Located, in the southern part of the Indian Peninsula Chennai, was earlier called Madras lays down the spirit of the South. It is a city where the old meets the new and thus will be a good place to take a tour and see how traditions of old are combined with those of today. If you are planning to travel to Chennai and do not have much time to consume, then Chennai Sightseeing Tour 1 Day Travel package provided by Indiator can be a good option. This exhaustive itinerary covers the city’s defining physical and architectural features and top cultural institutions and attractions for a representative and quintessential taste of Delhi.
Introduction to Chennai
Chennai is the capital city of Tamil Nadu state in the south of India – the city that offers an opportunity to see both historic sites and contemporary business centers. It’s a cultural, economic and an educational hub which is among the prominent cities in South India. Chennai is a city with a very old history yet can be best described as a modern city dominating with colonial architecture, modern high-rise buildings, and temples. Tourism: due to its multicultural population, crowded markets, beautiful beaches, and artistic culture, the area is always enticing for tourists of any kind.
Historical Background
Founded over two thousand years ago, the history of Chennai started in the early first century CE, with some evidence of habitation as early as the 1st century CE. The history of the city formally begins with when the British East India company built a fort named Fort St. George in the year 1644. This fort indeed harbored the foundation for the birth of the then city. Due to its geographical position on the Coromandel coast of the Bay of Bengal, Chennai was an essential commerce center and an interface for diverse cultures from Europe, the Middle East, and other regions of ASEAN.
Modern Chennai
Today, Chennai is recognized as being one of the largest car manufacturing industries, information technology, and city with music, classical dance forms, and movie industries. It is headquarters to the Tamil cinema industry also known as the Kollywood and they produce so many films yearly. The higher learning institutions are famous institutions of education with numerous colleges and university level research institutions.
Beginning Your One-Day Vacation To Chennai City
In our Indiator’s One-day Chennai city tour package our major focus is to ensure that our customers tender a rich experience of the many faces of the city in the shortest time possible. The tour first entails a pick up from your hotel and or a designated pickup point in Chennai. From there, you embark on a tour of the lively and energetic city of your choice.
1. Marina Beach
Your first destination is the coastline of Marina Beach which is one of the most extensive urban beaches on the planet. It is located at the coast of the beautiful Bay of Bengal covering a stretch of 13 kilometers and is among the most favorite destination for vacation by the people of this country as well as tourists. Along side the beach there on the statues of important personalities like Mahatma Gandhi; there are eateries, kites flying, the native people playing cricket etc. Waking up early to pay a visit to the site enables one to get stunning views of the sun rise particularly over the shoreline.
2. San Thome Basilica
Then the tour proceeds to San Thome Basilica a beautiful Roman catholic church in Basilica style built in the neo-Gothic architecture. This one is among the three churches in the globe that were constructed over the tomb of an apostle of Jesus Christ, in this particular case St. Peters. This Protestant church is located on one of the central streets of the city and is known for its white steeple The stained glass windows and a beautiful altar inside the hall also create a rather spiritual atmosphere.
3. Kapaleeshwarar Temple
Subsequently the visitors are taken to Kapaleeshwarar Temple situated in Mylapore. This temple is traditional Dravidian, with a large gopuram of ornamented carvings The tower is that of gopuram which houses rather ornate carvings. This temple is famous and purely devoted to Lord Shiva which acts as a local symbol of Tamil culture and spiritualism. The animated scene of the bustling day time market at the temple compound and the music playing during prayers gives a mere hint of the religious life of the city.
4. Fort St. George
Another place of attraction is Fort St. George, the first English fortress established in India for which one should visit Chennai. It was built in 1644 siting on the shores of the Bay of Bengal and has been serving as the home of Tamil Nadu legislative assembly along with other administrative structures. The current facilities at the fort-museum therefore include items such as Britain colonial items, documents, paintings, and other essential factors. The structure of the fort has the touch of both Indian and British and therefore it has appropriate historical significance for Chennai being a part of British empire.
5. Government Museum
The next attraction on the list is the Government Museum situated in a locality known as Egmore. It is one of the cultural hubs of the city and perhaps the oldest and largest museum in India with a rich collection of various art and artefacts. Sadly, the museum that is home to exotic art pieces today includes the Bronze Gallery containing the fascinating Chola bronzes and the Amaravati Gallery that mainly houses sculptures from the Buddhist site of Amaravati. It also has other artefacts, Roman oddities, coins, Palace of Traditional Musical Instruments of South India.
Valluvar Kottam
Following the historical tour, the tourists are taken to Valluvar Kottam, a monument built in the honour of the great Tamil medieval literature writer and philosopher, Thiruvalluvar. The outer frame of the monument is constructed in the manner of the sacred chariot of a temple and includes a giant covered hall capable of accommodating more than 3,500 spectators. The building is beautifully carved with stones and coupled with Kovalam’s statue of Thiruvalluvar, the place becomes an attraction for all the Tamil enthusiasts and lovers.
