Chennai is the destination to start any tour to South-India. Chennai gives a perfect picture of the unique culture of South-India. It is the capital of Tamil Nadu state in India. Chennai is famous for its beaches, temples and the south-Indian cuisine. Being on the sea coast, Chennai was an economic center for most of the rulers like the Cholas and the Pallavas. Formerly called Madras, it was the entry point for the Portuguese, The Dutch and finally the British East India Company. Now a fully developed urban area, Chennai offers to be a tourist attraction of South India, an education hub and a religious place.

For a religious tourist, Chennai has number of big temples dedicated to different deities. The specialty of the each and every temple is the architecture and the carvings on the structure of the temple. Each and every wall, pillar, ceiling and roof of every temple is carved in the ethnic Dravidian style with fine sculptures. Sri Kapaleswar Temple is dedicated to lord Shiva. It is situated in Mylapore. It has many stories and legends behind the reason of its construction. Goddess Parvati can be seen in the form of a peahen praying Lord Shiva in this temple. The bronze idols of the 63 Saivite Saints are another attraction in this temple.

Ashtalakshmi Temple on the coast of Bay of Bengal is another famous temple with the same wonderfully carved architecture of Dravidian style. It is dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi. It has the idols of the 8 forms of the Deity.

Marina beach is the most famous beach of South-India. It has a stretch of 4.5 Km, making it the world's second largest beach. It has a long chain of statues of great Tamil scholars and a number of monuments and memorials. It is heavily crowded on weekends and holidays. It has the usual stalls of snacks, ice-cream and Fish dishes.

Kishkinta is a theme amusement park with different sections for kids and adults. It is a water park in Tambaram. Along with Water rides and other joy rides it has hi-tech rides like space shuttle and wave pool. Other amusement parks in Chennai are the MGM Dizzie world and Prime time.

Chennai is Famous for its Idly-Sāmbhar and other varieties of South-Indian food and the coffee. One can go-on with this light and tasty cuisine of Chennai in every meal. The south-Indian meal consists of steamed rice, Sāmbhar, a dry curry and a chutney of any vegetable, curd and a banana.

Chennai has much to offer for shopping also. The elegant designs of Gold Jewelry in Chennai cannot be found at any other place. The malls and stores like the sarvana cater to the need of every shopper. The unique items here include the Kanjeepuram saris and the silk fabric used in apparel and clothing.