Where to Stay in Chennai, State of Tamil Nādu

What is Chennai known for?

Chennai is known as the capital of Tamil Nadu and a long-standing port on the Coromandel Coast. Fort St George, the walled settlement where the city began, still holds government offices and a museum of its early days. Colonial churches mark the old core.

St Mary's Church, the Armenian Church, and St Andrew's Church trace the many communities that traded here, while the Government Museum gathers the region's art and antiquities. The Bay of Bengal sets its seaward edge.

What are the main landmarks in Chennai?

Chennai keeps its landmarks in the old quarter around Fort St George and the museum district inland. Fort St George, begun in 1639, is the oldest of them, its ramparts and church at the root of the city. Churches stand throughout the core.

St Mary's Church, St Andrew's Church, and the Armenian Church survive from the trading centuries, while the Government Museum and the National Art Gallery hold the region's collections. Vivekanandar Illam looks out toward the sea.

What is the history of Chennai?

Chennai began in 1639 as Madras, when a trading post rose on the Coromandel Coast beside the Bay of Bengal. Fort St George grew from that post, and the settlement spread around its walls. Trade came by sea.

Merchants and garrisons from many nations settled here, and their churches, St Mary's Church, St Andrew's Church, and the Armenian Church, still stand among the later streets. The port drew the world to this stretch of coast. Civic institutions followed the trade.

The Greater Chennai Corporation was incorporated in 1688, making it the second oldest municipal corporation in the world after the City of London Corporation. Its Madras High Court and Government Museum date from the same long span of growth. Both names stayed in use.

Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu, coterminous with the Chennai district, and the old fort still anchors the plan that the harbour first set down. Wide roads and railways later tied it to the rest of Tamil Nadu. Its story is one of ships, forts, churches, and courts by the sea.

The Bay of Bengal shaped every chapter.

Where is Chennai?

Chennai lies on the Coromandel Coast, on the shore of the Bay of Bengal, in the state of Tamil Nadu. The land is low and flat, running back from the beaches into the coastal plain. The sea rules the setting.

Rivers cross the city on their way to the Bay of Bengal, and the ground barely rises above the tide as it spreads inland toward Tamil Nadu's interior. Chennai district covers this coastal stretch.

What is the climate of Chennai?

Chennai has a hot tropical climate on the Coromandel Coast, held in check a little by the Bay of Bengal. The sea keeps the air humid all year. Summers are long and fierce before the rains.

The heaviest rain arrives late in the year, when the coastal storms sweep in off the Bay of Bengal and flood the low streets. Winters stay warm and dry.

How do you get to Chennai?

Chennai is a major hub of Tamil Nadu, reached by air, rail, sea, and road. Ships have called at its port on the Bay of Bengal for centuries, and the harbour still works beside the old fort. The rest arrive overland.

Trains and highways run in along the Coromandel Coast, converging near Fort St George where the main stations and the harbour meet the city. Traffic thickens by the shore.