Sample itineraries for Chennai
Chennai flexes to the time you have, but two to three days is the sweet spot — enough to cover the city's core and still fit at least one of its outstanding day trips. In all cases, plan around the heat: start early, take the middle of the day slower, and save the beaches and seafront for the cooler evening. Note that the Government Museum is closed on Fridays, which is worth checking against your dates.
One day (the essentials). A brisk but satisfying single day.
- Start early at Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore while it is cool and the morning worship is in full swing, then wander the surrounding old quarter.
- Mid-morning, head to Fort St George for St Mary's Church and the Fort Museum, and the story of colonial Madras.
- After lunch, visit the Government Museum at Egmore for the bronze gallery (skip to San Thome instead if it is a Friday).
- Late afternoon, drive down to San Thome Basilica, then finish on Marina Beach at sunset with a plate of sundal and bajji.
Two days (the comfortable version). Adds the sights a rushed day skips and takes the pressure off.
- Day 1: Kapaleeshwarar Temple and Mylapore in the morning; Fort St George and the Fort Museum before lunch; the Government Museum in the afternoon; sunset on Marina Beach.
- Day 2: Parthasarathy Temple in Triplicane and San Thome Basilica in the morning; Valluvar Kottam and a look at the city's craft and silk shopping around midday; an unhurried evening at Elliot's Beach in Besant Nagar. If you would rather escape the city, swap Day 2 for a full-day trip to Mahabalipuram.
Three days. Follow the two-day plan and give the extra day to the coast: run south on the East Coast Road to DakshinaChitra and on to Mahabalipuram for its UNESCO-listed shore temples and rock carvings, an easy and hugely rewarding day out (see day trips). Alternatively, use the third day for Kanchipuram's great temples and silk-weaving workshops, or slow the whole trip down and revisit the beaches and temple lanes at a gentler pace.
Chennai as a South India gateway. Many travellers use Chennai as the launch point for a longer Tamil Nadu temple-trail — south to Pondicherry, then the temple towns of the Cauvery delta (Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur), on to Madurai, and the coast at Rameswaram. Two nights in Chennai at the start, taking in the city and a Mahabalipuram day, sets that circuit up perfectly before you board a southbound train from Egmore.