CHENNAI BEACHES

Marina Beach
The famous Marina Beach the pride of Chennai is second longest beach in the world with a stretch of 12-km was made beautiful by the wonderful facelift given by Governor Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff in the early 1880's, and is Chennai's major tourist attraction today.. You can see the statues of heroes from Tamil culture to samadhis of great leaders like Anna and MGR here. Walk along the Marina in the evening to cool off and eat crispy sundal and murukku. An aquarium is also located on the Marina Beach. Watching sunset and sunrise from the beach is a fascinating experience.

Leisure & Entertainment Activities At Marina Beach
Marina beach is located on the eastern side of Chennai, adjoining the Bay of Bengal. Watching the sun set and rise from the beach is a fascinating experience. Though bathing and swimming can be dangerous, as the undercurrent is very strong, even then people come for swimming here. In the evenings, the beach is virtually a fair ground with various kinds of entertainment and food stalls lining the beach.

With its natural sandy beauty and spacious promenade and beautiful gardens, the Marina beach is a major attraction for tourists visiting Chennai. One can even shop around the beach, with local vendors hawking wares ranging from shell and glass baubles to kites and fruit juices. The Marina, however, is large enough to accommodate all visitors as well as the hawkers and is often the venue for important state functions. There are also facilities of pony rides at the beach site, which attract the children's interest the most.

Attractions Around Marina Beach:
Some of the most beautiful buildings in Chennai such as the University of Madras, Senate-House, Chepauk Palace, Presidency College, P.W.D office and Ice House are located on the beach drive. At the other end of the beach is the new lighthouse. In between, sentinels on the promenade, are several statues of Tamil scholars and two splendid bits of sculpture- the Victory of Labour and the Mahatma Gandhi.

Aquarium:
Close to the Marina beach is the aquarium, which has some of the most exotic collection of tropical sea fishes and fresh water fishes. The aquarium gives a chance to have a closer look at the aquatic life. The Ice House, which was used to store ice brought from Great Lakes in North America, is south to the Aquarium.

Elliot's Beach
Elliot's Beach is spread along the coast down south from Marina. It is also the night beach for Chennai youth. This beach is comparatively quieter and an ideal place to go sea bathing. It is located near Besant Nagar. At the end of this beach are the Velankanni church and the Ashtalakshmi temple. Good roads, pavements, illuminated sands, makes a visit to this beach a real pleasure.

Covelong Beach
Now a luxury beach resort. This beach has a fort built by the Nawab of Carnatic. It was here that the French General Laboudonnais landed his troops in 1746. Later it was taken by Robert Clive in 1752 and destroyed. The Beach is separated from the mainland by the canal running from Chennai to Mahabalipuram. Taj Group of Hotels runs the Fisherman's Cove Resort with rooms in the main buildings and cottages and the sandy beach here. It is located on the way to Mahabalipuram.

Rameshwaram Beach
Rameshwaram is one of the most popular pilgrimage centers of South India. The serene beach with shallow waters makes an ideal site for swimming and sunbathing.

Kanyakumari Beach
The India's Land end, Kanyakumari is a unique beach site because it's surrounded by three seas, Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. A major beach attraction, which the tourists can observe over here, is the breathtaking view of the sunrise and the sunset at their best.