Chennai bears a distinctive new look. The skyline is dotted with posh multi-storied offices, aesthetically designed hotels and plush residential complexes. The streets are lined with Internet cafes, mobile phone rentals for easy communication, and forex moneychangers, banks and ATMs for quick cash access. Glitzy multi-cuisine restaurants, fast food cafes, pubs and discos have sprung up to cater to the new generation of global workers. Trendy coffee bars like Barista, Café Coffee Day and Qwikys serve cappuccino, mocha or café latte alongside the South Indian filter coffee.

Today, Chennai is a busy trading centre for exports, particularly leather and textiles. It is fast emerging as an important healthcare destination with a number of speciality hospitals that have opened up in recent years. It is also one of the leaders in Information Technology with the prestigious Tidel Park as the hub of many Indian and multinational software companies. Chennai has evolved into an IT savvy city at par with any international metropolis. But the city retains its identity by preserving its rich cultural heritage and integrating traditions into modern day living. It remains a place where the past, present, and future intermingle effortlessly.

The fourth largest metropolis and the third important port in India, Chennai is flanked by the breathtakingly beautiful Marina beach on the eastern side and the city skyscape with its eclectic mix of temple towers, steeples, minarets and star hotels on the other. From classical concerts to trendy nightclubs, Chettinad to multi-cuisine restaurants, museums to Internet cafes, Chennai offers choices that range from the quaint to the ultra modern.

Sightseeing

For lot of travellers a visit to Chennai essentially means a visit to the Marina Beach. But this is a city that is culturally alive and an ideal evening out would include a visit to a traditional dance performance and a visit to its museums.

MARINA BEACH
A marvelous 13 km stretch of sea and sand. Ideal for walks and wading in the surf. Not advisable for swimming as the currents are too strong. Across the road are marvellous buildings erected during the British Raj.

ELLIOT BEACH
A serene beach situated in the south of Chennai at Besant Nagar.

THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
Adyar Tel:24912474
This society founded by Madame H.P. Blavatsky and Col. H.S. Olcott in USA to study religion and philosophy, moved to Chennai in 1892. It is situated amidst a vast expanse of lush greenery at the Adyar estuary and contains one of the oldest banyan trees whose roots and branches cover over 40,000 sq. feet.
Timings: 8.30–10.30 am & 2.30–4.30 pm. Sunday closed.
Entry: free.

VIVEKANANDA HOUSE
Ice House, Triplicane Tel:28591232
An imposing building constructed by the Taylor Ice Company in 1842 along the Marina Beach road to store ice imported from USA. Swami Vivekananda spent a week here in 1897 after his return from the much acclaimed visit to Chicago.
Timings: 10 am-12.30 pm & 3-7 pm. Entry: adults Rs. 2, children Re. 1.

BIRLA PLANETARIUM
Kotturpuram Tel:24416751, 24410025
Housed in a hemispherical theatre, the latest astronomical phenomena are brought to life in simulated environs.
English programme: 10.45 am 1.15 pm and 3.45 pm.
Entry: adults 20, children 10. Sunday – closed.

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