Things to Do in Tamil Nadu

Inaugurated in July of 1892, the Madras High Court is one of only three (along with Mumbai and Kolkata) in modern India that was established by royal charter under Queen Victoria. Architecturally, it’s one of the city’s most stunning examples of the Indo-Saracenic aesthetic, displaying Moorish, European, Islamic and Hindu elements in its red sandstone facade.

The domes, minarets and other decorative elements of the building’s exterior are matched in grandeur within, where guided tours take visitors through the various court rooms, many appointed with stained glass windows and exquisite works of art.

An interesting note: The Madras High Court is one of the few buildings in India to have been damaged by a German attack during the early years of World War I.

Known alternatively as Besant Nagar Beach, or “Bessie” for short, Elliot's Beach sits at the south end of the Marina Beach shore. A former expatriate enclave during Chennai’s colonial era, today the beach attracts throngs of twentysomethings, as well as families looking to avoid the crowds at the more popular Marina Beach.

Spread across six structures with 46 galleries, the Government Museum houses Chennai’s best collection of scientific and artistic artifacts. It also houses the most impressive collection of Pallava and Chola bronze sculptures (dating back to the 10th and 13th centuries) anywhere in the world.

According to legend, St. Thomas, a disciple of Christ, lived out the remainder of his days in a rocky cave, known as Little Mount (Chinnamalai). Today, Little Mount is home to a Portuguese church dating back to 1551, as well as a small altar to St. Thomas and a palm print believed by some to be left by Thomas himself as he fled.

The heart of cultural life in Chennai, Mylapore is a charming neighborhood characterized by broad, tree-lined streets coupled with narrow roads and myriad temples, churches, and restaurants. Its star attraction is the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, though it's also home to the San Thome Basilica, which houses the tomb of Thomas the Apostle.

Built in the Indo-Saracenic architectural style, the Ripon Building serves as the headquarters of the Corporation of Chennai, the oldest municipal body of the Commonwealth outside Great Britain. The highlight of the structure is the 8-foot (2.5-meter) clock, known as the Westminster Chiming Clock, on the building’s central tower.

Established in 1885, the Arignar Anna Zoological Park (Vandalur Zoo) is the oldest public zoo in India. It’s been transformed and relocated over the years, and today the zoo can be found in Vandalu, just over 30 kilometers from Chennai. It’s home to hundreds of species of wild animals, many of which are considered endangered, and serves as a wildlife sanctuary and center for rehabilitating rescued animals.

The Arignar Anna Zoological Park is a large and well-maintained space with plenty of plant and wildlife out in the open. Visitors can tour the expansive grounds on bicycles or by using one of the zoo’s electric vehicles to zip around. Most of the main attractions are located along the park’s inner pathways, where the large animals such as tigers, panthers, and elephants live. There are a whole host of other mammals, reptiles, birdlife, fish, and butterflies to visit throughout the rest of the park too.

The National Art Gallery, one of six individual museums comprising the Chennai Government Museum, is one of the oldest art galleries in the country. The red sandstone Indo-Sarasenic building was designed by architect Henry Irwin and completed in 1906 as part of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. The gallery was closed in 2002 when its deteriorating state threatened both visitor safety and the art, but after an extensive renovation in 2013, the gallery re-opened to the public.

The National Art Gallery is subdivided into four smaller galleries: the Tanjore Painting Gallery, Decorative Art Gallery, Indian Traditional Art Gallery and the Ravi Varma Painting Gallery. Besides paintings in various mediums, the gallery also showcases a small collection of sandalwood sculptures.

Built for Armenian traders in India in 1712, the Armenian Church, also known as the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary, is among the oldest churches in the country. Though it no longer functions as a house of worship, the church is still maintained as a historical attraction and is funded by the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Locally known as "the Kirk" (Scottish for "the church"), St. Andrew's Church in Chennai was built in 1821 for Scottish Presbyterians in the British Army, and today most of its clergy are from India. It was modeled after St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London and features Palladian architecture, complete with pillars with Corinthian capitals.

Occupying 10 acres (4 hectares) in a quiet wooded area outside Chennai, Cholamandal Artists’ Village is the largest self-supporting artists’ village in India. Home to two dozen painters and sculptors, the commune is an excellent place to feel the pulse of Chennai’s contemporary arts scene.

Valluvar Kottam was constructed in 1976 as a shrine in memory of poet Thiruvalluvar, author of Thirukkural, a collection of more than a thousand rhyming Tamil couplets that expound simplicity of life and set a moral code for his followers. Thiruvalluvar lived and wrote during the first century BC in what is now Chennai.

Situated in Chennai’s Mylapore neighborhood, this temple was constructed in 1952 by a devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba, a 19th-century saint who preached compassion, love, and religious tolerance. It's but one of many temples to the saint across India and the oldest Sai Baba temple in Chennai.

Situated near Elliot's Beach, the colorful Ashtalakshmi Temple was constructed in the mid-1970s to honor the Hindu goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi. The multitiered structure features images of the goddess in her eight forms, with shrines spread over four floors accessible by steep and narrow staircases.