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Date of publishing: 10/10/2010

Paragraphs: Editorial staff

Introduction, Travel Guide, Landmarks and Historic sites, Though our editorial stff constantly works on
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About
Introduction
- Introduction
Chennai, in the past known as Madras, is the capital of the great
state Tamil Nadu and one of the four metropolitan cities in India. It
is situated in the southern part of India. This city is only 350 years
old and it grew up under the influence of an English settlement of
Fort Saint George, with the time it absorbed the towns and villages
in the surrounding. The British influence didn’t hinder Chennai in
keeping its traditional Tamil Hindu culture. The city has a wide
extension of about 180 square kilometres and is one of the most
important trading centres of India. Chennai is well connected by
road, rail and air to other important cities and is also a sea port. In
1639 Chennai was a little

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 Destination: CHENNAI | Date of publishing: 10/10/2010

tiful cities of India.

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Travel Guide
- Travel Guide
Chennai has plenty of historical treasures as temples,
palaces, forts and shrines. The climate in Chennai is
rather hot and wet. The temperatures go from 37°C to
21°C in summer and from 32°C to 20°C in winter. The
annual average of precipitation reaches 1272mm. The
best time recommended to visit Chennai is from
January to April. - Marina Beach
The Marina Beach is the second largest beach in the
world and also the biggest in Asia. It is spread along
[paragrafo002] the eastern coasts of Tamil Nadu in the city Chennai,
- Kapaleeshwar Temple the capital of Tamil Nadu. The stretch is of about 12
kilometers where various activities like swimming, sun
Kapaleeshwar Temple is a Hindu temple situated in
bathing, fishing and wind surfing are offered.
Mylapore at Chennai in India. It is believed to have
Additionally, there are several parks and memorials at
been built in the 8th century by the Pallavas. It is
Marina. Some of the best features of Marina Beach are
dedicated to Lord Shiva, called Kapaleeshwar. The
the magnificent view of the sunset, picturesque look of
statue of his wife, Parvati, is also situated in the temple
old structures, lantern lit shops and stalls, horse rides,
and known as Karpagamabl. The temple demonstrates
the silhouetted look of the fishermen boats and kids
a typical Dravidian architectural style, where the
busy in sand castle making. The sandy beaches and
gopuram stands-out on the street where the temple lies.
the main road are bifurcated by a park stroll. Here, there
It has two entrances. Apart from Shiva, the temple
are statues of some reputed personalities of India like
houses other shrines that are dedicated to lords such
Thanthai Periyar, Swami Sivananda, Kamaraj,
as Ganesha, Muruga and Sani Bhagvan. It also
Tiruvalluvar, Bharatidasan, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and
contains ‘vahanas’ like elephant, bull, bandicoot, goat
Mahatma Gandhi.
and a golden chariot. The god and goddess, sitting on
the vahana are brought around the temple with the - Ramakrishna Temple
devotees playing music and lifting the vahanas. The The gateway of the Ramakrishna Temple is as per the
deities are offered four pujas daily. Each year, a Dravidian style of temple architecture. The forecourt of
number of festivals like Spring Festival and the temple is similar to those of the monuments of
Arupathimoover Festival are celebrated by the Mughals in Delhi like the Red Fort or Taj Mahal in
devotees. Agra. There is a central lawn that is 30 feet in width
flanked by pathways that are 15 feet wide and made of
colored ceramic tiles. This entire structure is protected
by a decorated low parapet wall that has eight light
pedestals. The distance between the ground level and
the floor of the prayer hall of the temple is 10 feet. The
staircase that leads to

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 Destination: CHENNAI | Date of publishing: 10/10/2010

