyage: Chennai, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
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.
From Wikivoyage: Chennai, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Chennai
- Airports
- Chennai (MAA), 15 km · Tirupati (TIR), 100 km · Kempegowda Bengaluru (BLR), 278 km
- Stations
- Chennai Egmore railway station, 1.7 km · Chennai Port, 1.6 km · Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, 7.7 km
- Tirupati → Chennai111 km · quickest by road, 2h 33m · ₹880–1,110
- Bengaluru → Chennai291 km · quickest by road, 5h 5m · ₹2,130–2,660
- Tiruchirappalli → Chennai306 km · quickest by road, 5h 19m · ₹2,130–2,670
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Chennai
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Chennai. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inThe two terminals are near each other, and it is better to tell your exact destination to the taxi/auto-rickshaw driver.
- Get inThe two terminals are near each other, and it is better to tell your exact destination to the taxi/auto-rickshaw driver.
- Get aroundThe fares of Chennai auto-rickshaws have been an enormous political topic for many years and have contributed to the perception that the city's auto-rickshaw drivers never use meters and continually fleece passengers.
- Get aroundHowever, despite the reputation, trips by auto rickshaw actually are quick, but rarely based on the metered price.
- Get aroundAuto rickshaw meters are being outfitted with GPS and electronic digital receipt printers.
From Wikivoyage: Chennai, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01460 km
- 02464 km
- 03476 km
- 04481 km
- 05483 km
If you know how people move in Chennai – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Chennai
Chennai is 12 km from Ambattur, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.
- Chennai districtdistrict of Tamil Nadu, India600 m
- Adyarlarge neighbourhood in south Chennai8.7 km
- MylaporeNeighbourhood in Chennai5.1 km
- ChinnasekkaduVillage in Chennai District, Tamil Nadu, India9.9 km
- NerkunramVillage in Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, India9.9 km
- Chennai metropolitan areaVillage in Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, India600 m