Chennai is a beautiful city situated on the Coromondal coast of Bay of Bengal. One of the largest cities in India and the Getaway to South India, Chennai is one of the best tourist destinations in the country. A wide range of historical monuments, ancient temples, calm beaches, museums, national parks and so many more places comprise the innumerable places to visit in Chennai. The picturesque beauty of this amazing city attracts a lot of people. With a charm of the history and the chic style of the modern world, Chennai becomes one of the best places to visit. So here is a brief list o all the important attractions that the city holds.
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Fort St. George is the first English fortress in India. It was founded in 1644 and houses the Tamil Nadu Legislative Building along with other official buildings. There is a museum inside the fort that has in store all the important relics of the British Era. St. Mary’s Church and the Wellesley House are other important attractions inside the fort. The flag staff at the fort is the second highest in India.
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Vivekanand House or Vivekanandr Illam is the place where Swami Vivekanand stayed for nine days when he visited Chennai in1897. The building houses a Permanent Exhibition on Indian Culture and the life of Swami Vivekanand. Earlier this place was used by the British to store ice that they brought from Great Lakes in North America. The building was built in a way that it faced the Bay of Bengal. It has spherical shape and has three floors.
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This historical building in the city is one of the best tourist places in Chennai. The building sets a fine example of British architecture. It was used as a theatre and public assembly room in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was built between 1888- 90 and is constructed with red brick and painted with lime mortar. This rectangular building has an Italianate tower capped by a Travancore-style roof.
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The Big Mosque Chennai is located in the Janbazar area and was constructed in 1795. It is one of the most important tourist places in Chennai. The mosque sets in a fine example of medieval architecture with Indian, Islamic, and Iranian influences. It is built in grey granite. There are two tall minars in front of the mosque. This mosque was built by the family of the Nawab Wallajah in his memory.
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Dedicated to Murugan, this Hindu temple was constructed by the Beri Chetty community in the 1670s. The temple is situated in Rasappa Chetty Street and is associated with the life of the Saivite saint Ramalinga Swamigal. The idol of Murugan in the temple was brought from Tiruporur and installed in the 1930s.
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Kapaleeswarar Temple in Chennai was built in the 7th century on the lines of Dravidian architecture. There are two entrances to the temple marked by the gopuram on either side. The vahanas at the temple includes the bull, Adhikaranandi, elephant, bandicoot, peacock, goat and parrot. There is golden chariot too in the temple premises.
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St. Thomas Mount is a small hillock. A shrine was built of the top of the mount and dedicated to Mother Mary. There is a gateway of four imposing arches surmounted by a cross bearing the inscribed date 1547 at the northern foot of the mount. The altar of this shrine was built on the spot where St. Thomas died. A flight of 160 steps leads to the highest point on the mount.
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MGM Dizzee Worl is an amusement park in Chennai. It has fantastic rides not just for kids but also for grownups. The park has log flume, Ferris wheel, spider spin, roller coaster, the funny mountain, dashing cars, super trooper, a water world and it also hosts special seasonal shows. The park also offers you a snow valley experience with an artificial snow shower with snow-capped mountain and a snow man.
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Thousand Light Mosque is one of the largest mosques in India. It was built by Nawab Umdat-ul-Umrah in 1810. The mosque features multi domes and spearing minarets and the average height of the minarets is 64 feet. The mosque is adorned with quotes from Quran. There is a main hall at the ground floor that is used to offer prayers by men. There is a separate prayer room for women in the mosque.
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Connemara Public Library is one of the four National Depository Libraries which receive a copy of all books, newspapers and periodicals published in India. It was established in 1890. The library holds some rare collection of books and journals like the Bible (published in 1608), Rheed et al.’s 12-volume Hourtus Indicus Malabaricus (published in 1678-1703), J. Ovington’s A Voyage to Suratt in the years 1689 (published in 1696), Charles Lockyer’s An account of the Trade in India (published in 1711) and Nicolai Laverrntii Burmanni’s Flora Indica (published in 1768).