the prayer hall is 16 feet wide and there are 24 steps

paved with marble slabs. The space underneath the
prayer hall and other parts of the temple is used as an
auditorium or as rooms. In this temple, the different
architectural elements and themes found in the
Ramakrishna, Buddhist and Hindu temples as well as
the cathedrals and churches of Europe are combined.
- Doveton House
The Doveton House in Chennai was constructed by
the famous architect Benjamin Roebeck in the year
1798. There are pillars in the front region and half moon
steps at the back of the Senate House which resemble
the colonial style and evoke the memories of the
White House, as it is similarly built. At the beginning, 104 feet and width of 25 feet. The intention of building a
the Doveton House was a residential building where storey at the top was to grab the clock. The second
English officers stayed on their visit to Chennai. Also, storey is being utilized as belfry. In the Central Hall,
the Gaekwad of Baroda was kept in custody here as there are 14 wooden plaques. These demonstrate the
he attempted to kill a British resident in his state. The scenes pertaining to the final days of Christ. The tip of
name Doveton House was coined when Lieutenant the cross on the spire is at a height of 50 meters above
General John Doveton took charge of the building in the ground level.
1837. After Doveton, this house was used as a prison - Fort St. George
where British officials kept the prisoners in custody. The
Currently, Fort St George is used for the Tamil Nadu
last person to live here was a High Court Judge, Sir
Secretariat and the Legislative Assembly. This
Ralph Benson. In 1916, this place became the
structure resembles a mansion rather than a fort. There
Women’s Christian College.
are solid foundation walls and huge gates.This
- Santhome Cathedral monument has one of the oldest British churches in
Santhome Cathedral was originally built at Mylapore India, called as the St Mary’s and this was built in
in Chennai by Apostle St. Thomas. He advocated in 1680. In the northern compound, there is a lighthouse
Chennai for 20 years from 52 A.D. onwards, but was constructed in the year 1844. Another lighthouse was
killed in St.Thomas mount. The current monument is constructed in the year 1971. In this fort, there is a
above the tomb of St. Thomas. Portuguese voyagers museum where there are portraits of the British high
had initially constructed a Roman Catholic cathedral officials of the past and some archives of the British
in the 16th century. In 1893, the British people occupation in India.The significance of Fort St George
renovated it. This structure has a museum connected to is that it marks the start of a new city, Madras in 1640.
it. The length of the Cathedral nave is 112 feet and the
breadth is 33 feet. Between the central portion of the
church and the sanctuary, there exists a transept that
has a length of

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 Destination: CHENNAI | Date of publishing: 10/10/2010

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- National Art Gallery
The National Art Gallery is situated at Pantheon Road
(Egmore) and is open to the public from 9:30 am to 5
pm on all days except National Holidays and Fridays.
To enter the premises there is a fee of 0.071 USD (INR
3), for photography the charge is 0.476 USD (INR 20)
and for videography the charge is still higher. In this
gallery, there are some panchaloka (made from five - Government Museum
metals) and bronze statuettes belonging to the 10th
The Government Museum is located in the heart of
century A.D. that portray the dancing form of Lord
Chennai over an area of 16.25 acres of land. It is
Shiva, Nataraja and his consort Goddess Parvati.
situated on Pantheon Road, Egmore. The working
There are also some paintings belonging to the 17th
hours are from 9:30 am to 5 pm. The museum has a
and 18th century that portrays Lord Krishna in different
holiday on Friday, the Independence Day (15th August),
postures as well as historical figures of the Mughal
the Republic Day (26th January) and Gandhi Jayanthi
rulers and Maratha or Rajput chieftains.Additionally,
(2nd October).There is an entrance fee, camera fee and
one can also see some mica and glass paintings that
video fee. In the museum there are six independent
are basically from Tanjore. Formerly, this art gallery
buildings that have forty six galleries. The main
was called as Victoria Memorial Hall as it was
building galleries have sections for Archaeology,
dedicated to Queen Victoria.
Zoology, Botany, Geology and Numismatics. The
- Birla Planetarium front building has sections for Anthropology and
Birla Planetarium is located on the Gandhi Mandapam Archaeology. The bronze gallery has sections like
Road in the Kotturpuram suburbs of Chennai city and Archeology, Numismatics and Chemical
is almost two kilometers from the Kotturpuram bus stop Conservation. The fourth building is the children’s
and one kilometer from the Kotturpuram railway station. museum which is comprised of Dolls gallery,
This planetarium is an important part of Periyar Civilization gallery, Science gallery, Transportation
Science and Technology Center which is responsible gallery, Technology gallery and kids corner. The
for the establishment of the planetarium. It is fifth building is the National Art gallery. This has four
constructed in the fond memory of B.M.Birla, the sub-sections – Tanjore Painting gallery, Decorative
leading industrialist and visionary of India. The Art gallery, Indian Traditional Art gallery and Ravi
planetarium has a fully computerized projector. It has Varma Painting gallery. The sixth building is the
an air conditioned structure that has a seating capacity Contemporary Art gallery.
of 236 persons as well as seminar hall, sound studio
and a class room. There are audio video shows that
provide a personal experience of different cosmic
phenomena for those who desire to see the stars or the
meteoroids must visit this place on the second
Saturday of the month and see the night watching show
from 7 pm to 9 pm.

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 Destination: CHENNAI | Date of publishing: 10/10/2010
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- Adyar Beach
Adyar Beach is also referred to as Elliot Beach and is
situated in Besant Nagar in Chennai. This beach is at
the end of the Marina Beach, which is the 2nd longest
beach in the world and has a number of tourists
attractions situated near it. The Velankanni Church
and the Ashtalakshmi Kovil dedicated to goddess
Lakshmi are both places of religious worship situated
nearby. Another prominent landmark is the Karl
Schmidt Memorial which is named after the Dutch
sailor who lost his life trying to save a person from
drowning into the sea. On the weekends the beach gets
crowded and it is difficult to even find parking space. It
is an important place where most youngsters or college
going people come to spend a nice time. There are a
number of eating joints and restaurants situated in the
vicinity where one can have snacks and drinks.
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- Chennai MRTS
The MRTS refers to a specific system of suburban rail
network in the city, where the tracks run on a raised
platform. Chennai currently has a suburban railway
network, where the services started from Beach to
Tambaram on a meter guage line. Since 1985 two more
services were started on a broad gauge from Chennai
Central to Gummidipoondi and Chennai Central to
Arakkonam.The MRTS stations are constructed so that
a full length Electric Multiple Unit rake that consists of 9
cars should operate. However, in the current situation,
there are only 6 car rakes on the line. The MRTS
project consists of three phases and out of these the
Phase I and Phase II are already completed.The
Phase I has eight stations over a length of 8.55
kilometers and this route starts at Chennai Beach and
ends at Thirumayilai.The Phase II has 9 stations over a
length of 11.16 kilometers and this starts at Thirumayilai
and ends at Velachery.Currently, the Phase II extension
and the Phase III, which are
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planned from Velachery to St. Thomas Mount and from
St. Thomas Mount to Villivakkam respectively, are in
progress.
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- Bars and Nightclubs
Zara is a lively bar with a tint of sophistication. Drinks
and food is excellent here. Leather Bar possesses
leather interiors and is popular for its stylish crowd.
Pasha's in the Park Hotel is a trendy bar with an
energetic crowd.Besides these, Bike and Barrel,
Dublin, Geoffrey's and Durant's are famous spots in
Chennai. Bamboo Bar is a peaceful place.
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- Tour to Mahabalipuram
At day one of this tour, one reaches Chennai and
checks into the hotel. There are visit to other historic
places and temples. Once the tour service reaches
Mahabalipuram, the sight is breath taking. It is a world
heritage site popular for its monolith temples and which
dates back to centuries. There are also other
sightseeing places in Mahabalipuram like Arjuna’s
Penance, Five Rathas and the beach. One can book
online to enjoy such tour service.
- Rejuvenate and meditate
The duration of this tour is 24 nights. The destinations
that are covered are Chennai, Mahabalipuram,
Thanjavur, Swamimalai, Trichy, Madurai Rameshwaram
and Kovalum till Chennai.Through this tour one can
know Ayurveda effects and its positive encouragement
to the mind and soul. This tour provides journey to
different places of interest like temples, and sightseeing
too. Through the tour, one can visit the Sterling
Swamimalai and learn proper way of meditation,
ayurveda and yoga.One can call for booking the tour to
Sterling Swamimalai
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 Destination: CHENNAI | Date of publishing: 10/10/2010
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- Kamadhenu Theatre
Kamdhenu Theatre presents some of the exhibits of
old Tamil films. This theatre stands proudly as a fading
Art Deco landmark on Luz Church Road. It was built
before 1947 on Lakshmi Vilas mansion. This mansion
was one of the Mylapore’s famed old garden mansions
which had long historical background connections to
Justice Bhashyam Ayyangar and many more people.  the choicest food courts. There is also roof top open
Though there are no cinema shows here, the theatre is
a land mark for its historical background.
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- Discos
There are few a numbers of bars and nightclubs in the
city. The concept of pubs is not common in Chennai.
However, there are a few spots in the city which are
worth visiting. EC 41 is one such famous spot in
Chennai. It is an open-air disco which remains open till
the late hours at night. The music is grooving and it
gets sizzling on Saturdays. Quality Inn Aruna is yet
another happening place. Come in your best dress and
enjoy yourself with the rocking music. There is no dress
code and the young crowd is trendy.
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- Where to shop
Chennai offers an unmatched shopping experience.
Tourists can buy traditional as well as modern stuff in
the city. Poompukar is a government owned
emporium. Visitors can buy bronze figures, wax figures,
metal-ware, pottery, paintings and handicraft objects
here. Figures, carved in rosewood and sandalwood are
also displayed here. The ideal place to buy modern day
and branded stuff is the Spenser's Plaza. Numerous
shops and art galleries aggregate in this plaza. Fully
air-conditioned, this place is the best to hang out on a
hot sunny day. Booklovers can visit the
Higginbotham's book
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shop. This is the largest and oldest book shop in the
nation. Allison's fabric is the shop that suits a foreign
tourist. This shop sells everything from Indian
handicrafts to silk fabric materials. Tourists can choose
any fabric they want. Cushion fabrics and window
screen are stitched within a day here. Aparna Art
Gallery is the place to buy authentic wooden carvings.
- Abirami Mega Mall
The Abirami Mega Mall is the one and only destination
in Chennai which combines world class shopping with
some of the spectacular entertainment and with some of
terrace with having car parking facilities too. This mall
offers in center promotions and daily and weekly
contests for the visitors like fun activities, inter school
drawing competition, etc.
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- Information for visitors
Chennai city offers a wide range of attractions for the
tourists. Ranging from the natural surroundings to the
modern shopping centers, the city is packed with
everything.The beach in the city is the second longest in
the world. Large numbers of tourists visit this beach
every day. This city has a historical significance as
well. Some of the temples and monuments are built in
the 7th and 8th century. Besides these, the city
possesses some colonial structures. Chennai is rich
in art and craft. Tourists are often attracted towards the
handicrafts and handlooms, which are the key
features of the city.Numerous art galleries and
emporiums are spread across the city. The rich
heritage and tradition is exhibited through every object
displayed in these art galleries. Chennai is blessed with
tranquil natural surroundings. Tourists can visit
enormous numbers of gardens, parks and zoos in
Chennai. There are 3 amusement parks located in
different parts of the city.
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 Destination: CHENNAI | Date of publishing: 10/10/2010

