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              CHENNAI TRAVEL GUIDE

Chennai  formerly known as Madras , is the capital of  Tamil Nadu and is on the
Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. With an estimated population of 7.5 million
(2007), it is the fourth largest metropolitan city in India and one of the largest
metropolitan areas in the world.

The city was established in the seventeenth century by the British, who developed it
into a major urban centre and naval base. By the twentieth century, it had become an
important administrative centre, as the capital of the Madras Presidency.

Chennai's economy has a broad industrial base in the automobile, technology,
hardware manufacturing, and healthcare industries. The city is home to much of
India's automobile industry and is the country's second-largest exporter of
information technology (IT) and information-technology-enabled services (ITES),
behind Bangalore.

Chennai hosts a large cultural event, the annual Madras Music Season, which
includes performances by hundreds of artists. The city has a vibrant theatre scene
and is an important centre for the Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form. The Tamil
movie industry, known as Kollywood, is based in the city; the soundtracks of the
movies dominate its music scene. Chennai is known for its sport venues and hosts
an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) event, the Chennai Open. The city
faces problems of water shortages, traffic congestion and air pollution. The state
and local governments have undertaken initiatives such as the Veeranam project
and the construction of mini-flyovers to address these problems.

The region around Chennai has served as an important administrative, military, and
economic centre since the first century.[8] It has been ruled by various South Indian
dynasties, notably the Pallava, the Chola, the Pandya, and Vijaynagar.[8] The town of
Mylapore, now part of Chennai, was once a major Pallavan port. The Portuguese
arrived in 1522 and built a port called São Tomé after the Christian apostle, St
Thomas,[11] who is said to have preached in the area between 52 and 70 CE. In
1612, the Dutch established themselves near Pulicat, just north of the city.

On 22 August 1639, Francis Day of the British East India Company bought a small
strip of land on the Coromandel Coast from the Vijayanagara King, Peda Venkata
Raya in Chandragiri. The region was ruled by Damerla Venkatapathy, the Nayak of
Vandavasi. He granted the British permission to build a factory and warehouse for
their trading enterprises. A year later, the British built Fort St George, which became
the nucleus of the growing colonial city. In 1746, Fort St George and Madras were
captured by the French under General La Bourdonnais, the Governor of Mauritius,
who plundered the town and its outlying villages. The British regained control in
1749 through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and fortified the town's fortress wall to
withstand further attacks from the French and another looming threat, Hyder Ali, the
Sultan of Mysore. By the late eighteenth century, the British had conquered most of
the region around Tamil Nadu and the northern modern-day states of Andhra
Pradesh and Karnataka, establishing the Madras Presidency with Madras as the
capital. Under British rule, the city grew into a major urban centre and naval base.


GENERAL INFORMATION


Time zone         IST (UTC+5:30)
Area                   181.06 km² (70 sq mi)
Elevation           6 m (20 ft)
District(s)          Chennai
                      Kanchipuram
                     Tiruvallur
Population       4.34 million (5th) (2001)
Density             24,418/km² (63,242/sq mi)


PLACE TO VISIT


Elliots Beach - is in the Besant Nagar suburb of Chennai. Sometimes called
Besant Nagar beach, after the area it is located in. It popular a place to cool off from
the city heat. It is a very nice beach, safe and good place for picnicking.

Breezy Beach - is located in the quiet neighbourhood of Valmiki Nagar. It is
smaller and less popular than the Elliots beach. This beach is not as
commercialized as the Elliots beach, and is hence more quiet and peaceful.

Fort St. George - built in 1653 by the English Company of the Eastern Indies
(CAIO), houses the Secretariat and the legislative Parliament of Nadu Tamil. There
is a museum presenting of the objects of the time of the domination of the CAIO, and
a banquetting suite going back to 1802 where the portraits of the governors of the fort
are hung. The fort comprises also the oldest church Anglican of India, the church of
St Mary.

Guindy National Park - The smallest national park in India and one of the
few located in a metro. The park is an extension of the grounds surrounding the
official residence of the governors of Tamilnadu.

Marina Beach - one of the worlds longest beaches is 13 km long. The tsunami
on December 26, 2004, caused massive death and destruction along the beach. It
has been difficult to recover, but the community is working hard to make the area
attractive to tourists and vacationers once again.

National Shrine of St.Thomas Basilica - Christians believe that one of
the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ came to India in A.D.52 and died in A.D.72. His
body was buried in Mylapore and the national Shrine of St.Thomas basilica,
Santhome, Mylapore is built over the tomb of the Apostle.

Ashtalakshmi Temple - Besant Nagar (Kalakshetra Colony) The temple is
dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi. It looks different then other South Indian temples as
it is of modern construction, less then 20 years old.

Mary's Church - Built in 1680 it is the oldest Anglican Church in India. Robert
Clive and Governor Elihu Yale (who later formed Yale University in the USA, were
married here.)



HOW TO REACH

By plane - Chennai has an international airport and is the transport hub of South
India. All international flights arrive at the Anna Terminal while the domestic flights
arrive at the Kamraj terminal

By train - Chennai is also reachable by train, run by Indian Railways from other
Indian cities. Chennai Central and Egmore stations are the main hubs for all
long-distance trains. There are daily trains from/to Bangalore, Bombay, Delhi and all
other Indian cities. For train timings and on-line reservations (within India) visit the
Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation's website. For Railway enquiries
call 131 or 132

By bus - Chennai has one of Asia's largest bus stations, CMBT. Seven different
state owned corporations ply buses to and from various destinations within South
India. There are hourly buses for places like Tirupati, Pondicherry, Coimbatore. You
will get the option of A/C or Non-A/C coaches for cities like Bangalore, Trivandrum,
Hyderabad.

Several private players also operate buses between most southern destinations.
During the weekends most buses are fully occupied and it's better to reserve a ticket
in advance.

By car - Chennai is very well connected and to other parts of India by road. Five
major national highways radiate outward towards Kolkata, Bangalore,
Tiruchy/Madurai, Tiruvallur, and Pondicherry. With the progress of the Golden
Quadrilateral project, driving down from Bangalore is actually an option, but driving in
India is still dangerous if you are a foreigner unused to the idea that rules are to be
ignored