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Cultural Heritage Walk: Exploring Marina Beach, Chennai's Cultural Hub

4.9

39 Ratings

Chennai

Immerse yourself in the cultural heritage of Chennai with a guided walking tour of Marina Beach. Explore the city's history, meet the locals, and support community initiatives.

Duration: 3 hours

Cancellation: 1 day learn more

Highlights

Chennai Lighthouse - Marina beach walk commences at the Lighthouse in Marina, which is a unique one with an elevator to go up the 10 floors. It provides spectacular views of the world’s second longest beach. Next in this walking tour in Chennai we will visit the quaint museum inside the Lighthouse which has a fascinating collection of Light House and other maritime equipment from around the world.
(Lighthouse is closed on Mondays. On Mondays we will skip this).
Marina Beach - We will walk past many statues of prominent citizens of Chennai from the past and present and talk about hoe they shaped the city’s history and ethos.
Marina Beach - The best part of this walking tour in Chennai follows! Walk on the beach, soak in the festive atmosphere and listen to the story of Chennai through its statues. There are many statues here each of which tells a part of the story of Chennai. Learn about characters from ancient Tamil epics, freedom fighters as well as poets who revolutionized the thinking of the society. Marina Beach walk is a true cultural immersive experience.
Arulmigu Thiruvallikeni Parthasarathy Temple - Marina beach walk ends after we take a guided walk inside the Parthasarathy Temple and its surroundings. Our cultural evangelist will interpret the colorful rituals which are being performed in the temple and explain the role of God in modern Chennai society. This walking tour in Chennai will leave you with an understanding of how God remains as relevant today in everyday life in this region as in the past!
Vivekananda House - We will learn about how Swamy VIvekananda made the Western world aware of Indian Philisophy. He travelled extensively and made the famous speech at World Parliament of Religions in 1893.

What's Included

Tea and coffee provided

Additional Information

Marina beach walk is a walking tour in Chennai, led by a cultural evangelist who will bring alive the cultural heritage of Chennai.

Marina Beach is where the pulse of Chennai can be gauged. Soak in the atmosphere and meet the city’s people in this walking tour in Chennai. While the statues tell the history of the city, the beach itself is where common people gather to voice their opinion on issues to those in power. This guided walking tour in Chennai is a cultural immersion!

Our company is committed to strengthening local communities. We help train and employ local guides and support local businesses to ensure travel dollars stay where they are spent. Our guide will be happy to talk about the community initiatives we undertake.

Location

Chennai Lighthouse

Marina Beach Road

Our guide will meet you outside the Light House in the Marina Beach.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.9

(39 Ratings)

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Micaha791

Jan 29, 2024

Tour of Chennai - This tour was really fun! Nivi did a great job communicating with us the whole process. She has a valuable amount of information on the area, fort, temples ect. She went out of her way to make recommendations for us on a few things post tour. Highly recommend Nivi and this tour of Chennai.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

379elliet

Sep 24, 2023

Excellent overview of Chennai - We have just spent a fabulous morning with Nivi and Ganesh who have guided us around the Marina Beach area. They are very engaging and informative. Great fun to be with. We were given just the right amount of information so we didn't get that awful brain overload. It is a very interesting area. The temple was so colourful and full of life. The beach is lovely and the museum was very interesting. Nivi kept me informed by WhatsApp when she would be arriving at our to collect us which is always reassuring. We were also dropped off at our hotel which was very kind of them. We were treated to drinks at a local cafe which we were not expecting....so thank you for that. I also enjoyed being driven through the city. I felt that I got to see some of the day to day life of the city. I would recommend this trip. Even though we were only in Chennai for 24hours I felt this trip gave us a really good overview of the city.

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Helen_t

Sep 24, 2023

A very good morning spent in Chennai - What a fabulous trip. Nivi and Ganesh our guides were very engaging informative and good fun. They gave us just the right amount of information without giving us brain overload. We were picked up and dropped off at our hotel which was good. We were also treated to drinks at a local cafe. Marina Beach area is very interesting. There are temples, museums and a very nice beach. We were driven everywhere. It was so hot, even in the early morning, that I wouldn't have been able to do a lot of walking. I would thoroughly recommend this trip.

Review provided by Viator

Michaellec2023

Aug 23, 2023

Great cultural experience - At each site I learned about local history. At the temple I also learned about Hinduism and was able to experience temple activities; Vivekananda House informed me of Swami Viveknandas life and impact on India and the world; and the Lighthouse view was just beautiful. I highly recommend this tour.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Adilia_j

Jul 30, 2023

Good tour experience - This was a great tour. Nivi is really a knowledgeable guide. I asked her so many questions and she was able to answer them. If you are short on time, this is actually quite a good tour.

Review provided by Viator

Nadine97139

May 7, 2023

Great moment - Thank you for this excellent moment, great professionalism, with detailed and very interesting explanations. I highly recommend this tour.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Joead6230ds

Mar 14, 2023

Marina beach walking tour - Nivi was a most informative and interesting. I came away from the tour much better informed about the Hindu religion. She was full of relevant information and a delight to spend a couple of hours with. I very much enjoyed her company. She spoke freely about her family and life in India

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Skudjwvnshd

Mar 12, 2023

Experience Chennai - Nice and informative tour with many highlights. The guide had great knowledge about indian culture and religion

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Pip

Mar 8, 2023

Marina Beach Walk - This was a wonderful tour, and made even better by the fact I’d arranged pick up. It meant we had a driver for the duration and could visit other places too. We went to Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Santhome Cathedral Basilica, Chennai Lighthouse, had a drive along Marina Beach and Vivekananda House Museum. My guide Kannan was brilliant and very knowledgeable about everywhere we visited and more besides. Refreshments were also available along the way. Had a lovely morning and can easily recommend.

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Valerypavlova

Feb 16, 2023

Amazing Marina walking guided tour in Chennai - The whole walking experience was amazing. Very attentive and knowledgeable guide Satish walked me through the Marina and the heritage places in the neighbourhood. The best part was the visit to the Parthsarathy temple.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

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up to 15 guests

1 Adult