Spencer Plaza

Built in 1810 by the Arcot Nawab Umdat ul-Umara, this multi-domed Shia mosque takes its name from an old tradition of lighting a thousand oil lamps to illuminate the assembly hall that once stood here. It is regarded as one of the largest mosques in the country and a major centre of azadari for Chennai's Shia community.

A roughly 20-acre botanical garden opened in 2010 by the Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department in the heart of the city. It features themed sections, a glasshouse, and a wide variety of ornamental, medicinal, and exotic plants.

A Church of South India cathedral built between 1815 and 1816 on Cathedral Road, designed by Colonel James Caldwell and Thomas Fiott de Havilland in a graceful Neoclassical style with a tall steeple. Its spire was among the tallest structures in early 19th-century Madras. The churchyard holds colonial-era tombs and memorials.

Opened in 1896 and named after Lord Connemara, this is one of India's four National Depository Libraries, entitled to a copy of every book, newspaper and periodical published in the country. It occupies a magnificent Indo-Saracenic hall within the Egmore museum complex and remains a working public library and treasure house of rare volumes.

Established in 1851, the Government Museum in Egmore is one of the oldest museums in India (widely cited as the second oldest after the Indian Museum, Kolkata). Set in a complex of striking red Indo-Saracenic buildings, it is celebrated for its Bronze Gallery of Chola-era bronzes, including a famous Nataraja, and for the historic Connemara Public Library.

A monument built in the mid-1970s (inaugurated 1976) honouring the ancient Tamil poet-philosopher Thiruvalluvar and his classic work, the Thirukkural. Shaped like a temple chariot with a tall tower, it houses a large statue of Thiruvalluvar and has all 1330 Kural couplets inscribed on its granite corridors.

Housed in a striking red Indo-Saracenic building opened in 1909 within the Pantheon Complex at Egmore, designed by Henry Irwin and built of Satyavedu sandstone. It holds Rajput and Mughal miniatures, Tanjore paintings, ivory and metalware. Its ornate arched facade is among the most photographed heritage structures in Chennai.

Amir Mahal in Royapettah is the official residence of the Prince of Arcot, titular descendant of the Nawabs of the Carnatic. This Indo-Saracenic palace, adapted into a royal residence by Robert Chisholm in 1876, remains a working home with only limited public access.

A colonial-era railway terminus opened in 1908 for the South Indian Railway, built in Gothic and Indo-Saracenic style with a soaring portico and clock-towered facade. For decades it was the gateway for trains to southern Tamil Nadu. It is a protected heritage structure and one of Chennai's most photographed buildings.

Originally the Banqueting Hall, it was built in 1802 within the Government Estate to commemorate the British victory over Tipu Sultan at Seringapatam. Designed in imposing Neoclassical style with towering Ionic columns, it later hosted state functions and lyings-in-state of Tamil Nadu leaders. It is named after C. Rajagopalachari, independent India's last Governor-General.

Established in 1842 from the charitable bequest of the 18th-century merchant Pachaiyappa Mudaliar, it is one of the oldest educational institutions in the city. Its main hall on Poonamallee High Road is a striking replica of the Temple of Theseus in Athens, with a Greek-columned portico. It played a major role in the intellectual life of colonial Madras.

A Church of Scotland kirk consecrated in 1821, built to serve the Scottish community of Madras and modelled on St Martin-in-the-Fields in London. Its circular nave is crowned by a shallow masonry dome painted deep blue and studded with gilt stars, and rests on cast-iron columns. It is considered one of the finest colonial churches in India.