Chennai (Madras)
Luxurious without being overly ostentatious, the glittering Coromandel offers a sensibly central top-end retreat from the city. Rooms flaunt a smart stripped-back style – with surround-sound speakers – and there's a lovely palm-shaded pool. The marble-effect lobby hosts fine-dining South Indian restaurant Southern Spice, along with a busy cocktail bar.
The upmarket Taj Group runs four other hotels in and around Chennai.
1.05 MILES
Housed across from the striking British-built Pantheon Complex, this excellent museum is Chennai’s best. The big highlight is building 3, the Bronze…
2.25 MILES
Mylapore is one of Chennai's most characterful and traditional neighbourhoods; it predated colonial Madras by several centuries. Its Kapaleeshwarar Temple…
9.33 MILES
There’s a tropical bohemian groove floating around Injambakkam village, site of the Cholamandal Artists’ Village, 10km south of Chennai's Adyar River…
2.62 MILES
This soaring Roman Catholic cathedral, a stone's throw from the beach, was founded by the Portuguese in 1523, then rebuilt by the British in neo-Gothic…
5.11 MILES
Producers of beautiful hand-printed books, this publishing company is based in southern Chennai. Visit its Book Building showroom, where you can browse,…
21.65 MILES
Just 6km south of Kovalam, this incredible conservation and research trust is a fascinating peek into the reptile world. Founded by croc/snake-expert…
27.78 MILES
The Tiger Cave, 5km north of Mamallapuram, is an unfinished but impressive rock-cut shrine, dedicated to Durga (a form of Devi, Shiva's wife), probably…
2.26 MILES
The marshmallow-pink Vivekananda House is interesting not only for its displays on the famous ‘wandering monk’, Swami Vivekananda, but also for its…
0.48 MILES
This 1976 memorial honours the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar and his classic work, the 133-chapter Thirukural. Its most striking element is a 31m-high stone…
0.5 MILES
Chennai's main Shia mosque, built in 1810. Mostly useful as a landmark, as non-Muslims aren't allowed inside the buildings.
1.05 MILES
Housed across from the striking British-built Pantheon Complex, this excellent museum is Chennai’s best. The big highlight is building 3, the Bronze…
1.69 MILES
Built entirely of granite in 1795 by the Nawab of the Carnatic, and generally known simply as the Big Mosque.
1.71 MILES
Styled with blue-and-white baroque elegance, pretty little palm-fringed Luz Church is Chennai's oldest European building, dating to 1516 – which also…
1.81 MILES
This 1821 neoclassical Scottish Presbyterian church is one of India's most exquisite churches, rising up in leafy grounds in the middle of frenzied Egmore…
1.97 MILES
Built under the 8th-century Pallavas and unusually dedicated to Krishna (a form of Vishnu) as the charioteer Parthasarathy, this is one of Chennai's…
2.25 MILES
Mylapore is one of Chennai's most characterful and traditional neighbourhoods; it predated colonial Madras by several centuries. Its Kapaleeshwarar Temple…