Things to Do in Chennai

Chennai is a very active city and one of the busiest in the country filled with people from all over the country and with tourists, with whom the city is very popular. Chennai’s breathtaking coastline is the highlight of the city housing the very popular Marina Beach, the second largest beach in the world. Some of the best things to do in Chennai are-

Take a stroll on the beautiful Marina beach
A leisurely walk through Thalankuppam Pier
Visit the majestic Mahabalipuram Temples
Get an experience of space at Birla Planetarium
Go for bird watching near Pulicat Lake
Try out Chennai’s street food
Check out the San Thome Cathedral
Visit the Alamparai Fort
Take a luxury cruise tour to Port Blair or Vishakhapatnam
Visit the Royapuram Fishing Harbour
Have a thrilling and fun day out at Queens Land Theme Park, one of the best in the country
Marvel in the beauty of history at Fort St George
Visit the pilgrimage sites of Kapaleeswar Temple and Parthasarathy Temple

Chennai is one of those tourist places which has something for every sort of tourist. Chennai is a great place for adventure enthusiasts or adrenaline junkies. Chennai has a lot of options for adventure activities in and around the city. Some of the best adventure activities to do in Chennai are listed below-

Trekking in the Nagalapuram Hills
Camping in Tada Falls
Rappelling in Kelambakkam
Surfing in Marina Beach
Surfing at Covelong Beach
ATV Rides on Marina Beach

Chennai’s long coastline offers a scintillating view of the sea and the beaches. The beaches are very comfortable and are best suited for relaxing, away from the generally hot and dry climate prevalent over all of India. So if someone is an admirer of natural beauty and want some time off to relax, Chennai is the best place with its lovely beaches. There are also great facilities for watersports in the beaches of Chennai. From surfing to kayaking, there’s something for everyone. Some of the best beaches for watersports in Chennai are –

Marina Beach
Elliot’s Beach
Covelong Beach

Chennai’s location just beside the beach makes it an exciting place for surfers, novice or experienced, to try out their skills against the fiery waves of the Bay of Bengal. Surfing is taught here by the many surf schools that have been set up with skilled surfers training the students. Proper safety is always maintained by them.
The best surfing site in Chennai is the Marina Beach, where one can notice many surfing activities by both Indian and foreigners alike, along with Muttukadu. Covelong has become the country’s first surfing village and is a surfing haven visited by surfers from all over the world.

Chennai is the gateway to some beautiful trekking spots located very close to it. The tourists looking for a getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city often choose to go to these nearby treks to relax their mind and work their bodies. The treks also give a fantastic ringside view of the beauty of the nature and wildlife of South India. Some of the best places for trekking in and around Chennai are -

Nagalapuram Hills located close to Tirupati
Tada Falls in Andhra Pradesh
Peerumedu Waterfalls, Yelagiri
Takalana Falls, Chittoor
Dolphin’s Nose Trek, Kodaikanal

Chennai is one of the places which provides an engrossing natural experience which is why it has remained one of the top places for tourists to visit over and over again. So someone with the love of the outdoors has a great time in Chennai. From rugged terrains to the majestic Bay of Bengal, Chennai does offer a lot. No wonder it has many popular camping locations as well. Here are some of the best camping locations in Chennai-

Yercaud
Tada Falls
Nagalapuram
Yelagiri
Mahabalipuram
Pichavaram
Hogenakkal
Pulicat Lake
Alamparai Fort

ATV or All Terrain Vehicle rides are a popular adventure sport all around the globe and Chennai is no exception to that. Chennai’s Marina Beach provides a fine location for ATV Rides. There are many private operators which provide ATV Rides on the beach, and they also have their own tracks. The rides are performed with top quality bikes and safety measures. There are different charges for ATV Rides. In the tracks it starts from INR 400 and goes to INR 2000, the beach ATV rides start from INR 2000 and go till INR 3000 depending on bike and distance.

Tamil Nadu is home to some of the most diverse animal and plant life in the country and has many national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in it, some of which are a jump away from Chennai. Some of the parks offer wildlife safaris to take the tourists into the interiors of the forest for seeing the animals up close. The best destinations for wildlife safari in and around Chennai are -

Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary
Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary
Arignar Anna Zoological Park
Guindy National Park
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary
Periyar National Park
Rajiv Gandhi National Park

Chennai, albeit a modern city, has not lost touch with its history and divine roots. Chennai was part of massive kingdoms in South India ruled by some of the mightiest kings in the country’s history who worshipped their gods by creating beautiful and mammoth temples of them and those temples are now striking proof of their legacy. Chennai is a holy place for Hindu devotees. Some of the best pilgrimage places in Chennai are-

Parthasarathy Temple
Kapaleeswarar Temple
Ashtalakshmi Temple
Kalikambal Temple
Ayyappan Temple
Thirumalai Thirupathi Devasthanam Temple
Mahabalipuram

Fishing is a well-known activity in Chennai, being a coastal city. Many of the people here base their entire livelihood on fishing. Sports fishing is slowly becoming popular in Chennai. The Yacht Club in Chennai Port often hosts many sport fishing competitions that bring sports fishers from all around the world for a shot at glory. The tourists are properly taken care of with state of the art speed boats and complete safety of them. On the other hand, the Marina beach is another option for fishing.

