What to expect
Burma Bazaar
A warren of stalls near the harbour set up in the 1960s by Tamil repatriates from Burma, long famous for smuggled and imported electronics, foreign goods and pirated media. It also hosts eateries serving Burmese atho and other dishes brought back by the settlers. It remains a colourful, chaotic George Town institution.
B
Burma Bazaar
Place
Practical guide
Plan Burma Bazaar
Who's going?Tailor Burma Bazaar to your trip
Typeheritage
Nearest baseParry's Corner
DistrictChennai
Best timeOctober to March is the cooler, drier…
Time neededAbout an hour
EntryFree
Places to visit5→Listed businesses2→Burma Bazaar is planned from Parry's Corner, one of the travel bases in Chennai district. Use Parry's Corner for stays, food and local transport, then plan this place as a focused stop.
Getting there
How to visit
- Base yourself in Parry's Corner or nearby in Chennai, then confirm the last-mile route locally before travel.
- If access depends on temple, museum or seasonal rules, check on the day before you go.
Distance by road
- Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram)55 km
- Kanchipuram72 km
- Puducherry150 km
- Vellore135 km
- Tirupati135 km
Road km to Chennai; ghat roads and traffic vary — allow extra.
Timing
Best time
October to March is the cooler, drier season in the Cauvery delta.
Weather in Burma BazaarSeasonal guide
Live forecast loads in your browser.
Today at Burma Bazaar
Sunrise5:58 am
Sunset6:21 pm
Golden hour best light5:21 pm–6:21 pm
Blue hour after sunset6:21 pm–6:46 pm
Sun sets toward compass bearingW · 279°
Moon tonight🌖 Waning gibbous · 83%
South-west monsoon. June to September is the south-west monsoon in Tamil Nadu. Expect heavy showers, mostly in bursts rather than all day — carry rain cover, allow extra time for getting around, and note that ferries and open-air sites are the first things affected.
Sun and moon are calculated for this location and shown in IST. Photography windows are the hour around sunrise and sunset; the sunset bearing is degrees clockwise from true north. Moon phase is accurate to about half a day.
Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop
Stays, food & things to do near Burma Bazaar
Verified hotels, homestays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and rentals around Burma Bazaar — commission-free, with direct contact. Filter by what you need.
2 places to shop near Burma Bazaar
S
Shekhi Traders
Shop
Top pick
Trade
Shekhi TradersTrade at 298, Thambu Chetty Street. In its own words: “Everything you need to know to use our products effectively.”
E
East India Company
Shop
Top pick
Bathroom fittings shop
East India CompanyA bathroom fittings shop at 58 Armenian Street, facing the High Court, at Parry’s Corner in Chennai. Despite the name it is a sanitaryware dealer, stocking taps, showerheads and baths.
Book with the place itself. India’s cyber-crime coordination centre warned in April 2025 that convincing copies of hotel and pilgrimage booking sites are being pushed through sponsored search and social ads, taking payment for rooms the property never hears about. Every listing here links to the business’s own contact details and its own Google or Bing profile — we take no commission and sit in nobody’s payment path. If a booking page reached you through an ad, check the address bar against the property’s own site before you pay. Fraud can be reported on cybercrime.gov.in or on 1930.
Ranked guides
Top experiences around Parry's Corner
4 more places around Parry's Corner, each worth a day of its own.
templeKalikambal Temple
290 m · 4 min walk
A Shakti temple on Thambu Chetty Street where the presiding deity is the goddess Kalikambal (Kamakshi) with her consort Kamateswarar. Tradition holds that the Maratha emperor Shivaji worshipped here in 1677, and it is famously the temple where actor Rajinikanth prays. Originally sited near the seashore, it was relocated inland by the British in 1670.
heritageMadras High Court
360 m · 4 min walk
Completed in 1892, this sprawling red-sandstone complex is one of the grandest examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture in the world and long ranked as the second-largest judicial building after the Courts of London. Its domes, minarets and stained-glass-lit corridors dominate the northern seafront. A lighthouse once operated from atop one of its towers.
heritageSouthern Railway Headquarters
290 m · 4 min walk
An imposing administrative building completed in 1922 near Parry's Corner, serving as the headquarters of the Southern Railway zone. Its Indo-Saracenic domes and long arcaded facade make it a defining silhouette of the George Town waterfront. It stands beside the Ripon Building and other civic landmarks of old Madras.
heritageGeneral Post Office
390 m · 5 min walk
The city's main post office in the Esplanade area, an Indo-Saracenic building completed in 1884 to a design by Robert Chisholm. Its arcaded corridors, domes and decorative stonework make it one of the finest heritage government buildings in Chennai. It has functioned continuously as a postal hub for well over a century.
Roampedia is commission-free — own or know a stay, eatery, guide or shop near Burma Bazaar? List it and it appears here once verified.
Add a nearby businessBefore you go
Burma Bazaar — at a glance
TimingsRoughly 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM (many stalls closed Sundays)
Best timeYear-round
Entry: Free
Getting here
How to reach Burma Bazaar
Near the harbour in George Town, close to Chennai Beach railway station.
Getting around Burma Bazaar
We have not assessed physical access at this place yet. Across India, step-free routes, handrails and accessible toilets are the exception rather than the rule, and pavements are often interrupted — if step-free access matters to you, contact the site or a local operator before committing to the trip.
If you need help at Burma Bazaar
112All emergencies (police · fire · medical)The single number to call in any emergency (ERSS).100Police101Fire108Ambulance (emergency / EMS)1091Women’s helpline (distress)1098Child helpline1363Tourist helpline (India, 24×7, multilingual)
Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.
Nearby
What’s near Burma Bazaar
On the map
Where Burma Bazaar is
Good to know
Burma Bazaar — frequently asked
When is the best time to visit Burma Bazaar?
October to March is the cooler, drier season in the Cauvery delta.
What are the entry fee and timings at Burma Bazaar?
Entry: Free. Timings: Roughly 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM (many stalls closed Sundays).
How do I reach Burma Bazaar?
Base yourself in Parry's Corner or nearby in Chennai, then confirm the last-mile route locally before travel. If access depends on temple, museum or seasonal rules, check on the day before you go.
How much time do I need for Burma Bazaar?
About an hour.
What else is near Burma Bazaar?
Nearby you can pair Southern Railway Headquarters (290 m), Kalikambal Temple (290 m), Madras High Court (360 m), Armenian Church, Chennai (380 m).
Read before you go
Burma Bazaar guides, stories & itineraries
We have not published a story about Burma Bazaar itself yet. These cover Parry's Corner, the town it sits in, and the wider district.
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Route-level itineraries and practical guides for the rest of Tamil Nadu.
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