Where to stay in Chennai

See

Chennai is a diverse mix of cultures, with over 15,000 temples and a couple of mosques and churches.

Do

Chennai has several well-known beaches. The Marina Beach in Central Chennai is the second-longest beach in the world after Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. Chennai is home to Guindy National Park, the smallest national park in India.

Eat

Chennai has numerous restaurants, offering an assortment of cuisine. The beach restaurants are well-maintained and serve great food during the evenings. The eat-outs in Chennai range from budget, midrange and to up-market. There are swanky star-quality restaurants, plain open traditional vegetarian or non-vegetarian restaurants- where you share a table with strangers, street stalls, tea kadais, Indian fast food centres, western fast food centres, food courts, coffee shops, bakeries to exclusive specialty establishments. Vegetarian restaurants serve tiffin and vegetarian meals.

Drink

Chennai is a difficult place to drink. Government rule states that only establishments with a minimum of 21 rooms can obtain a bar or liquor license. All the bars that are around are (at least on paper) part of some hotel or the other and in general overpriced. Government-run liquor stores called TASMAC are all over the place but in general not at all a pleasant experience. They usually have unpleasant staff and environment and usually will have local brands. Also, they always tend to mark up each bottle by ₹5-10 over the listed price. Go for it if you want a one-time war-like experience in order to obtain some booze!

Stay safe

Chennai is generally a safer area of India in terms of crime, although pickpocketing, muggings, and robberies sporadically occur. Keep your doors and windows shut and locked at night and do not carry or display large amounts of cash if possible. It is advisable for women, especially unaccompanied ones, to dress modestly and limit their interaction with unfamiliar local men. Foreigners are generally overcharged by autorickshaws simply because they are ignorant of the prevailing fares. It is necessary to confirm whether the driver knows the exact destination and to fix the fare before boarding.