#4 Wander around George Town
The former British trading centre of George Town remains the focal area for banks, offices, shipping companies and street stalls.
This network of streets harbours a fascinating medley of architecture: eighteenth- and nineteenth-century churches, Hindu and Jain temples and a scattering of mosques, interspersed with grand mansions.
In the east, on Rajaji Salai, the General Post Office occupies a robust earth-red Indo-Saracenic building constructed in 1884.
George Town’s southern extent is marked by the bulbous white domes and sandstone towers of the High Court and the even more opulent towers of the Law College, both showing strong Islamic influence.
#5 Check out the remarkable Government Museum
The Chennai Government Museum contains some remarkable archeological finds from south India and the Deccan.
Inside the deep-red, circular main building, built in 1851, the first gallery is devoted to archeology and geology; the highlights are the dismantled panels, railings and statues from the second-century AD stupa complex at Amaravati.
These carved marble reliefs of the Buddha’s life are widely regarded as the finest achievements of early Indian art.
To the left of here high, arcaded halls full of stuffed animals lead to the ethnology gallery, where models, clothes, weapons and photographs of expressionless faces in orderly lines illustrate local tribal societies, some long since wiped out.
A fascinating display of wind and string instruments, drums and percussion includes the large predecessor of today’s sitar and several old tablas.
The museum’s real treasure trove, however, is the modern wing, which contains the world’s most complete selection of Chola bronzes.
#6 See the sublime Georgian architecture of St Andrew’s Kirk
Just northeast of Egmore Station, St Andrew’s Kirk, consecrated in 1821, is a fine example of Georgian architecture.
Modelled on London’s St Martin-in-the-Fields, it’s one of just three churches in India with a circular seating plan, laid out beneath a huge dome painted blue with gold stars and supported by a sweep of Corinthian columns.
Marble plaques around the church give a fascinating insight into the kind of people who left Britain to work for the imperial and Christian cause.
A staircase leads onto the flat roof, surrounding the dome, from where you can climb further up into the steeple past the massive bell to a tiny balcony affording excellent views of the city.
#7 Relax at The Marina, one of the longest city beaches in the world
One of the longest city beaches in the world, the Marina (Kamaraj Salai) stretches 5km from the harbour at the southeastern corner of George Town to near San Thomé Cathedral.
Going south, you’ll pass the Indo-Saracenic Presidency College (1865–71), one of a number of stolid Victorian buildings that make up the University, as well as adjacent Vivekananda House.
The beach itself is a sociable stretch, peopled by idle paddlers, picnickers and pony-riders; every afternoon crowds gather around the beach market.
However, its location, just a little downstream from the port, which belches out waste and smelly fumes, combined with its function as the toilet for the fishing community, detract from its natural beauty.