Places of Tourist Interest

Fort St. George
Fort st.George occupies pride of place and prominence in Chennai. This bastion derived its name form St. George, the patron saint of England. The State Legislature and the Secretariat are located inside this fort .

The St. Mary’s Church, the oldest Anglican Church in India built in 1680 is situated here. The tombstones in its courtyard are some of the oldest British tombstones in India. The weddings of Robert Clive and Governor Elihu Yale, who later founded the famous Yale University in the U.S.A were solemnised in this ancient prayerhouse.

Vivekananda House & Museum
The state government had leased this building Sri Ramakrishna Mission. It is an imposing structure on the Marina along the South Beach Road. It was constructed in 1842 to store ice blocks imported from the USA by the Tudor Ice Company and the business continued until 1874, when the ice began to be produced locally. This is why it is called Ice House. Later Bilagiri Iyengar purchased this building in 1885 and called it "Castle Kernon."

In 1897 Swami Vivekananda visited this city and stayed in this historic building from February 6 to 15 in 1897 on his way to Calcutta, after his acclaimed speech at Chicago for the Parliament of Religions. The Government took over the building in 1930 and in 1963 it was named after Vivekananda. On the eve of his Centenary Celebrations, in 1999 the building was renovated and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu unveiled the sage’s statue on the 20th December 1999. Photographs depicting the historical happenings associated with his life and books about him and his own written works are on display and sold here in the Museum.

Memorials of Gandhi, Rajaji, Kamaraj & BhaktavatsalamThese four memorials are situated east of Raj Bhavan, the Governor’s Residence.

Santhome Cathedral Basilica Santhome at the southern end of the Marina gets its name from St.Thomas, the apostle of Jesus who is believed to have come to India sometime during 52 A.D. It is believed he was killed on St. Thomas Mount just outside the city in 78 AD and his remains interred in Santhome beach where a church was later built.

Several years later, another church was built further inland and his mortal remains were transferred here. Chennai’s newest pride is the Tidel Park, the home for the Information Technology Industry. It is spread over 1.28 million sq.ft. of built up area. The Tidel Park is an architectural marvel and houses several large national and international software companies in its premises.

The Marina Beach, the pride of Chennai is the second longest beach in the world and has a wide sandy shore. Situated on the beach, are the Samadhis or memorials dedicated to C.N.Annadurai and M.G.Ramachandran, both former Chief Ministers of the state. They attract thousands of visitors everyday. Some of the most beautiful buildings in Chennai such as the University of Madras, the Senate House, Chepauk Palace, Presidency College and the Ice House are located on the beach drive.