Travel Recommendations In Chennai
My husband and I took our children to a quick 4-day trip to Chennai last week. Chennai is a capital city of Tamil Nadu State in the south of India. I found Chennai very charming and lovely although I recognize that visiting and living must be different. I would like to show you how we spent our two full days in Chennai. Our friends who live in Chennai kindly offered us to stay at their place, so I unfortunately do not have any hotel recommendations. I hope this post will be able to help some future travelers to Chennai plan their trips as our friends helped us a lot and without them we would’ve not had this much fun. I also hope that this post will encourage or inspire some others to visit this lovely city in South India.
DAY ONE
Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram is an ancient historic town located about 60 km south from the city of Chennai. It took us about an hour to get there from the central area of Chennai. Here is its home page. Mahabalipuram has various historic monuments and is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We rented a car that came with a driver and gas which was arranged by our friends who live in Chennai and the driver took us around different sites. The fee we paid was Rs. 3,800 (about US$62 for the current exchange rate in October 2013) The sites are spread out in the same area, but you need a car and someone to guide you where to go. It is highly recommended to go earlier in the morning as it gets hot during the day. I saw that the opening hours of the sites are 6:00 am until 6:00 pm. The admission fee for non-Indians is Rs. 250 (about US$4+). For more details, please go to the Archaeological Survey of India site.
Cyclone Phailin was approaching Orissa State of India when we were visiting Mahabalipuram. I don’t know if the waves we saw were affected by the Cyclone Phailin or they are usually this high, but our friends told us that the water along the Chennai coast has very strong undertow.
Lunch
at
Bay View
Vivanta by Taj
Our friends who live in Chennai suggested Bay View restaurant inside the Vivanta Hotel by Taj. (Note: Music will start as you enter Vivanta’s home page.) I thought it was a great recommendation. Having lunch by the beach was very relaxing. I cannot remember exactly how long it took us to get there from the Mahabalipuram site, but it wasn’t long. Maybe 10 minutes. The water was very rough and I hear that the ocean has a strong undertow, so it did not seem suitable for swimming. It looks great for surfing though.
We did not stay at Vivanta and only visited their restaurant, but I thought that Vivanta Hotel looked beautiful and welcoming.
DAY TWO
Kapaleeshwarar Temple is a temple of Shiva located in the area in Chennai called Mylapore. Kapaleeshwarar Temple has its official website: Arulmigu Kapaleeswarar Thirukoil. It is a great site to learn about the temple, its history and more. (Note: The music will start when you access the site.) Kapaleeswarar Temple is one of the oldest and most famous temples in Chennai. We saw no photography sign inside the temple, so I only have photos I took outside the temple. We entered from the East Gopuram. You have to take off your shoes when you go in. I suggest you take many hand wipes or wet tissues to wipe off your feet as the back of your feet get quite dusty after walking around the temple.
Insights
It would be better to go there earlier in the morning as it gets very crowded and also hot during the day. Our kids got tired just walking around in the temple even though it was a very manageable size. The streets were very busy with many people, vendors, beggars and cars and rickshaws driving by, so we watched our children closely. We did not take a stroller. It was fine got us to not take one although I hear it’s okay to bring one and depending on the age of your child, it might make it easier for you.
Lunch
at
CHAMIERS
CHAMIERS CAFE was like an Oasis to me after a visit at the Kapaleeshwarar Temple. Kids were thirsty and needed to be fed. Chamiers is a life-style store with Anokhi‘s line of clothing and furnishing. It also has a section with a range of jewelry, craft and home decor. Chamiers Cafe is located above Anokhi shop. In case you are not familiar, Anokhi is one of the very popular fashion brands from India. I have heard about Anokhi from my Japanese friend who lives in Mumbai, but I have yet to try Anokhi store there. I was glad to have a chance to visit Anokhi in Chennai, though!
ANOKHI
Anokhi is a very popular Indian fashion brand which you can find all over India. Anokhi store in Chennai was located below the Chamiers cafe and it was beautiful.
CHAMIERS
106 Chamiers Road, R A Puram,
Chennai – 600028
Shop: 044 24311495
Cafe: 044 42030734
Hours: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Open 7 days a week
Email: chamiershop@gmail.com
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This is outside of the jewelry shop of Chamiers. There are so many lovely items sold inside the shop!
OTHER SUGGESTIONS
I love azure, which was recommended by my stylish friend who lives in Chennai. I wish there is an azure store in Mumbai. It just happened that azure was having 20% off sale when I was in Chennai, so I enjoyed some shopping. Azure’s fabric, design and colors are adorable. Azure seems to be located on one of the main shopping streets in Chennai. I saw some other nice shops a couple of shops down from azure. This street is definitely a must check for shopping in Chennai.
azure
77 C.P. Ramaswamy Road, Shop #5
Alwarpet, Chennai 600018
Phone: (044) 24670452
Email: esales@azurefashion.com
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Mehndi Henna
You can take your kids to a salon and get mehndi done and they will love it! This was one of the highlights of the trip for our girls.
Travel Tips with Little Kids
1. Start Early
All the sightseeing should take place in the morning. Then have lunch would make it easier for the kids.
2. Bring bottled water and snack for the ride.
3. Don’t forget your hats, sunscreens, mosquito repellent, tissue paper (for bathrooms), wipes & hand sanitizer gel.
4. Long sleeve and long pants might be better for going out in the evening to avoid bitten by mosquitos.
5. With little ones, it’s easier to go without a tour guide to tell you the stories about the sites and walk through on your own pace.
