IN · Tamil Nadu · 13.08°N 80.28°E

chennai

Temple streets, silk shops and filter coffee, with a long beach for evening walks.

Best time
December–February has cooler evenings and the December music season, when Carnatic concerts run all over the city. May–June is fiercely hot, and the October–November northeast monsoon can flood the streets.
How long
3 days
Getting there
About 4 hours direct from KL. The metro runs from the airport into the city in under an hour. India is 2.5 hours behind KL.
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IN · Tamil Naduchennai13.08°N 80.28°Egowherelah.com
Dear group chat,Temple streets, silk shops and filter coffee, with a long beach for evening walks.— gowherelahTo: whoever’s drivingChennaiIN, Tamil Nadu
KLchennai
≈ 2,600 km from KL, as the crow flies
Bird's-eye view of Chennai city from Chennai Lighthouse near Marina Beach

Photo: SlowPhoton · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each.

Chennai feels half-familiar if you grew up on Tamil food and films, just on a much bigger scale. Mylapore's temple streets, T Nagar's silk shops and the long sweep of Marina Beach make an easy long weekend.

Makan

  1. Idli and filter coffeeSoft rice cakes with sambar, and strong coffee poured between a steel tumbler and its saucer to cool it.Map ↗
  2. Ghee roast dosaA huge, paper-thin dosa crisped in ghee and rolled into a cone.Map ↗
  3. BiryaniChennai's Muslim-run biryani shops use small-grained seeraga samba rice and serve it with raita and brinjal curry.Map ↗

Things to do

  1. MylaporeFlower stalls and old houses around the carved, painted gopuram of Kapaleeshwarar Temple.Map ↗
  2. Marina BeachA very long, very wide city beach, where families come at sunset for kites, sundal and the sea breeze.Map ↗
  3. T NagarWall-to-wall sari, silk and gold shops around Ranganathan Street and Pondy Bazaar.Map ↗
  4. Government MuseumThe Egmore museum's bronze gallery holds one of the finest collections of Chola bronzes anywhere.Map ↗

Good to know

  • Triplicane, around the Wallajah Mosque, is the area for halal biryani and Muslim-run restaurants.
  • Marina has strong currents, so it's a beach for walking, not swimming.

Last checked October 2026. Things change, so check opening times, fees and transport before you go.