THINGS TO DO - CHENNAI

Ancient temples, vibrant arts, natural wonders and a bustling culinary scene make Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the southern fringes of the country. Located on the Coromandel Coast, this busy metropolis was formerly called Madras.

MGR Memorial

MGR Memorial is a memorial structure built on the Marina Beach in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Spread over 8.25 acres, the memorial is located adjacent to the Anna Memorial. It was built in memory of Former Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, M. G. Ramachandran and his protégé J. Jayalalithaa, whose bodies were buried at the site on December 5, 2016. The memorial was built in 1988 and inaugurated by Janaki Ramachandran, wife of M. G. Ramachandran, in May 1990. The memorial was remodelled and the complex was laid with marble and opened in 1992 by J. Jayalalithaa who had become the chief minister of the state of Tamil Nadu in the previous year. When J. Jayalalithaa died on 5 December 2016, she was buried next to MGR. When the Indian Ocean Tsunami struck the seafront in December 2004, the memorial was damaged. Repair works cost approximately ₹ 13.3 million. A museum on M. G. R. is located within the memorial at the northern side of the campus.

Marina Beach

Marina Beach is a natural urban beach in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, along the Bay of Bengal. The beach runs from near Fort St.George in the north to Foreshore Estate in the south, a distance of 6.0 km (3.7 mi), making it the longest natural urban beach in the country. The Marina is primarily sandy, unlike the short, rocky formations that make up the Juhu Beach in Mumbai. The average width of the beach is 300 m (980 ft) and the width at the widest stretch is 437 m (1,434 ft). Bathing and swimming at the Marina Beach are legally prohibited because of the dangers, as the undercurrent is very turbulent. It is one of the most crowded beaches in the country and attracts about 30,000 visitors a day during weekdays and 50,000 visitors a day during the weekends and on holidays. During summer months, about 15,000 to 20,000 people visit the beach daily. India's largest beach is right around the corner when one is in Chennai. An old lighthouse stands on the southern end of Marina along with several other structures like an aquarium, a swimming pool and a park nearby. The sunrise here is a classy example of breathtaking beauty.

Chennai Rail Museum

The Chennai Rail Museum is a railway museum in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Indiia. The museum opened on 16 April 2002 in the Furnishing Division of the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) near Perambur . The 6.25-acre (2.53 ha) museum has technical and heritage exhibits, with a sizable collection of steam engines from the British Raj. It also has vintage coaches (such as Ooty trains), which were endemic on Indian railways. Most of the older models were manufactured by the North British Locomotive Company, with some trains in the collection dating back more than a century. Toy-train rides are available, and a renovated indoor art gallery is open to the public. The museum is managed and maintained by the ICF. The Regional Rail Museum (RRM, its original name) was established in March 2002. The Railway Board had a strong interest in its development, since it would be a model for other RRMs planned for Kolkata and Pune. The 6.5-acre (2.6 ha) museum has two galleries, a number of 19th-century outdoor heritage exhibits, a toy train that takes visitors around the perimeter, and a playground.

Government Museum

The Government Museum or Madras Museum is a museum of human history and culture located in the Government Museum Complex in the neighbourhood of Egmore in Chennai, India. Started in 1851, it is the second oldest museum in India after the Indian Museum in Kolkata and is the tenth oldest Museum in the World. It is particularly rich in archaeological and numismatic collections. It is the third Largest museum in the world, and with 0.6 million visitors in 2018. It has the richest collections of bronze idols, 500 of them dating to 1000 BC, in Asia. The building was built by Namberumal Chetty and was designed by Henry Irwin, with the interiors resembling those of Bank of Madras (SBI). The museum grounds also housed the first zoo of Madras in 1855, which was also established by Balfour. A year later, it had over 300 animals, including mammals, birds and reptiles. The zoo was later made a separate institution and was shifted to the People's Park in 1863 where it remained, not growing very much, till it was moved to its present location at Vandalur in 1985.

Guindy National Park

Guindy National Park is a 2.70 km2 (1.04 sq mi) protected area of Tamil Nadu, located in Chennai, India, is the 8th-smallest National Park of India and one of the very few national parks situated inside a city. The park is an extension of the grounds surrounding Raj Bhavan, formerly known as the 'Guindy Lodge', the official residence of the Governor of Tamil Nadu, India. It extends deep inside the governor's estate, enclosing beautiful forests, scrub lands, lakes and streams. The city life has a special edition of a variety of species and is the only national park situated in the middle a city. Guindy has many birds, animals, and reptiles as its residents. The visitors can treat their eyes with the presence of blackbucks, spotted deer, jackals, tortoise etc. The snake park is home to cobras and pythons, while the birds found here include partridge, quail, flycatcher, and buzzards. This place is surely one of the best places to visit in Chennai that make anyone forget the regular city life.