6. Afternoon nap or quiet time (for both parents and kids) after sightseeing might help make the trip more enjoyable.
Thank you for visiting my post!
Wonderful post and amazing photos, as always 🙂 It looks like such an enchanting place. I also liked your tips for traveling with kids. Definitely noted! And can I just add that you have an absolutely beautiful family?
Thanks, Miwa! It was truly enchanting. Thanks for the compliment! The good gene comes from my hubby. 🙂
My State , I Wish i was There to show you more interesting places around . I grow up in chennai. There is a huge difference between the South indian Cities and the other parts of India. Tamil is the language spoken in Tamilnadu State and Chennai is the capital city for the state. Next to Chennai on the ECR is Pondychery it was a French colony. The Streets and Architecture still reminds the French time. TamilNadu is all About Temple, Silk Sarees, Cinema freaks. Did you try Chennai Breakfast IDLY / DOSAI with the different colour chutney. Mylapore Area Is the Best for the breakfast and Madras Degree Coffee. Usually We south indians Like to have Breakfast Spicy with variety of chutneys and Coffee.
you should ask for Madras Filter coffee. Cos Chennai old name was Madras.
I am super excited about my 2 years long waiti to come to my country. I have all my Family and Friends there.
Hope you and children had a good time in Chennai . There is a saying about Tamilnadu. Tamilians are the people Living in Tamilnadu have a very long History of culture an dTradition cos they are the True Dravidians. Our LAnguage is been around for the more than 2000 years read this article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_language
Tamilians Are very proud of their own Culture and Tradition. Because we are Still saving our Language. Hindi is the official language in our country.
We enjoyed it very much! We unfortunately did not get to explore breakfast as we stayed with our friends, but I’m sure I’ll have another chance as we live in India. I love the sound of the name Madras by the way. I recognized that Hindi is not commonly used in Chennai as I am taking Hindi lesson right now and I could not read road signs and others signs since they were mostly written in Tamil!
Yes, In Many States in India the road signs are mostly written in the state lanugage and in English. I want you to check out the fairs in mumbai (Bombay old name ) This is Diwali time. It is one of the Biggest festivals in India . It is called the Festival of light , Lot of fire crackers it is celebrated on the 3rd Nov. I feel the festive mood started in Singapore about two weeks earlier.
Have you checked out Chore Bazaar, It is a street of antiques stuffs in Mumbai and i would suggest you to go alone with your friends and leave the kids at home it could be not a kids friendly place you have to do hard bargain. I was told this place will be like the street in jakarta full of antiques. I wanted to visit that place during my last trip but i dint have time and my husband hates shopping. Poor me 🙁 .
Diwali Insights, Lots and Loads of Sweets, Snacks(Namkins or savouries), Try the very famous bombay halwa. Loads of nuts as Gifts, Crackers, NEW clothes (very colourful and Vibrant) , Loads of jewellery (immitation jewellery) bangles, Tikka, Diwali is the Festive of ligts. Loads of cinema and Special programmes on TV channels. FAmily visits. and more Sweets . No wonder india is a country with higher diabetes patients. you will see the proof your self. You should go for the pedicure ( Paraffin pedicure) they use warm wax and cover it up on our feet with aluminium foil then they do pedicure procedure and i love it cos the feet looks very good.
I want you to enjoy the Diwali festival in our County and looking forward to see your diwali post.
Kids will love it and advanced Diwali wishes to your family.
I haven’t checked out the Chore Bazaar yet. I know many people go there. I have heard that Diwali is a big holiday for Indians and I am excited to see it with my own eyes in India! Happy Early Diwali to you and your family as well!
Hi.. Nice article and as others have commented, yes, the photos were awesome.. You might like to check out our list of 15 must see places in Chennai – http://www.theweekendleader.com/Travel/1675/know-chennai.html
Thank you for taking some time to write me a comment. Thank you also for the link! I have several places from your list that I would love to visit next time I have a chance to go back to Chennai! The Marina Beach looks beautiful!!
I am very much touched reading this post Kaho it is wonderful to see someone visiting my hometown and portraying it so beautifully. I miss being there. You have lovely kids…God bless you and hope all enjoyed to the core. Looking forward for more trips from you.
Ayushi, thank you so much for taking your time to leave me a comment! I loved visiting Chennai. What a beautiful place! Thank you so much for visiting!!
Dear Kaho,
Thank you for your kind words about Cafe Chamiers and our store space. We’re so glad you enjoyed your time here in Chennai and felt that Chamiers was worth a mention! =) We are sharing this post on our blog and Facebook page – I hope you don’t mind. Do visit again soon.
Best Wishes,
Team Chamiers
I’m delighted to know that you liked my post! Thank you so much for sharing my post with your readers! I’m flattered and happy!!! Best of luck to you and your team!
What a great post! Thank you for sharing all of your insights and photos. I will be going to Chennai in Semptember and will be checking Anokhi and Azure!
Thank you for visiting my blog!! I hope you’ll enjoy the time in Chennai!!
Very impressive and interesting! Lots of good pictures too!!
Thank you, Cindy, for your encouraging words!
Though I live in Chennai, your post has been quite helpful. Thank you and glad that you enjoyed your time here.
What a compliment!! I am so glad to hear that it was helpful for you! Thank you so much!
That’s an excellent wrtie-up.. i am visiting Chennai next week for a day and it really helped me in chalking out my itinerary..
PS: your son is too cute!
Omendra, thank you for taking time to leave me the comment! I hope your visit to Chennai will go well!! Thanks for the compliment on my son, too!!