Chennai Sights

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There's nothing much to see from a traditional tourists's point of view. Most of the colonial buildings are usually in use as administrative offices and the traditional Tamil boroughs of Mylapore and Triplicane, though interesting are densely populated and aren't very welcoming to gawking though one should brave it at least through Mylapore. Chennai is more of a commercial city with various industries, banks, offices, port, & a thriving movie industry. The most popular forms of entertainment are a visit to the cinemas at the weekend or some time at the sandy beaches. Restaurants, watering holes and discotheques have been opening with increasing frequency and while the absolute numbers aren't much, they're more experimental than most Indian metros with the exception of maybe Mumbai and Bangalore. While in Chennai one can drop into one of the following places.

• The Birla Planetarium,at Kotturpuram, between Adyar and Guindy, is the most modern planetarium in the country. Adjoining the planetarium is a Periyar Science and Technology Museum which will be of interest to students and other science scholars. Built in memory of B.M. Birla, the well known industrialist and visionary, the Planetarium is considered to be the most modern in the country. Programme Timing: 10.45AM - 1.45PM and 3.45PM. English: 12.00 Noon and 2.30PM Tamil.
• MGR Memorial House,at T.Nagar, is the house of the Late Actor- Chief Minister M.G.Ramachandran popularly known as MGR. : 10.00AM - 05:00PM .
• Connemara Library, Pantheon Road, Egmore www.connemarapubliclibrarychennai.com
• Elliots Beach, is in the Besant Nagar suburb of Chennai. Sometimes called Besant Nagar beach, after the area it is located in. It is a popular place to cool off from the city heat. It is a very nice beach, safe and good place for picnicking.
• Breezy Beach is in the quiet neighbourhood of Valmiki Nagar. It is smaller and less popular than the Elliots beach. This beach is not as commercialized as the Elliots beach, and is hence more quiet and peaceful.
• Ennore Port and Ennore foundries.
• Fort St. George, built in 1653 by the English Company of the Eastern Indies (CAIO), houses the Secretariat and the legislative Parliament of Tamil Nadu. There is a museum presenting objects of the time of the domination of the CAIO, and a banqueting suite going back to 1802 where the portraits of the governors of the fort are hung. The fort comprises also the oldest Anglican church of India, the church of St Mary. This also happens to be the worlds oldest church to the east of the Suez Canal.
• Government Museum, or National Art Gallery on Pantheon Road, comprises an interesting archaeological collection and a room holding a significant and superb collection of Chola bronzes. One building has modern works, while the other has historical works.
• Guindy National Park, The smallest national park in India and one of the few located in a metro. The park is an extension of the grounds surrounding the official residence of the governors of Tamilnadu.
• Guindy Snake Park, next to the Guindy National Park. See the deadly King Cobra,Common Krait,Common Cobra, pythons and vipers as well as other reptiles. There is a Children's Park adjacent with collections of animals and birds.
• Marina Beach, is one of the world's longest beaches. It is the most popular gathering place for locals, especially in the evenings and on weekends. It can also get very crowded at those times. The beach is relatively less crowded in the early mornings and more pleasant. At almost any time, the sea breeze is a welcome relief. It has been beautified recently and well maintained these days. But it's a great place to "people watch", especially the local fishermen who take their catamarans out to sea, and the families and groups of friends eating from chaat stalls and sitting in small circles on the sand. It's not a swimming beach, though you will see people fully clothed taking partial dips. The tsunami on December 26, 2004, caused massive death and destruction along the beach. It has been difficult to recover, but the community is working hard to make the area attractive to tourists and vacationers once again. Marina Beach is also considered as a gay point for some people.
• Integral Coach Factory The Railway Coach manufacturing unit of Indian Railways, which has a Rail Museum.
• St.Thomas Basilica The popular myth is that one of the apostles of Jesus Christ died in India and that his body was buried in Mylapore and that this church is built over the tomb.
• St. Thomas Mount The hill where it is believed that he died. It is a wonderful sight to see the flights take off and land - since the airport is very near to this hill
• Valluvar Kottam, Nungambakkam. An auditorium built in memory of the poet Thiruvalluvar. All of the verses of the poet's 'The Thirukkural' are inscribed on the pillars around the auditorium.
• Vandalur zoo, Tambaram. A zoo which is largest of its kind in Asia. Just a 17 km drive from the heart of Chennai. See the large number of species found there,some endangered species.For details, visit www.aazoopark.gov.in

• M A Chidambaram Cricket Stadium, 3 km (2 miles)

• www.connemarapubliclibrarychennai.com