Things to Do in Chennai After You Get Off the Train

Most trains from the north and west arrive into MGR Chennai Central, still widely called Chennai Central and carrying the old code MAS, one of the busiest stations in the south with well over a hundred trains a day passing through it. Everything in central Chennai is within a short ride of here, which makes it an easy city to see without a fixed base if you have a few hours between trains or a single full day.

Getting out of the station

Chennai Central has a prepaid auto and taxi counter just outside the main exit, the safest way to get a fair fare without haggling on your first minutes in the city. Ride-hailing apps also work well here and are usually cheaper than the prepaid booth for longer trips, though the queue for autos at the prepaid counter is faster if you just want to get moving. The Chennai Metro also has a station connected to Chennai Central, useful if you want to skip road traffic on the way to some of the more central sights.

What's close enough for a half day

A half-day plan

Start at Fort St. George, the 17th-century British fort that now houses the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and a small museum of colonial-era artefacts, weapons and paintings. From there it's a short ride to Marina Beach, one of the longest urban beaches in the world, best walked in the early morning or the cooler hours before sunset rather than midday. The stretch near the Anna and MGR memorials is the liveliest, with food stalls and kite sellers on weekend evenings.

If you have a bit more time before your train, the Government Museum at Egmore is one of India's oldest, with a genuinely good bronze gallery, and it's close enough to fit into a half day without stretching your schedule.

A full-day plan

With a full day, add Mylapore to the route. The Kapaleeshwarar Temple, a large Shiva temple with a Dravidian-style gopuram, is the centrepiece of one of Chennai's oldest neighbourhoods, and the surrounding streets are worth a slow walk for the flower and fruit sellers alone. Nearby, the San Thome Basilica is built over what's believed to be the tomb of the apostle Thomas, an unusual pairing with the Hindu temple just a few minutes away.

Evenings in Mylapore are the best time to visit both, once the heat has dropped and the temple lights up. If you're catching a night train back out of Chennai Central, plan your return with enough margin, evening traffic on the roads back from Mylapore can be slow.

Food to try near the station

Chennai's filter coffee and breakfast food, idli, dosa, pongal and vadai, are available at simple, reliable places all around the Central and Egmore areas, and you don't need to search out anything fancy to eat well here. A proper South Indian thali at lunch is worth building into your plan if you have the time.

Best time of year to visit

November through February is the most comfortable stretch, with lower humidity and cooler evenings, though this overlaps with the tail of the northeast monsoon, so short spells of rain are possible in November and early December. March through June gets hot and humid, and is best avoided for walking-heavy sightseeing if you have a choice.

Trains connecting to Chennai

Chennai Central sees traffic from across the country, including long-distance Rajdhani, superfast and express services from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and the rest of the south. Rather than list specific trains here since routes and schedules change, use the trip planner for a direct search between your starting station and Chennai, or check Chennai Central's live departure board if you're already in the city and need to confirm platform and timing for your outbound train.

If you're staying longer than a day

Chennai rewards a slower visit more than most people expect coming off a train with just a few hours to spare. Beyond the Central and Mylapore stretch, the art galleries around Kalakshetra and the Theosophical Society's quiet riverside gardens in Adyar move at a different pace entirely from Marina Beach's crowds, worth the extra half day if your onward train isn't for a day or two. Elliot's Beach in Besant Nagar, further south again, is a calmer, more local alternative to Marina in the evenings, with a similar promenade and a fraction of the crowd.

For a short breather from the city's heat and noise, the Semmozhi Poonga botanical garden near Cathedral Road is an easy, inexpensive stop if you're passing that side of town, and pairs well with an afternoon at the museum if you're spacing a longer stay out rather than rushing to see everything in one day.