Rappelling is an adventure sport that is a mix of rock climbing and mountaineering. It is the perfect thing to do for an adrenaline junkie who wants an adrenaline rush along with some healthy exercise for the body. In Chennai, there are many adventure resorts like Silver Sands Resort which has rappelling areas. Some professional trainers take individual classes on rappelling as well. But the best place for this is Kelambakkam, a hill 100 kilometres from the city limits. This place offers a range of climbing options and is a haven for a climbing enthusiast.

If anyone wants to escape the hustle bustle of the city, taking a sail in a private yacht in the ocean is a great way to spend some romantic or family time. There are many inland water bodies that are man-made near the Chennai harbour for sailing. Chennai has some very old sailing club which teaches sailing to novices and holds races regularly.
Private yacht sailing costs INR 30,000 a person.

Paintball is a fun and competitive shooting game in which players eliminate their opponents by hitting them with round dye-filled pellets. It is a really popular and exciting sport that can be played anywhere both indoors and outdoors. Paintballing helps build up team coordination and corporates often send teams to play paintball for the same purpose.
Headshot provides international quality paintball in Chennai, and they are one of the best in the country. Go Bananas is another similar place in Chennai.
The cost begins from INR 500 for a round of paintball.

Chennai Port is one of the busiest and most important ports in the country. But not only is it used for transportation of cargo to and from all over the world, it also serves as a starting point for different cruise ships which then start a trip to all around the world. From Chennai Port, a tourist looking for a great cruise experience can ride a luxury cruise to Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar or Islands or to Lakshadweep, or Vishakhapatnam. The luxury cruises are very comforting and relaxing giving one a complete peace of mind.

Housing over 200 species of birds, Chennai has been a hotspot for bird watchers forever. It is the only urban city where many rare birds are spotted right in the city. Some of the popular bird watching locations in Chennai are –
Guindy National Park
Theosophical Society Gardens
Siruthavur Lake
IIT Madras Campus
Pallikaranai Marsh

Chennai, being one of the most important cities in the country has lots of people here from different places and is one of the busiest cities. So naturally, it has a colourful and vibrant nightlife. From pubs to cinemas, Chennai offers a lot to the night-crawler. There are some great nightclubs and pubs like 10 Downing Street, Pasha The Park, Cloud 9, The Flying Elephant, Illusions, Blend where one can dance, eat and have drinks. Movie theatres like PVR, Cinepolis, Lux, Palazzo stay open until late for you to watch a regional or English movie.
One could even take a drive to the beach and lie down there for a view of the tranquil skyline and experience the calming air.

Chennai has gone through three foreign rulers, the Portuguese, the French and the British. All of them have left their mark on the city in the form of architecture and monuments. Chennai is a city with a rich history which is still present in the form of buildings to stand proof of those times. Here are some famous archaeological sites to visit in Chennai -

Madras War Cemetery
Rippon Building
Senate House
Vivekananda Illam
Kapaleeswarar Temple
Chyavan Eshwara Temple
Thousand Light Mosque
Fort St George

Queensland Amusement Park is a theme park in Chennai which opened in 2003 and has now become one of the largest such parks in the country. One can spend a fun time here with family or friends by enjoying the fascinating rides in the park. Some of the things to do or rides to take in the park are –

Free Fall Tower
Alpen Bridge
Centrox
Cable Car
Himalayan Water Ride
Hanging Coaster
Go-Kart

The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology were created in 1976 by Rom and Zai Whitaker to protect the three endangered species of crocodiles, the mugger, the saltwater crocodile and the gharials. They were immensely successful and soon enough, they began to include turtles and snakes for breeding and protection. This place is very important as it houses many rare and threatened species of animals. The bank is open from 9 am to 5:30 pm from Tuesday to Sunday. Entry tickets cost INR 50 for adults and INR 30 for children below 10 years. They also have night safari facilities from 7 pm to 8:30 pm at the cost of INR 200 for adults and INR 100 for children.

Chennai is home to the Marina Beach, the second largest beach in the world and being a coastal city, Chennai has immense scope for water sports. Thus, surfing is a very popular water sports activity at the beaches of Chennai. There are many surfing schools in Marina Beach itself, which teach you the basics of surfing in three to four hours after which you are allowed to surf with the help of a professional trainer on the ocean.
Other than surfing, some of the other water sports that can be enjoyed in the beaches are windsurfing, canoeing, and kayaking.