Sights

Chennai has many sights you don't want to miss out on once you've arrived. Besides the fort St Georges, you can visit the temples and museums or relax a bit in one of the parks.

Display all

or display just:

Gardens and Parks
Hotspots
Landmarks

Museums
Palaces

Religious Buildings
general

Show best rated on top | Show in alphabetical order

[Add Sight]

Horticulture Society

Edit This

The Gardens of the Horticulture Society : Adjacent to St. George's Cathedral on Cathedral road are the gardens of the horticulture society. Started in 1835, the gardens extend over an area of 22 acres and have numerous flower beds, lawns, trees and bonsais. The Society's nursery sells seeds and seedlings and also holds a flower show annually.

type:	Gardens and Parks
World66 rating:	[rate it]

Kapaleeswarar Temple

Edit This

Temple
photo by: Temple

Kapaleeswarar temple is situated in Mylapore a suburb of Chennai. The main deity, Lord Shiva, is worshipped as Kapaleeswarar and the Goddess as Katpahavalli. Mention of this temple in the old devotional hymns by Hindu 'Nayanmars' who lived during the 7th century is evident that this temple had been in existence for more than a thousand years. Some scholars cast doubt as to the age of the present building as the architecture and the images in this temple point to a period of about 300 years ago. They believe that the original temple had been in the Santhome area near the sea as more..

type:	Landmarks
World66 rating:	[rate it]
openingHours:	6 am - 12 pm 4 pm - 10 pm
address:	Kapaleeswarar Temple

The Theosophical Society

Edit This

A sprawling area of beautiful trees and shrubs in the heart of the bustling Chennai city, Theosophical Society, in Adyar, is a place one should not miss. Famous for its legendary Banyan tree (more than 5000 years old), underwhich JK (Jiddu Krishnamurthy) had given his world famous discourses.-Ram Shridhar

type:	Gardens and Parks
World66 rating:	[rate it]
email:	rshridhar2002@hotmail.com

High Court

Edit This

The High court was built in 1892, the imposing Indo-Saracenic style building is located near Parry's Corner. It has beautiful domes, a grand central cupola-once the lighthouse, and lots of stained glass windows. A granite Doric column 49m above sea-level was erected in 1841 to serve as a stand for the second light house. the column still stands tall, an ornament to the campus. The building houses the High Court, the small causes Court and the City Civil Court.

type:	general
World66 rating:	[rate it]

San Thome Cathedral

Edit This

San Thome Cathedral, a Roman Catholic Church, was originally built by the Portuguese in 1504. The church later fell into decay and the present building, the third church constructed on the site, dates from 1893.

type:	Religious Buildings
World66 rating:	[rate it]

East India Museum

Edit This

In the Fort St. Georges you find the East India Museum, that shows on display teh history of the East India Company in Chennai.

type:	Museums
World66 rating:	[rate it]

The Parthasarathy temple

Edit This

The Parthasarathy temple in Triplicane was founded by the Pallava dynasty in A.D 700's. The presiding deity of this Vaishnavaite temple is Lord Parthasarathy. The tank is an excellent example of Pallava art.

type:	Religious Buildings
World66 rating:	[rate it]

Chennai Museum

Edit This

Established in 1857, the Chennai Museum is undoubtedly one of the country's best museums located at Egmore. It has sections devoted to Geology, Archeology, Anthropology, Numismatics, Botany, Zoology and Sculpture besides which there is good collection of arms & armour as well as several other specimens of Anthropological interest. The museum's prized possessions however, are the relics from the 2nd century A.D Buddhist site at Amravathi & Pre-Historic exhibits from the stone & iron ages. the bronze gallery with its ancient icons & modern bronzes is perhaps the best found anywhere more..

type:	Museums
World66 rating:	[rate it]

Mosque

Edit This

Thousand Lights Mosque is a centuries old shrine that has been re-designed as a mosque with walls bearing recently-painted sayings from the Holy Koran. The original Mosque was constructed by Nawab Umdat-Ul-Umrah in 1800.

type:	Religious Buildings
World66 rating:	[rate it]

Victory War Memorial

Edit This

Photograph of War Memorial at Chennai
photo by: G V Balasubramanian

Situated on the Marina beach road in the area which housed the coastal belfry and was formerly called Cupids bow, the Victory War Memorial honours those who have laid down their lives for their country in the World Wars. It was constructed to commemorate the victory of the allied armies during World War I (1914-1918) and later became the victory war memorial for the World War II (1939-1945) in the memory of those from Chennai presidency who lost their lives serving the nation.

type:	Palaces
World66 rating:	[rate it]

The National Art Gallery

Edit This

Located in Egmore, the National Art Gallery is housed in a building built in 1906 in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. The building itself is a work of art and was originally intended to be the Victoria Memorial and Technical Institute but was made the National art Gallery in 1951. On display in this gallery are 10th & 13th century bronzes, 16th & 18th century Rajasthani & Mughal paintings, 17th century Deccani paintings and 11th & 12th century Indian Handicraft. Time : 8 A.M to 5 P.M. Closed on Fridays.

type:	Hotspots
World66 rating:	[rate it]

Luz Church

Edit This

Like the San Thome Church, Luz Church is also one of the oldest churches in Chennai. This church was built by Portugese, in the 12th Century, and was later renovated during British rule."Luz" in Portugese means light. When some Portugese sailors were sailing in a storm, a light appeared in the land and they followed it to the shore. They erected a church in the same place where they saw the light. A beautiful church to visit.-Ram Shridhar

type:	Hotspots
World66 rating:	[rate it]
email:	rshridhar2002@hotmail.com

Fort St. George

Edit This

Fort St. George was built in 1653 by the British East India Company. Today, the building of the old fort house the state administrative offices, the legislative assembly, and a museum devoted to the history of the East India Company. A banqueting hall built in the Greek style is still used for civic functions.

type:	general
World66 rating:	[rate it]