1) Amusement Parks

Kishkinta
India’s No.1 Theame Park at Tambaram. Offers among other amusuments hi-tech ones like space shuttle, wave pool, white water, flume ride, KiddiesKingdom.

Little Folks
46 Kms towards Mahabalipuram. A great amusement complex for children. Has a Giant-Piano. Toy Train, Rainbow Fountain, Slide-into-pool, Cartoon show & Paddle-Pool.

MGM “Dizzle World” Beach Resort
24 kMS towards Mahabalipuram,(Near Muttukadu). Has amusement park, unique water sports.

Prime Time
Annanagar, extravagant indoor amusement park, especially for children packed with bumper carrides, play pens and all sorts of new games.

Dash ‘N Splash
30 Kms from Central Station. South India’s exclusive water park. Has wave spiral and free fall slides and flumes from height of 12ft to 35ft.

VGP GoldenBeach
30 Kms from Chennai. A popular beach resort and amusement park filled with children’s games, parks and seaside restaurant.

2) Beaches and Lakes

Marina Beach
The city’s Marina Beach, bordered by gardens, lies just to the South of the War Memorial. It is claimed to be the second largest in the world, about 13 kms.

Covelong
For a balmy holiday, the fishing village of Covelong has an excellent stretch of beach. This lies 55 km enroute to Mamallapuram which is 60 km from Madras and is a breathtaking seaside haven ideal for a relaxing holiday.

Elliots Beach
Besantnagar. Located in a more quiet and sedate ambience, ideal for sunset strolls.

Muttukadu (36 kms)
The backwaters of Muttukadu have been developed by the Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation to serve as a scenic picnic spot and a centre for watersports. In February every year, a windsurfing regatta is organised in Muttukadu. Competitions in windsurfing and other watersports are also held. Training and demonstration programmes are held for youth.

3) Memorials

Anna Square
At the northern end of the Marina, on Kamarajar Salai is Anna Square. This is the burial place of a fommer Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Dr. C.N. Armadurai. It is located in the centre of a beautiful park, the entrance to which is a spectacularcontemporary-style arch in the shape of twin converging elephant tusks.

MGR Memorial
Beach road. Located on the Marina Beach adjacent to Anna Square. Built on the site where M.G.Ramachandran, former Chief Minister of Tamilnadu was buried.

Victory War Memorial
Adjacent to the Fort St. George on the south is the War Memorial, which housed the coastal battery and was formerly called ‘Cupid’s Bow the Victory was Memorial honours those who have laid down their lives for their country since the First World War.

Rajaji, Gandhi and Kamaraj Memorials
Close to childrens park are the memorial buildings, the Rajaji Memorial, the Gandhi Mandapam Memorial and Kamaraj Memorials. The Octogonal-shaped building commemorates India’s first Indian bornm Governor Genera, the astute Tamilnadu’s politician and stateman C.Rajagopaichari. Only a short distance further is the Gandhiji Memorial. Next to Gandhijis commemorates one of Mahatma Gandhi’s most ardent stalwarts K.Kamaraj, a man revered in Tamilnadu for his part in the fight for freedom.

Valluvar Kottam
The ValluvarKottam, dedicated to the memory of the Tamil Saint Philosopher and poet Thiruvalluvar, is the largest auditorium in Asia. It is located at the junction of Kodampakkam High Road and Valluvar Kottam Road.

4) Museums

Dev Centre for Musical Instruments
Mylapore. An exquisite collection of ancient and modern musical instruments, both original and prototype can be found here.

Fort Museum
Beach road. An exclusive museum which preserves relics of the British era including original correspondence of those times.

National ArtGallery and Museum
Built in 1906, the ChennaiNationalArtGallery was originally intended to be a memorial to queen Victoria. An impressive certal dome flanked a series of smaller domes supported by pillars on each side. After independence, it became an art Gallery in 1951. It has bronze exhibits dating from 10th to 13th centuries and paintings of Rajasthani and Mughals of the 17th century. Established in 1857, the museum can justify its claim to being one of India’s best. There are large sectiors devoted to Archacology, Anthropology, Geology, Numismatics, Zoology and Botany along with comprehensive collections of arms and armour.

5) Mosques

Big Mosque
Walajah road. Built in 1795, this mosque is surely one of the most attractive ones in South. Built of grey granite rather than wood of steel.

Thousand Lights Mosque
Built in mid-1800’s in the land donated by Nawab Wallajah, this mosque last rebuilt in 1981, has two 64′ tall minarets. The mosque also houses a library, a urial ground and a guest houses.

6) Other Places

MGR Film City
A recently built place, specially for the thriving film industry in Chennai. It has many film studios and a film school. There is a nominal enterance fee.

Birla Planetorium
Kotturpuram Located in the Periyar Science and Technology Centre, the Birla Planetorium presents audio visual programmes on astronomy. A must for students and lovers of astronomy.

7) Parks and Zoo

Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary
85 Kms south of madras is the Vedanthangal bird sanctuary, which is one of the major ones in india. Every year during the rainy season an average of 1,00,000 birds come here. Bird watching is best early morning or in the evening Watching tower is available.

Children’s Park
On Sardar Patel Road, find the entrance to the Children’s Park on the left when coming from Adyar. The main attractions of the Park are the elephant and pony rides.

Snake Park
Adjacent Childrens’ park is the city’s interesting snake park. The snake park houses a vast variety of reptiles, ranging from the dark deadley ‘King Cobra’ ‘Banded’ Krait’ to puff adders’, vipers, pythons and allegators.

Crocodile Park
At 42 km point from Chennai on the way to Mahabalipuram is the Crocodile Bank, run by Romulve whittaker. This is a farm where several species of Indian and African Crocodiles and alligators are bred in’ captivity.

Anna ZoologicalPark (Vandalur Zoo)
30 Kms south of Madras. Large numbers of different species of animals are kept in large open enclosures. The kids can have jolly ride on the toy train.