Chennai is a working city, not a showpiece. It suits people curious about Tamil culture, food and temples, and it makes a gentle start or finish to a trip down the coast. A day or two is plenty. If you want big sights and nightlife, keep your days for elsewhere.
Go in the coloured months. The black ones are best avoided.
A busy working temple in Mylapore, with a tower covered in painted figures. Go early on a weekday to miss the queues. Opening hours differ between sources, so check before you go, and be ready for parts of the temple to be closed to non-Hindus.
Sources differ on this, or we have only one, so check locally.
A wide city beach of about 13 km. Come for the sunrise or the evening crowds and snack stalls, not for a swim, as the sea here isn't safe for bathing.
Sources differ on this, or we have only one, so check locally.
A white neo-Gothic church in Mylapore, built over what is held to be the tomb of St Thomas the Apostle.
Sources differ on this, or we have only one, so check locally.
The old neighbourhood around the temple, with flower sellers, sari shops and small coffee houses. It's the easiest place to get a feel for the city.
Chennai does breakfast better than almost anywhere: soft idli, crisp dosa and strong filter coffee served in a steel cup. Most of it is vegetarian and very cheap.
A dark, peppery chicken curry from the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu. Ask how hot it is before you order.
Dosa is a crisp rice and lentil pancake and idli a soft steamed rice cake, both served with sambar, a spiced lentil stew, and chutneys. Have them for breakfast.
Vegetarian
Strong South Indian coffee with hot milk, poured between a steel cup and bowl until it foams.
Vegetarian
Warm chickpeas tossed with coconut and spices, sold from carts on Marina Beach in the evening.
Vegetarian
A vegetarian landmark since 1935. Have filter coffee with a bonda, a fried potato snack.
Cheap eats, vegetarianFilter coffee and crisp dosas, served here since 1954.
Cheap eats, vegetarianChennai International is about 20 km from the centre. The metro runs from the airport into the city, or a taxi takes 30 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry are a road trip down the coast.
Egmore Near the railway station and good for a short stay on a budget.
Mylapore and Adyar Calmer and closer to the temple, the church and the beach.
T. Nagar A shopping district, lively and crowded, with plenty of places to eat.
On 23 October 2026 the Madras High Court ruled that at Agamic temples (temples run by traditional Hindu rules of worship) non-Hindus must not be allowed past the flag-pole, the tall flagstaff in the courtyard in front of the main shrine, unless they sign an undertaking of reverence for the deity. The ruling is about religion, not nationality. We found no list of the temples it applies to, and no report of an appeal or a stay up to 31 October 2026, but the ruling is only days old, so rules may change. Signing is a personal matter of faith, and we do not suggest it just to sightsee. Plan any temple day so it works if you only see the outside and the outer courtyards.
The same ruling says even entry to the temple premises can be refused to non-Hindus who show their own religious markers, and it does not say what counts as a marker. A visible cross, a head covering or a turban could be treated that way, and we do not know about a small pendant. Check at the gate and follow what the staff tell you.
