26 Sights in Chennai, India (with Map and Images)

Fort St. George is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally an uninhabited land. Thus, it is a feasible contention to say that the city evolved around the fortress. The fort currently houses the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and other official buildings.

Wikipedia: Fort St. George, India (EN)

The Kapaleeshwarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva located in Mylapore, Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The temple was built around the 7th century CE and is an example of South Indian Architecture.

Wikipedia: Kapaleeshwarar Temple (EN)

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. The name 'Parthasarathy' means the 'charioteer of Arjuna', referring to Krishna's role as a charioteer to Arjuna in the epic Mahabharata.

Wikipedia: Parthasarathy Temple, Chennai (EN)

Guindy National Park is a protected area, located in Chennai, India. Spread across 2.70 km2 (1.04 sq mi), it is one of the smallest National Parks in India and one of the few national parks situated inside a metropolitan area. The park is an extension of the grounds surrounding Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor of Tamil Nadu and encloses forests, scrub lands, lakes and streams.

Wikipedia: Guindy National Park (EN)

The Ekambareswarar–Kamakshi Temple, commonly known as the Thiruvalluvar Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the poet-saint Valluvar in the neighborhood of Mylapore in Chennai, India. The shrine is located within the Ekambareswarar temple complex. Believed to have been constructed in the early 16th century, the temple was extensively renovated in the 1970s. Traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Saint Valluvar, the temple is the oldest ever built to Valluvar. The temple also serves as the venue for meetings of Tamil language enthusiasts and conducting Kural classes. While many consider the temple as the birthplace of Valluvar, some additionally consider it as his samadhi.

Wikipedia: Thiruvalluvar Temple, Mylapore (EN)

Tholkappia Poonga or Adyar Eco Park is an ecological park set up by the Government of Tamil Nadu in the Adyar estuary area of Chennai, India. According to the government, the project, conceived based on the master plan for the restoration of the vegetation of the freshwater ecosystems of the Coromandel Coast, especially the fragile ecosystem of the Adyar estuary and creek, was expected to cost around ₹ 1,000 million which will include the beautification of 358 acres of land. The park's ecosystem consists of tropical dense evergreen forest, predominantly comprising trees and shrubs that have thick dark green foliage throughout the year, with over 160 woody species, and comprises six vegetative elements such as trees, shrubs, lianas, epiphytes, herbs and tuberous species. The park was opened to public by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on 22 January 2011 and named after the renowned Tamil scholar Tholkappiar. About 65 percent of the park is covered by water and artefacts and signages. In the first 2 months of its inauguration, nearly 4,000 children from several schools in the city and the nearby Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts have visited the park to learn about wetland conservation, eco-restoration and water management. While the first phase of the ecopark covered about 4.16 acres of CRZ-III area, the entire area covered under the second phase falls under this category.

Wikipedia: Tholkappia Poonga (EN)

Marundeeswarar Temple is a temple dedicated to Hindu deity Shiva, located in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai adjacent to the beach of Bay of Bengal. It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams where two of the most revered Nayanars, Appar and Tirugnana Sambandar, have glorified the temple with their verses during the 7th century CE. The temple has been widely expanded by Chola kings during the 11th century CE. The temple has two seven-tiered gateway towers, a huge tank, with the overall temple area covering 1 acre. The Marundeeswarar temple has been a place of curative worship for people with diseases.

Wikipedia: Marundeeswarar Temple (EN)

The Government Museum, Chennai, or the Madras Museum, is a museum of human history and culture located in the Government Museum Complex in the neighbourhood of Egmore in Chennai, India. Started in 1851, it is the second oldest museum in India after the Indian Museum in Kolkata. It is particularly rich in archaeological and numismatic collections. It has among the largest collection of Roman antiquities outside Europe, peculiarly in the numismatics field, and is very likely the most richly endowed museum in Asia concerning this civilisation. Among them, the colossal Museum Theatre is one of the most impressive. The National Art Gallery is also present in the museum premises. Built in Indo-Saracenic style, it houses rare European and Asian painting of renowned artists, including that of Raja Ravi Varma. It had 0.6 million visitors in 2018. It has the richest collections of bronze idols, 500 of them dating to 1000 BCE, in Asia.

