Marina Beach

Situated in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Marina Beach is a natural urban beach along the Bay of Bengal. The beach is stretched out to a distance of 13 kilometers making it the longest natural urban beach in the country, the second largest in the world, and also the most crowded beach in India with almost 30,000 visitors a day.

With a white sandy shore that looks as though extending to infinity, the landscape of Marina Beach is a mesmerizing and serene sight to behold. The beach has primarily sandy terrain and is dotted with plenty of merry-go-rounds and shops selling souvenirs.

You could take a walk along the Marina beach with your near and dear ones or even all alone and enjoy the cool evening sea breeze along with a hot plate of crispy sundal and murukku. Watching the sun crawl upwards into the sky or even disappear into the ocean from the beach, is an awe-striking and enchanting experience.

Major Attractions along Marina Beach

If you are into architecture, Marina beach road is home to some of the most famous and beautiful British buildings like the University of Madras, Senate-House, Chepauk Palace, Presidency College, P.W.D. office, and Ice House. There are many statues of Tamil scholars, the Victory of Labour and the Mahatma Gandhi statue which are considered splendid pieces of art. All these structures are located on the promenade road which was constructed way back in 1884.

There is also a 49-meter-high Old Light House which provides a panoramic view of the city from its top and is the only lighthouse in India with a lift.

The aquarium in Marina Beach is known for its extraordinary and rare collections of both tropical sea fishes and freshwater fishes. It was the country's first aquarium and was established in 1909. There is also an Ice House which is situated within the Aquarium and is used to store ice brought from Great Lakes in North America.

Another sight worth seeing here is the Velankanni church and the Ashtalakshmi temple which is always filled with tourists. Other structures along the coastline include a statue of Robert Caldwell, Kambar, Illango Adigal, Bharathiar, Kannagi, a statue of Subhash Chandra Bose, G.O Pope, Annie Besant, Bharathidasan, Thiruvalluvar, Swami Vivekananda, Avvaiyar, Veerama Munivar, Kamarajar, Periyar, and Sivaji Ganesan.