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India · Tamil Nadu

Chennai: how to get there and around

Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.

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Chennai is a city of 4.7 million people in India (Tamil Nadu), 14 m (46 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Chennai International Airport (MAA), 16 km (10 mi) from the centre. It has a dozen or more railway stations on record, including Chennai Central railway station. Our booking partner lists 1,570+ places to stay.

Key facts

Population4.7 million
Elevation14 m (46 ft)
Area426,830,040 km²
Time zoneAsia/Kolkata (UTC+5:30 now)
CurrencyRupee (INR)
Dialling code+91
Driving sideLeft
Plug typesAC power s and sockets: British and related types, BS 546, Euro
UN/LOCODEINMAA
People are calledChennaiite
Coordinates13.088, 80.278
Chennai

Open Chennai in Google Maps

Daylight in Chennai runs from about 11 h 24 min a day in late December to 12 h 56 min in late June (computed for 13.09° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.

Getting there

Chennai is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Chennai International Airport (MAA), 16 km (10 mi) from the centre, whose 12,001-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft.

Flights to Chennai: every airport, routes and times

By rail: stations on record include Chennai Central railway station, Chennai Egmore railway station, Royapuram railway station, Palavanthangal railway station, Mambalam railway station, Velachery railway station. Trains to Chennai

Buses to Chennai · Driving and car hire

Where to stay

Our booking partner lists 1,570+ places to stay in Chennai (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 803 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (453), and 41 are five-star. Across 347 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 7.3 out of 10. Guests have left 148,106 reviews in total.

Hotels in Chennai: the full picture, and book

Nearby cities, and how to get between them

Twin towns and sister cities: Volgograd, Chongqing, San Antonio, Denver, Kuala Lumpur, Ulsan, Chemnitz, Frankfurt.

Common questions

Which airport serves Chennai?

Chennai International Airport (MAA), 16 km (10 mi) from the centre.

How big is Chennai?

About 4.7 million people live in Chennai, across 426,830,040 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).

What time zone is Chennai in?

Asia/Kolkata, currently UTC+5:30.

What currency is used in Chennai?

The Rupee (INR). Traffic drives on the left.

How many hotels are there in Chennai?

Our booking partner lists 1,570 or more places to stay in Chennai, bookable on this site.

Which cities are near Chennai?

Bengaluru (291 km), Kallakurichi (208 km), Vijayawada (382 km), Tiruchirappalli (306 km), Tiruppur (386 km).

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.