I’m going to Chennai (Madras) India for business in a few weeks. What should I see/do there if I get a free afternoon and am not incapacitated by jet lag? Any tips/warnings/social advice for visitors there?
My wife and I really enjoyed Mahabalipuram. The stone carvings are wonderful.
Its near the water and not too far from Madras. We stayed a few days.
It’s been many years since I’ve been to Chennai as anything other than a passenger on a train, passing through the city, and I can’t claim to know it well.
Seconding the recommendation of Mahabalipuram. If you can find a bit more time, Puducherry (Pondicherry) is an interesting place to visit. It’s one of the very few bits of India that were a French colony, so it has an mix of colonial and traditional buildings and architecture that’s quite different from most other places in south India.
Auroville is also close to Puducherry, and is worth a quick visit, though I wouldn’t stay there for an extended period.
Chennai is the de facto home of much south Indian culture; both classical Carnatic music and the classical dance style of Bharatnatyam are widely taught and performed there. I remember quite enjoying my trip to the Chennai Botanical Gardens, though that was many years ago. The Theosophical Society has some lovely grounds in which to walk, and also a beautiful quiet beach, if you can find someone to let you in. (It’s a running joke in Chennai that there’s both a T.S. beach and an Elliot beach, quite close to each other.)
Chennai also has several old religious buildings, including the San Thome Basilica (said to be on the site where St. Thomas was interred) and the Thousand Lights mosque. There are also a large number of Dravidian-style temples.
A coworker of mine is from Chennai, so I dropped him an email. His reply:
He didn’t have any advice for museums, and his response to “fun activities” was “drive in Chennai :)” If you’re adventurous you could definitely try; I’ve heard stories. :eek: