Things to do in Chennai
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Chennai
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best weather, daytime about 24 to 30C, lowest humidity and calmest seas.
Shoulder season, workable mornings and evenings with heat building by midday.
Worst heat, 35 to 42C with brutal humidity, sightseeing only at dawn and dusk.
Northeast monsoon, heavy rain, cyclone and flood risk, needing flexible plans.
Hot with intermittent showers in the southwest monsoon rain shadow, prime Covelong surf swell.
What's on
- Margazhi / Madras Music Season mid-November to mid-January
Over 2,000 Carnatic concerts and dance performances across 30 plus sabhas, plus sabha canteen food.
- Pongal 14-17 Jan
Tamil harvest festival with sweet pongal in new clay pots, kolam designs and temple festivities.
- Chennai International Film Festival usually December
A serious cinephile festival in the city that powers Tamil cinema.
- Panguni Festival, Kapaleeshwarar Temple March-April
Processions of the 63 Nayanmar saints through packed, decorated Mylapore streets.
- Covelong Point Surf / Music Festival usually August-September
Surf competitions, music and beach crowds at the Covelong surf village.
- Navratri / Dussehra Sep-Oct
Kolu doll displays in Mylapore homes and temples.
- Deepavali Oct-Nov
Lights, sweets and firecrackers citywide, in monsoon season.
Best things to do in Chennai
Kapaleeshwarar Temple
Chennai's essential living Shiva temple, with a rainbow gopuram, tank streets and flower stalls around it.
Storytrails Peacock Trail
A storyteller led walk through Mylapore's temple, lanes and market that explains how the neighbourhood works.
San Thome Basilica
A calm white neo Gothic basilica built over the tomb traditionally held to be St Thomas the Apostle's.
Marina Beach
A vast urban beach promenade for a sunrise or sunset walk and people watching, not for swimming.
Fort St. George
India's first British fortress, with St Mary's Church and a museum of colonial era arms and letters.
Government Museum Chennai
Worth it above all for the Bronze Gallery, with world class Chola bronzes including Nataraja figures.
Connemara Public Library
A grand historic public library in the same Egmore complex as the Government Museum, easy to pair with it.
The Music Academy
The prestige room for Carnatic concerts, especially during the Margazhi Music Season in December and January.
Where to stay in Chennai
Alwarpet / Poes Garden / Boat Club Road
best overall base, mid to luxury budget
Tree lined and central south, near Mylapore temples, the Music Academy and Nungambakkam dining.
Nungambakkam / Thousand Lights / Cathedral Road
first timers wanting restaurants and cafes nearby
Chennai's upscale commercial heart, with the deepest concentration of good hotels and metro access.
Mylapore
culture first travellers and the best cheap base
Walk to dawn temple rituals, sabha concerts and legendary tiffin rooms in season.
Besant Nagar / Adyar
slower, seaside, longer stays
Leafy and cafe rich, with Elliot's Beach as your evening walk and Kalakshetra nearby.
ECR (East Coast Road) beach resorts
only if the resort is the trip
Lovely for weddings and surf and pool weekends, but a poor base for seeing Chennai itself.
Think twice about
- Velachery / Madipakkam / Perungudi-Pallikaranai marshland fringe
Low lying and repeatedly waterlogged in monsoon, with little for a visitor to walk to.
- Around Chennai Central / Egmore stations and Parry's / George Town
Congested, noisy and tout heavy for a first stay, with thin evening dining and inconsistent budget hotels.
- OMR IT corridor, Sholinganallur and Siruseri
A highway of office parks far from Mylapore and the Fort, with nowhere to walk as a leisure base.
- Airport proximity areas on GST Road, Meenambakkam and Pallavaram
A noisy highway far from everything recommended, fine only for one night before an early flight.
Best restaurants in Chennai
Murugan Idli Shop
The local benchmark for soft idlis on banana leaf, with chutneys, sambar, ghee podi and jigarthanda.
Hotel Saravana Bhavan
The safe, excellent default for a full banana leaf vegetarian meal, mini tiffin, dosa and vada.
Ratna Cafe
A heritage tiffin room famous for sambar poured generously over idlis until they soak.
