Chennai also known as Madras is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The state’s largest city in area and population as well, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, and is the most prominent cultural, economic and educational centre of South India.
The traditional and de facto gateway of South India, Chennai is among the most-visited Indian cities by foreign tourists. It was ranked the 43rd-most visited city in the world for the year 2015 and was ranked the 36th-most visited city in the world for the year 2019. The Quality of Living Survey rated Chennai as the safest city in India. Chennai attracts 45 percent of health tourists visiting India, and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists. National Geographic mentioned Chennai as the only South Asian city to feature in its 2015 “Top 10 food cities” list. Chennai was also named the ninth-best cosmopolitan city in the world by Lonely Planet. In October 2017, Chennai was added to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) list for its rich musical tradition.
Chennai or Madras as it was called before, on the Coromandel Coast, is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, a State of the Indian Sub-continent. It is a major industrial, commercial, cultural, economic and educational centre of the Southern India.
There are many versions and legends as to how this city’s name kept changing from Madras and Chennai from time to time. Originally this city was called as Madras, from Madraspattinam during Nayakars rule. It was a fishing village situated to the north of the present Fort St. George. British bought the piece of land from the King of Vijayanagar and built the Fort St. George that houses today’s Secretariat complex of Government of Tamil Nadu. British retained the name as Madrasapattinam, though the locals called it as Chennapattinam. A Legend also says, this city was first named Chennai in honour of Damal Chennappa Nayakkar. In 1996, the then ruling Government of Madras, renamed it as Chennai and it stands good till date.
Beautiful Beaches, One day leisure outlets, Modern Sea Port and Airport, Long and beautiful Highways, Convenient multi-Transport system, Theme parks, Industrial cities, Hi –Tech software silicon valley parks, Sophisticated Multi Speciality Hospitals, World Class Universities, High Rise Business and Residential complexes are the present days outlook of the great Chennai, most sought after by the people of all walks of life from all parts of the world.
Top 10 Tourist attractions to see in Chennai
- Marina Beach
- Valluvar Kottam
- Dakshinachitra
- Government Museum
- Kapaleeshwar Temple
- Santhome Cathedral Basilica
- Madras War Cemetery
- Fort St. George
- Cholamandalam Artists Village
- Chennai Rail Museum