Fort St George
The 1639 fort from which the East India Company grew an empire, still the seat of the Tamil Nadu government.
Photography restricted; carry ID.
2 hrs
← Back to index
Chennai
Chennai is Madras the port layered over Mylapore the sacred town: Fort St George and its colonial core on one side, the Kapaleeshwarar gopuram and the Pallava shore temples on the other.
Marina
7th c.
Mylapore
Pallava hymns name the Kapaleeshwarar shrine.
1639
Fort St George
The East India Company buys its strip of coast.
1858
Crown rule
The Crown takes Madras over from the Company.
1969
Chennai
Madras state becomes Tamil Nadu; the city later takes its Tamil name.
St Mary's Church
Consecrated in 1680 inside Fort St George, it is the oldest surviving Anglican church east of Suez and holds the marriage record of Robert Clive.
Look at the old gravestones in the courtyard.
30 min
Kapaleeshwarar Temple
The shrine the Pallava saint-poets sang of in the seventh century, rebuilt by the Vijayanagara kings.
Closes midday; visit at dawn or evening. Shoes off.
90 min
Parthasarathy Temple
An eighth-century Pallava temple to Krishna as Arjuna's charioteer, one of the oldest in the city.
Closes midday; dress modestly.
60 min
San Thome Basilica
A neo-Gothic church of 1896 built over the tomb of the apostle Thomas, with a small museum beneath.
Visit the tomb chapel and museum below the church.
45 min
Armenian Church of the Virgin Mary
Founded in 1712 and rebuilt in 1772 by Armenian traders who settled in George Town, this is one of the oldest surviving Armenian churches in India.
Open in the morning; ask the caretaker to see the bell tower.
30 min
Mamallapuram
The Pallavas' seventh-century open-air studio: the Shore Temple, Five Rathas and the great bas-relief.
Go early; one ticket covers the Shore Temple and Five Rathas.
Day trip