may face a little trouble from the stray dogs on the

road.
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- Things to Carry
The weather in the city is extremely hot and humid.
Hence, the packing list must contain the things which
will be helpful in such weather conditions. Light weight
and cotton clothes are recommended. Always carry
small backpacks with necessary things, while roaming
around the city. The backpack must contain water
bottles and juices. Hats, scarves, sun- screen lotion,
umbrellas and sun glasses are a must, when traveling
in the city. Carrying medicines for fever, dysentery and
diarrhea is advisable. Camera and video-cam are the
must carry things. The films for the camera are
available in local photo shops. Most of the shops store
a wide variety of toiletries. However, tourists who are
allergic to scented soaps or powders; must carry their
own stuff. Try using open sandals instead of shoes as
the heat may burn ones feet. Also carry a decent
swimwear as Chennai is still a conservative city.

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- Safety and Warnings
The major thing, about which the tourists in Chennai
must take care about, is the weather. During the
summer and rainy season the temperature in the city
increases a lot. Tourists should not take this lightly as
dehydration is commonly seen among tourists. They
should always drink lots of water while roaming in the
city. The roads in the city are always jammed with
heavy traffic. Visitors who are exploring the city on foot
must walk carefully on the road. Drink packaged water
to avoid infections. Beggars have different strategies
out here. The beggars wear pressed neat clothes and
pretend to be the victims of pickpocket or any other
incidence. They ask for monetary help telling the
person how kind he is. They are often frauds, with no
real reason as such. Stay away from these people and
just refuse to give money. Tourists

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