Chennai, formerly known as Madras is the capital city of the Tamil Nadu state of India. Chennai is fourth largest city in the country and is one of the metropolitan cities of India. The city is located in the Coromandal Coast that is in Bay of Bengal. The city is also known for its seashore which is 2nd largest in the world.
The city was founded by many European coastal settlers who came to India during the 16th and 17th century in search of spices. The city of Madras served as the prime location for the English East India Company who built a trading settlement here initially and Fort St. George was built later on to protect the British interests from the foreign invasions.
Later the city was then renamed to 'Chennai' as the name Madras was the name that was derived during the colonial rule of the British.
Reaching Chennai
Chennai is one of the metropolitan cities of India. The city is well connected to the rest of India by an extensive network of land, rail, air and water links.
Chennai's International Airport is third busiest in the country after Delhi and Mumbai. There are two terminals in the airport, Anna for international flights and Kamraj for handling domestic flights.
Chennai is one of the important stations on the Indian Railways. There are a number of regular express as well as long distance trains to this city.
Chennai has one of the largest bus terminals of Asia and several bus services that are operated by many private players. Chennai also lies on the prestigious Golden Quadrilateral as one of the main edges of this highway project.
Attractions in Chennai
Chennai is famous for its restaurants, beaches and nightlife spots.
The beaches of Chennai are amongst the beautiful in the world and inviting too. Also note that they are not the swimming beaches because of the strong currents that are present on the shoreline. There are no official lifeguards available and you have to enjoy swimming at your own risk. Also avoid wearing bikini or any other raunchy clothes. Some of the popular beaches of Chennai are:
Marina Beach is one of the longest beaches in the world. This beach expands over an area of more than 12 Kilometres.
Edward Elliot's Beach is another popular beach that is situated on the south of Marina. This beach is known for its late night parties and Christmas Carnival.
Breezy Beach is a quiet beach that is situated in Valmiki Nagar. There are no commercial activities and thus free from all noise and other disturbances.
The city of Chennai is also known for its historical places such as:
- Basilica of National Shrine of St. Thomas
- St. Mary's Church
- St. Thomas Mount
- Big Mosque
- Kapaleeshwar Temple
- Parthasarathy Temple
- Sri Ramakrishna Math
- Valluvar Kottam
- Fort St. George
- Government Museum
- National Art Gallery
- Birla Planetarium