Avartana
Progressive South Indian tasting menus that rebuild familiar flavours with fine dining technique.
Southern Spice
Classic high level South Indian fine dining from four states, in an ornate temple inspired room.
Peshawri
Clay oven kebabs, whole leg raan and dal makhani in the Bukhara format, built for group sharing.
Nair Mess
A tiny Kerala style mess famous for seer fish fry, prawn thokku and mutton curry on banana leaf.
Anjappar
Fiery, black pepper forward Chettinad cooking in an accessible chain with branches across the city.
Best coffee in Chennai
Amethyst
A garden cafe in a restored bungalow, the city's prettiest coffee and cake stop, by a designer boutique.
Outdoor things to do in Chennai
Mahabalipuram
A UNESCO complex of Pallava shore temples, cave temples and rock carvings, walked outdoors in sea air.
Bay of Life
A highly rated surf school at Covelong where beginners routinely stand up in a first morning lesson.
Covelong Point
Murthy Megavan's community surf school in India's original surf village, with board and instructor included.
TNGF Cosmo Golf Club
An 18 hole city course with water hazards and mature tree lines, best played at dawn before the heat.
Ekambareswarar Temple
Kanchipuram's vast earth element Shiva temple, with a huge gopuram and an ancient mango tree.
Kailasanathar Temple
The oldest and most intricately carved sandstone temple in Kanchipuram, the connoisseur's favourite there.
Madras Crocodile Bank Trust
A respected reptile conservation centre with thousands of crocodilians in open enclosures on the ECR.
Cholamandal Artists' Village
India's landmark self built artists' commune, with sculpture gardens and open studios to walk through.
Best hotels in Chennai
The Leela Palace Chennai
Chennai's most opulent seafront palace hotel, with Jamavar dining and an Adyar seaface setting.
ITC Grand Chola
A vast Chola inspired luxury hotel worth choosing for Avartana, Peshawri, its spa and pools alone.
Taj Coromandel
The old guard flagship luxury hotel, with Southern Spice restaurant and the most central luxury location.
The Raintree, St. Mary's Road
A well reviewed hotel in the best base neighbourhood, with a rooftop locals use for evenings.
Taj Club House
Taj service at a relative club hotel price, central and an easy walk to Cathedral Road dining.
Courtyard by Marriott Chennai
A reliable international mid range option in a workable central location, good for points and consistency.
ibis Chennai City Centre
A dependable international mid range hotel in a central location, unlike its OMR corridor siblings.
Zostel Chennai
The recognised backpacker hostel in Chennai, with dorms, privates and social common areas.
Is Chennai expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₹4,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₹14,000 a person |
| Splurge | ₹32,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Kapaleeshwarar Temple: a few days ahead
- Storytrails Peacock Trail: a few days ahead
- The Music Academy: weeks ahead
- Mahabalipuram: a few days ahead
- Bay of Life: a few days ahead
- Covelong Point: a few days ahead
- TNGF Cosmo Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Pulicat Lake: a few days ahead
- Avartana and Southern Spice days to a week ahead, more in December.
- Storytrails and private heritage guides 3 to 5 days ahead.
- Surf lessons a day ahead, reconfirming on the morning for sea conditions.
- Alwarpet and Nungambakkam hotels well ahead for mid December to mid January.
Is Chennai safe?
- Heat and dehydration are the main risk. Carry water and schedule indoor time from noon to 4pm.
- Look both ways on every crossing, including one way streets.
- Emergency number is 112. Drink bottled or filtered water and eat at busy places.
Chennai travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Marina Beach swimming, with dangerous currents and no lifeguarded swim zone.
- Temple special entry or blessings from unsolicited helpers instead of the official counter.
- Kanchipuram showroom detours you did not choose, driven by driver commission.
- Combined Kanchipuram plus Mahabalipuram in one day car tours.
Getting around Chennai: public transport and more
- Metro first, app cabs second, autos last. Use Ola, Uber or Rapido to avoid haggling.
- Group sights by neighbourhood and start day trips at 6:30 to 7am, as cross town traffic is slow.
- Hire a car and driver by the day for the ECR and Kanchipuram, agreeing tolls and parking upfront.
Who Chennai suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Chennai your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store