Wikipedia: Government Museum, Chennai (EN)

Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai is a monastic organisation for those men who were taught into existence by Sri Ramakrishna (1836–1886), a 19th-century saint of Bengal. The motto of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission is: "For one's own salvation and for the welfare of the world". The math in Chennai is the first branch center of the Ramakrishna Order in Southern India. It was established in 1897 by Swami Ramakrishnananda, one of the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Besides Swami Ramakrishnananda, the Math was visited by Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Nirmalananda, Swami Shivananda, Swami Abhedananda, Swami Premananda, Swami Niranjanananda, Swami Trigunatitananda, and Swami Vijnanananda.

Wikipedia: Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai (EN), Website

Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called Music Academy It plays an important role in encouraging and promoting primarily the Carnatic Music Indian art form. It played a vital role in the revival of the Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam in the 1930s when it faced near extinction due to a negative connotation caused by conservative societal standards.

Wikipedia: Madras Music Academy (EN)

Vivekanandar Illam, earlier known as Ice House or Castle Kernan, is a historical building in Chennai, India. It was constructed in 1842 by Frederic Tudor. Indian Saint Swami Vivekananda stayed in the building when he visited Chennai in 1897, and it was later renamed in his honor. It is currently maintained by Ramakrishna Math and houses an exhibition on the life of Vivekananda.

Wikipedia: Vivekanandar Illam (EN)

Semmozhi Poonga, variously spelled as Semmoli Poonga, is a botanical garden in Chennai set up jointly by the Horticulture and Agricultural Engineering department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The garden was opened on 24 November 2010 by then chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and is the first botanical garden in the city. The garden is located in the Cathedral Road–Anna Salai junction, opposite the American Consulate, on the erstwhile Drive-in Woodlands Hotel. Encompassing an area of 20 acres, it was built at a cost of ₹ 80 million. More than 500 species of plants are being grown in the area, in addition to the 80 trees that were already in existence during the development of the park, some of them being more than 100 years old. The garden houses some of the popular exotic flora and rare plant species, medicinal and aromatic herbs. Many of the exotic plants are imported from countries like China and Thailand, including a plethora of bonsai varieties of ficus microcarpa and ficus ginseng.

Wikipedia: Semmoli Poonga (EN)

Vadapalani Andavar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Muruga. It is located in Vadapalani, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was renovated in the 1920s and a Rajagopuram was built during that time. The temple has grown in popularity, which is believed to be in part due to the patronage of cinema stars.

Wikipedia: Vadapalani Andavar Temple (EN)

The Kaj Schmidt Memorial is an architectural landmark commemorating a Danish sailor who drowned in 1930 trying to save the life of a woman. It is located at Elliot's Beach in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The monument was in a derelict state, but has recently been restored.

Wikipedia: Kaj Schmidt Memorial (EN)

Anna Memorial, officially Perarignar Anna Memorial, is a memorial dedicated to the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu C. N. Annadurai (Anna), where a black marble platform was raised on the spot of Anna's cremation in February 1969. The memorial lies on a footpath that leads to the two-semicircle house-shaped platform around the memorial. The cemetery consists of an eternal flame at one end, with the sword pillar topped with a spherical-shaped doom light. Located on Kamarajar Promenade, on the northern end of Marina Beach in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, abutting the M.G.R. and Amma Memorial, the memorial of former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa. Later, on 8 August 2018, the Anna Memorial Complex was expanded to include a memorial for another former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi.

Wikipedia: Anna Memorial (EN)

The Ashtalakshmi Kovil is a Hindu temple, which lies on the shorelines near the Elliot's beach, in Chennai, India. The temple is dedicated to the goddess Lakshmi, and her eight primary forms – the Ashtalakshmi – the giver of all eight forms of wealth, namely, offspring, success, prosperity, wealth, courage, bravery, food, and knowledge. The sanctorums are depicted on a multi-tier complex in such a way that visitors could visit all the shrines without stepping over any of the sanctorums.

Wikipedia: Ashtalakshmi Temple, Chennai (EN)

Saint Mary Church of Chennai, constructed in 1712 and reconstructed in 1772, is one of the oldest churches of the Indian subcontinent, located in Chennai. It is famous for its belfry of six. The Church, also called the Armenian Church of Virgin Mary, is located on the Armenian Street in the neighbourhood of George Town.

