Summary :

• Chennai India doesn’t have many world known attractions
• These top sights will give you a feel for the city
• We were able to visit these sights in a day
• Hire a car or Uber for a set amount of time and visit all the sights in a day . This way you have a car waiting when you come outside of visiting a certain site . You ‘ ll get harassed less by the street vendors and beggars as you can make a quick exit .
• Sights we visited:
  • Marina Beach
  • Santhome Cathedral Basilica
  • Fort St.George
  • Kapaleeswarar Temple
  • Shopping In T Nagar
    • Pondy Bazaar for churithar
    • Pothys for Sarees
    • Nalli Silk ( not recommended)

Marina Beach

We started sightseeing from Marina Beach . I have heard of Marina Beach many times from all the Tamil movies I had watched growing up .Our driver parked across the street and let us cross the road .

To be brutally honest – I was disappointed with the beach . The sand was grainy , there were many shacks scattered throughout out the beach and it just didn’t feel clean . Having just came from the pristine beaches of the Maldives – It didn’t stand a chance .

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It’s a good beach to visit to get a feel for Chennai. However, not a beach I would recommend for swimming or relaxing .

We walked around and took some photos before going back to our car that was waiting for us ( Uber for the day ) .

Fort St.George

Our second stop was Fort St.George . This Fort is the first English Fort in India . Which is kind of cool . There is a security screening that you have to pass through . The Fort is a simple looking building. Nothing overly grand . It is 350 + years old . It is not a sight you visit for the aesthetics but more for the history .

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Santhome Cathedral Basilica

Our third stop was Santhome Cathedral Basilica. It’s a beautiful white Church . This church was originally built by the Portuguese and than built over by the British .

It was a peaceful experience walking inside the church . We spend some time praying and sitting in the church before heading to our next sight .

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Kapaleeswarar Temple

The fourth stop on our trip was Kapaleeswarar Temple . This temple was built in the 7 th century. The temples in South India just left you in awe . The technology existed to built such large intricate structures that survived for such a long time is a testament to the skills of the dynasties that built these temples .

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Inside the temple it was very peaceful. Even for someone like me who is not overly religious. We both prayed and spent about an hour at the temple .

Shopping In T Nagar

The other major activity that we did in the full day we had was to go shopping!

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Pondy Bazaar

During the day time we went to Pondy Bazaar to exchange money . Right beside the money exchange place was a store called Aurelia . Loved the Kurtas from this store . Was able to buy a few .

Nalli Silk

In the evening went to Nalli Silk first . I wanted to try another store other than Pothys . I bought some outfits for my nieces and nephews but I wasn’t impressed with the quality or price . Based on my experience I would not recommend visiting Nalli Silk . Couldn’t see the value proposition.

Pothys

Our final stop of the day was at Pothys . What a massive store . It was an incredible shopping experience. So many variety in selection and price points . Bought a whole bunch of sarees and other items before calling it a night.

In hindsight for saree shopping in Chennai I would recommend Pothys .

Conclusion

Overall the places we visited and shopped at gave us a good view into Chennai. Unfortunately we didn’t have a lot of time . I felt we used our one day wisely.