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Arignar Anna Zoological Park is a zoological park located in the suburbs of Chennai. It is spread over an area of 602 hectares which makes it the largest zoological garden in India. It is home to 2,553 species of flora and fauna. There are around 47 species of mammals, 63 species of birds, 31 species of reptiles, 5 species of amphibians, 25 species of fishes, and 10 species of insects in the park. Arignar Anna Zoological Park is one of the best tourist places to visit in Chennai.
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Dakshinachitra Is a museum in Chennai that depicts the culture of South India. The museum was founded by 1984 and is built over 10 acres of land. The museum has 18 heritage houses representing the living styles of people from the states of South India such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, North Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana. The museum houses 4,220 artifacts of which 3,200 are art related and 70 pertain to modern aspects and 950 objects are of clothing.
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Guindy National Park and Snake Park is the 8th smallest National Park of India. It is home to 400 blackbucks, 2,000 spotted deer, 24 jackals, a wide variety of snakes, geckos, tortoises and over 130 species of birds, 14 species of mammals, over 60 species of butterflies and spiders each, a wealth of different invertebrates like scorpions, mites, earthworms, grasshoppers, ants, termites, crabs, snails, slugs and millipedes.
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Birla Planetarium is located at Kotturpuram in the Periyar Science and Technology Centre campus. It was built in 1988. It has an opto-mechanical GOTO GM II starfield projector, an accompanying special-effects projector and an X-Y table system for simulating various celestial phenomena. the Solar System, sky and seasons, eclipses, Earth, Man on Moon, comets, shooting meteoroids, stellar cycle and the deep sky are some of the shows that the planetarium hosts.
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Cholamandal Artist Village was established in 1966 in Injambakkam, a village near Chennai. The village has over twenty resident painters and sculptors and houses a number of art galleries, museums, and an open-air theatre. It is a treat to the artist’s eyes as this village gives you an insight of the modern day art. Their work has been widely recognized not only in India but also in different parts of the world.
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Sri Parthasarathy Temple was built in the 8th century and is dedicated to Lord Krishna. The temple features two gopurams on the eastern and western sides. There are vimanas in the temple namely Anatha Nilaya Vimanam over Parthasarathy shrine, Ranganathar Sannidhi vimanam, Ramar sannathy vimanam, Narasimha sannidhi vimanam and Andal Sannidhi vimanam. Sri Prthasarathy Temple has two main shrines: the Mulavar and the Thellia Singhar. This is one of the few temples with a shrine dedicated to Krishna as Parthasarathy and one of the best places to visit in Chennai.
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Semmozhi Poonga is a botanical garden and was inaugurated in 2010. This garden is spread over 20 acres of land and has over 500 species of trees in its premises. The park also has some trees that are more than 100 years old. The collection includes exotic flora and rare plant species, medicinal and aromatic herbs and bonsai varieties of ficus microcarpa and ficus ginseng.the garden has eight subgardens and Twenty-five thematic gardens.
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Covelong is a fishing village in Chennai which is well known for its beach. It is one of the few places in the west coast that promotes wind surfing. The fort in the village that was built by the Dutch has now been converted into a resort. The beach has swaying palm trees, white sandy, beautiful sea shells and a soothing ambience for a lovely vacation. Mahabalipuram lies close to the beach.
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Marina Beach is the longest urban beach of India and runs from Fort St. George to Besant Nagar. Swimming and bathing is not permitted on the beach because the undercurrent is very chaotic. The endless Bay of Bengal offers a majestic view. The beach is home to olive ridley sea turtles. You may mind fishes loke mullets, sharks, silver bellies, rays, ribbon fish, skates, white bait, dussumeria, jew fish, horse mackerel, crabs, seer, pellona, pomfret, perches, lactarius, lethrius, flying fish, engraylis, sardines, lobsters, sabre fish, barracuda, hilsa, tunny, Indian salmon, leather jackets, cookup, breams, catfish, snappers, synagris, bonito, soles, polynemus, and prawns along the beach.
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Elliot’s Beach is another very popular tourist place in Chennai. Located in Besant Nagar, this beach along with soft white sand and a wide array of aquatic life has a number of other attractions too. Karl Schmidt Memorial is an important landmark in this place. The Ashtalakshmi Temple that is dedicated to Godess Lakshmi is also located near the Elliot’s Beach. You will also find the Velankanni Church in this area.
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