Wikipedia: Armenian Church, Chennai (EN)

The Triumph of Labour, also known as the Labour statue, is a statue at the Marina Beach, Chennai, India. Erected at the northern end of the beach at the Anna Square opposite University of Madras, it is an important landmark of Chennai. The statue shows four men toiling to move a rock, depicting the hard work of the labouring class. It was sculpted by Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhury. The statue is the earliest one to be erected on the beach and is installed close to the site where the country's first commemoration of May Day was held. The statue was installed on the eve of the Republic Day in 1959, as part of the Kamaraj government's drive to beautify the beach. The statue remains the focal point of May Day celebrations in the city.

Wikipedia: Triumph of Labour (EN)

Adi Kesava Temple is dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu located in Mylapore, Chennai, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Constructed in the Tamil style of architecture, dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Adi Kesava Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Mayuravalli Thayar. The temple is believed to be the birthplace of Peyalvar, an Alvar saint. It is considered one among the 108 Abhimana Kshethram of Vaishnavate tradition.

Wikipedia: Adikesava Perumal temple, Mylapore (EN)

Gandhi Mandapam is a series of memorial structures built on Sardar Patel Salai, in Adyar, Chennai. The first structure to be built on the premises was a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, opened by then Chief Minister of Madras, C. Rajagopalachari on 27 January 1956. Later, four other memorials for independence activist Rettamalai Srinivasan and former chief ministers C. Rajagopalachari, K. Kamaraj and M. Bhakthavatsalam were added.

Wikipedia: Gandhi Mandapam (Chennai) (EN)

Kachchaleswarar Temple, also known as the Great Kachali Pagoda, is a Hindu temple located in Armenian Street, in the neighbourhood of Parry's corner in Chennai city, Tamil Nadu, India. Constructed on land belonging to dubash Kalavai Chetty in 1725, the temple belonged to the left-hand castes and was the site of the first major conflict between left and right-handed castes in the then Madras city.

Wikipedia: Kachchaleswarar Temple (EN)

Natesan Park is a park in T.Nagar, Chennai, India. It is located on Venkatanarayana Road. The park covers an area of 4 acres and was opened to the public on 13 September 1950 by the then Minister of Agriculture, A. B. Shetty. It is the only park maintained by the Chennai Corporation that has a separate tennis court for coaching children. There is also a plant propagation centre and play zone for children. It is a popular spot for morning walks for the local residents. Plant varieties found in the park include Croton, Aralia, Bougainvillea, Acalypha, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, mahogany, neem, gulmohar, Cassia fistula and foliage trees like pungam, palms, Ficus religiosa and Thespesia.

Wikipedia: Natesan Park (EN)

St. Peter's Church is one of the oldest churches in Royapuram area of Chennai, the capital of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The original structure was built in Gothic architecture in 1829 by Gurukula Vamsha Varnakula Mudaliars, a group of boatmen who were serving the East India Company. They started building the church in 1825 and consecrated it in 1829 with contributions from the Secretary of Marine Board.

Wikipedia: St. Peter's Church, Royapuram (EN)

Kannagi statue is a statue at the Marina Beach, Chennai, India. It is located at the intersection of Bharathi Salai and Kamarajar promenade. On 2 January 1968, it was erected as Kannagi holding an anklet in her hand and demanding justice.

Wikipedia: Kannagi statue (EN)

M.G.R. and Amma Memorial, officially Bharat Ratna Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G.R. and Puratchi Thalaivi Amma Selvi J. Jayalalithaa Memorial, is a memorial complex dedicated to the former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R.) and J. Jayalalithaa (Amma), where a black marble platform was raised on the spot of M.G.R.'s cremation on 25 December 1987, and on the spot of Jayalalithaa's on 6 December 2016. Both cemeteries consist of an eternal flame and a portrait of them at one end. A stone footpath leads to the lotus-shaped wall enclosure that houses the M.G.R. Memorial, with the sword pillar topped with a spherical-shaped dome light, and a stone footpath leads to the phoenix-shaped wall enclosure that houses the memorial of M.G.R.'s protégé and the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu J. Jayalalithaa. The memorial complex is located on Kamarajar Promenade, adjacent to the Anna Memorial on the Marina Beach in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Wikipedia: MGR Memorial (EN)

Dr. Ambedkar Manimandapam is a memorial in the Adyar neighborhood of Chennai, India, dedicated to B. R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution. It is located in the Adyar estuary on Greenways Road in Mandhavelipakkam.

Wikipedia: Ambedkar Manimandapam, Chennai (EN)