Chennai
From World Wikia
|
Navigate: Main_Page ...Asia ...India... Chennai Neighborhoods: ( edit)
|
| Do you live here? Visit WikiLocal (Towns, Villages and Cities) for the locals. |
Overview
Chennai, known worldwide as Madras until 1996, is the third largest metropolis of India, and is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. Marina beach on the east coast of the city is 12-kilometer long and welcomes every morning the rising sun. In a period spanning four long centuries, though its history goes beyond that too, the place has grown from a fishing village called Madraspatnam to a city of around 7.6 million people (2006), and is the capital of the Indian state of Tamilnadu. The city is considered the cultural center of the modern Tamil society. The city is famed for many ancient temples and modern industrial facilities including well developed Information Technology related activities. One commentator has described the metropolis of Chennai in these words: "With its seventh century temples and 21st century malls, Chennai is a happy mix of the old and new."
|
Tips for: backpackers • business travelers • luxury/exotic travel • hitchhikers • families • seniors • LBG travelers • pet owners |
Hotels and lodging
In Chennai, a number of hotels are available catering to all classes of visitors and tourists.
Luxury
TAJ COROMANDEL
37, Mahatma Gandhi Road
Nungambakkam
Chennai,
India - 600 034.
PH: 044 - 28272827
15 kms from Airport, 7 kms from Railway Station.
PARK SHERATON
132, T.T.K. Road,
Chennai ,
India - 600 018.
PH:044 - 24994101
11 kms. from Airport, 7 kms. from Railway Station
LE ROYAL MERIDIEN
1, G.S.T. Road,
St. Thomas Mount,
Chennai ,
India - 600 016.
PH:044 - 22314343
5 km from Airport
CHOLA SHERATON
13, Cathedral Road,
Chennai ,
India - 600 086
PH: 044 - 28110101
TAJ CONNEMARA
No.2 Binny Road,
Chennai,
India - 600 002.
PH:044 - 28520123
Ambassador Pallava
30, Montieth Road,
Chennai- 600 008.
PH:044-28554476
Semi-luxury
GRT Grand
No. 120, Sir. Thyagaraya Road,
T. Nagar,
Chennai-600 017.
PH: 044-28150500
The Savera
146, Dr. Radakrishnan Road,
Chennai - 600 004.
PH : 044-28114700
The Residency Towers
Sir Thyagaraya Road,
T. Nagar,
Chennai - 600 017.
PH : 044 - 28156363
Hotel President
No. 25, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai,
Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.
PH : 044 - 28472211
Economy
Hotel Breeze
850, Poonamalle High Road,
Kilpauk,
Chennai - 600 010.
PH:044-26413334
Hotel Shelter
19,20 & 21, Venkatesa Agraharam,
Mylapore,
Chennai-600 004.
PH:044-24951919
Grand Orient
693, Mount Road,
Thousand Light,
Chennai - 600 006.
PH:044-28524111
Hotel Peninsula
51,G.N. Chetty Road,
T.Nagar,
Chennai - 600 017.
PH:044 - 28150001
- See also
Attractions
| Find out where to go in the maps section below. |
The metropolis of "seventh century temples and 21st century malls", Chennai has several spots where you may re-live the history of a bygone era, as also feel the pulse of the future taking shape in one of the best industrial destinations of this part of the globe. Some of the Landmarks and major Attractions of Chennai are:
- Historical Heritage
- Fort St. George
- Government Museum & Art Gallery
- Connemara Public Library
- Cultural Heritage
- Kapaleeswarar Temple
- St.Thomas Church
- Santhome Church
- Thousand Lights Mosque
- Theosophical Society
- Kalakshetra
- Educational Landmarks
- University of Madras
- Indian Institute of Technology
- Anna University
- Tourist Spots
- Marina Beach
- Valluvar Kottam
- The IT Destination
- TIDEL Park [1]
Shopping
Maps and transportation
Getting to Chennai
Exploring Chennai
Chennai is a city with many invaluable secrets and waiting to be undiscovered and explored. You may start exploring Chennai from a visit to one of India's Living Treasures, Kalakshetra, described as a Temple of Art. It was born in 1938 with a rather humble beginning in a small cottage of the Theosophical Society of India. Presently, Kalakshetra has a sprawling campus of over 100 acres on Chennai's seashore, overlooking the Bay of Bengal. Rukmini Devi Arundale (born 1904) had initiated this movement, which is now among India's premier schools of classical dance and music. When she was in her early teens, Arundale started practicing Bharatnatyam style of dancing which had by then de-generated into a vulgar form of dancing and had lost the classical touch. She re-introduced the classical nuisances to Bharatnatyam and it emerged as one of the finer form of Indian Classical dancing. In a way, Kalakshetra represents Modern Indian cultural renaissance in the fields of classical dance and music. It has pioneered a number of initiatives and introduced over 25 dance dramas and has produced a galaxy of classical dancers. Exploring Kalakshetra and watching few dances shall surely be a fulfilling exercise.
There is more in Chennai than the Living Cultural Treasure of Kalakshetra. You may spend few hours of a morning or an evening at Marina Beach, the sunlit strip of 13-km long sandy streatch of sea beach of Chennai. It is the second longest beach in the world. It owes its origin to Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff (a governor of the-then Madras Presidency) who developed the Beach during 1970s.
Practical information and resources
- Currency: Indian Rupee
- Electric supply: 220 Volts
- Language: Tamil. One can also manage with Simple English.
Restaurants
Text with links to user-reviews on other pages
Nightlife
Once upon a time, not so long ago, Chennai's nightlife was oriented to only cultural activities: Indian classical dances and musical performances. They continue to be the mainframe of Chennai's nightlife. Recently, Chennai's has acquired more colours during the night. In case, you are so inclined and desire to have some real action, you may head to any one of the Discotheques and Nightclubs in Chennai. Some of them are:
- Dublin
- EC41
- Flame Le Club
- HFO
- Pasha
- Pubs & Bars of Chennai
- Arcot Bar (The Trident)
- Bamboo Bar (Hotel Savera)
- Clarete (Kings Park)
- Deep Purple
- The Dome (Le Royal Meridien)
- Durrants (Hotel Chola Sheraton)
- Fort St George (Taj Coromandel)
- Geoffrey's
- High Time
- The Leather Bar
- Lexus
- Munro (The Sindoori Central Hotel)
- Oakshott (Hotel Connemara)
- Sangaree (Ashok Residency)
- Striker (Windsor Park)
- Westminster Bar (ITC Hotel Park Sheraton & Towers)
- Zara - Tapas Pub
Photo gallery
| Add a new photo to the Chennai gallery. Vote on which images to feature in the featured images forum. |
 The Kapaleeshwarar temple |
 Government Museum |
Everything else
| Got something to say that doesn't fit in the other sections of this page? Create a new page about it. Start by adding a paragraph exactly as above: for example, copy (from the EDIT BOX) the heading "Nightlife" and the three lines below it, paste in below that section, and change "Nightlife" (in all three places) to your new subject. If it's great, add a snippet below the heading. Then click on the new link and start on the new page. |
External resources
|
If you want to add personal links, please do that on your user page (you can also write your profile there). If you have a link with great content that travellers need, you can add it at Chennai/Links |
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Chennai. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with World Wikia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