7. Guindy National Park
Guindy National Park is a national park located in Chennai and also it is an interesting part to visit in Chennai and from there, your tour proceeds to the next one. This park is one great place situated within the heart of the city where people could go to relax surrounded by vegetation and wildlife. These sites are ideal for a relaxed nature ramble to view deer, blackbuck and several species of birds if you have a chance. The park also has a snake park and a children park thus is the best place for family to be.
8. Birla Planetarium
One historical and one scientific education site comprises the Birla Planetarium which is in the Periyar Science and Technology centre. This contemporary one is equipped with tranquil interactive exhibits and theoretical space shows. Like many museums it is an excellent place to learn about astronomy and space sciences, therefore, people of all ages can appreciate the displays and information.
9. Anna Centenary Library
Book lovers will also enjoy visiting the Anna Centenary Library, which is considered to be one among the largest libraries in Asia. This new edifice has a very rich collection of books and includes fiction, non-fiction, and books in different foreign languages. The design of this library is most stunning and the reading rooms are very quiet n place where one can clear the mind.
Shopping at T. Nagar
Any tour of the city of Chennai will not be considered incomplete without the spicy bit of shopping and no place is more favorable for that in Chennai than T. Nagar. This is a vivid shopping district that offers all kinds of stores, ranging from the local boutique shops that offer ethnic items such as the classic silk sarees and gold jewelleries to the international brand name stores that sell the latest fashion accessories and gadgets among others. It is an excellent place to go shopping should you be in need of good and reasonably priced items to buy or souvenir stands to purchase souvenirs from because they are easily available.
11. DakshinaChitra
For the first time, I got to see and feel the true art, crafts and the traditions that belong to the South India; the destination for the tour was filled with a living history museum – DakshinaChitra which is near Chennai. The charm of the performing arts and traditional crafts of South India is experienced in recreations of houses from various states of South India. It is an attracting centre for seeing the prospect of cultural promotion of the region.
12. St. Thomas Mount
They take the tourists to St. Thomas Mount, a hillock with a church on its top and from here one has a bird’s eye view of the city. It is widely believed that the place was the location for Apostle Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus’s martyrdom. Likewise, the melodic beauty of fringes can also be suffused with a histronic mode of expressionism, especially given that the church on the mount overlooking the city of Chennai and its environs is definitely one of the most beautiful and quiet places.
13. Besant Nagar Beach, which is locally also known as Elliot’s Beach, is a renowned beach in Chennai city tour.
The last point of attraction that tourists visit in Chennai during the day is Besant Nagar Beach, which is popularly called Elliot’s Beach. This is another beach spot in the local area that has fewer crowds than it has in the Marina Beach and is better for relaxing. If you really want to unwind, you can actually take a leisurely walk under the serene night sky coupled with sunsetting views, or you can buy quick bites along the floating market stalls.
Culinary Delights of Chennai
Taste is truly the taste of Chennai, and no trip can be extensive without having dinner at one of its restaurants. The locals offer a variety of foods that are rich in spices with unique flavors that are witnessed in cities of South India combined with modern-day foods. There are always chances to order some of the most famous dishes that are specific to Chennai during your day tour.
Breakfast
Set your wheels spinning over South India’s all-time top breakfast which consists of the idli, dosa, and vada alongside some spicy chutney and sambar. Few of the restaurants are well-known for serving breakfast especially the vegetarian dish such as Saravana Bhavan and Murugan Idli Shop.
Lunch
The vegetarian meal you should try for lunch is the South Indian Thali, which is a huge platter containing rice, sambhar, rasam, curry, papad and sweet preparations. Hunger thugs pub and bar is recommendable for nocturnal diners while Annalakshmi and Namma Veedu Vasanta Bhavan for their yummy and authentic thalis.
Snacks
Therefore while in your tour there are some foods that you could have which includes bajji which is a frying snack, bhel puri which is a spicy food made from puffed rice and sundal which is a healthy food made from chickpea. These are good to eat handy that would help to keep up my energy while touring the city.
Dinner
As for the dinner, one might consider taking South-Indian meal called Chettinad staples and side orders are inflammatory and hot. Chicken Chettinad, mutton pepper fry and fish curry are some popular dishes that can be found easily in restaurants and homes in the region. Currently some of the pure vegetarian restaurants include Ponnusamy Hotel and Anjappar Chettinad Restaurant for people with the intention to have good eating joints.
Conclusion
Chennai Sightseeing Tour 1 Day package being offered by Indiator is truly value for money, as it includes a mix of offbeat places and famous landmarks. Be it the Mariana Trench or the Arctic circle or some other tourist place all the famous places to visit in Chennai are covered in the tour. Foe anybody who may be interested in history, the arts and culture, the natural world, or simply the culinary arts, it’s possible to have a one-day tour of Chennai to sample all of those flavors.
