Things to Do in Chennai This Weekend: 40 Ideas (2026 Guide)

This is our evergreen list of 40 weekend ideas in Chennai, grouped by mood: heritage, music and stage, food, outdoors, family and the East Coast Road. Each comes with its area and the nearest station, so you can pair things that are close together. For the events actually happening this Saturday and Sunday, such as gigs, comedy line-ups, workshops and markets, check our live this weekend in Chennai page, which updates every morning.

Pick a weekend in 10 seconds

If you want…	Do this	Area	Nearest station
A culture fix	Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Mada streets, San Thome	Mylapore	Thirumayilai (MRTS)
Music	A kutcheri at a sabha, free at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan	Mylapore, TTK Road	Thirumayilai (MRTS), Teynampet (Blue)
A laugh	Stand-up at Sir Mutha Hall or Medai	Chetpet, Alwarpet	Chetpet (suburban), Teynampet (Blue)
Sea air	Marina at sunrise, Elliot’s Beach at dusk	Marina, Besant Nagar	Light House (MRTS); bus to Besant Nagar
A day out	Cholamandal, DakshinaChitra, Mahabalipuram	ECR	None; bus or cab
A day with the kids	Planetarium, then the Anna Centenary Library	Kotturpuram	Kotturpuram (MRTS)
To spend nothing	Beach, temple, a free concert	Mylapore	Thirumayilai (MRTS)
A rain plan	Museum, IMAX, a play	Egmore, Velachery	Egmore (Green), Velachery (MRTS)

Culture and heritage

1. Kapaleeshwarar Temple and the Mada streets. The 17th-century Shiva temple, its tank and the four streets around it are the oldest continuous slice of city life in Chennai. Go before 9 am or after 4:30 pm; the temple shuts in the afternoon. See our Mylapore guide. Mylapore; Thirumayilai (MRTS).

2. San Thome Basilica. The white neo-Gothic cathedral stands over the tomb traditionally held to be that of St Thomas the Apostle. Entry is free. Santhome; Light House or Thirumayilai (MRTS).

3. Fort St. George. The East India Company fort begun in 1639–40 holds St Mary’s Church, consecrated in 1680, and the Fort Museum. Carry a photo ID, and note the museum is closed on Fridays. George Town; Chennai Fort (suburban), High Court (Blue).

4. Government Museum, Egmore. Established in 1851, with a bronze gallery known for Chola sculpture. Its website lists hours of 10:30 am to 6:30 pm, closed on Fridays, and says some galleries are shut for renovation. Egmore; Egmore (Green).

5. A heritage walk. Local historians and companies run two- to three-hour walks through Mylapore, George Town and Triplicane, usually starting at 6 or 6:30 am. Options are on our heritage walks page. Various.

6. Kalakshetra. Rukmini Devi Arundale’s arts academy, founded in 1936, stages dance and music in a seaside campus. Its Annual Art Festival is listed for 18–27 December 2026. Thiruvanmiyur; Thiruvanmiyur (MRTS), then auto.

7. Valluvar Kottam. The 1976 memorial to the poet Thiruvalluvar has a 39-metre stone chariot and the couplets of the Kural carved in stone. Nungambakkam; Nungambakkam (suburban).

8. Vivekanandar Illam. The 19th-century ‘Ice House’ on the Marina, where Swami Vivekananda stayed in 1897, now holds an exhibition on his life. Marina; Thiruvallikeni (MRTS).

Music and stage

9. A kutcheri at a sabha. The Music Academy and Narada Gana Sabha on TTK Road, and Vani Mahal and Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in T. Nagar, present Carnatic concerts and dance all year. Alwarpet and T. Nagar; Teynampet (Blue), Mambalam (suburban).

10. A free concert at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Most programmes at the East Mada Street hall need no ticket. Mylapore; Thirumayilai (MRTS).

11. Stand-up at Sir Mutha Hall. The 1,200-seat Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall on the Lady Andal campus is where national comedy tours stop. Chetpet; Chetpet (suburban). See all comedy this weekend.

12. A small-room show. Medai – The Stage in Alwarpet and studio rooms in Kodambakkam run stand-up line-ups; October 2026 shows at Trinity Studio are listed at ₹399. Alwarpet, Kodambakkam; Teynampet (Blue), Kodambakkam (suburban).

13. A play. Tamil comedies at the T. Nagar sabhas, English theatre at the Museum Theatre, an 1896 hall with curved tiers. T. Nagar, Egmore; Mambalam (suburban), Egmore (Green).

14. A band night. Hard Rock Cafe in Nungambakkam lists Friday 9 pm gigs from ₹249, for ages 21 and above. Nungambakkam; Thousand Lights (Blue), then auto. More in music this weekend.

15. A Tamil jamming night. Kreate by Kraft lists Tamil ‘jamming’ evenings from ₹299 and a roast battle from ₹199. Check the listing for the address.

16. A film or concert at a cultural centre. The Alliance Française on College Road and the Goethe-Institut at Rutland Gate screen films and host concerts, often free. Nungambakkam; Thousand Lights (Blue).

17. A big concert. Arena shows play the YMCA Grounds in Nandanam, a short walk from the metro. Check our concerts page. Nandanam; Nandanam (Blue).

18. An IMAX film. Phoenix Marketcity has the city’s first IMAX screen and Nexus Vijaya Mall the second. Velachery (MRTS); Vadapalani (Green).

Food

19. A Mylapore tiffin trail. Idli, dosa, pongal, sweets and filter coffee at the small eateries on and around the Mada streets, best at breakfast. Mylapore; Thirumayilai (MRTS).

20. Chaat in Sowcarpet. Mint Street’s stalls sell chaat, kachori, lassi and jalebi, a North Indian evening in old Madras. George Town; Mannadi or High Court (Blue).

21. Pondy Bazaar. The pedestrian plaza on Thyagaraya Road mixes shopping with snack stops. T. Nagar; Mambalam (suburban).

22. A hotel food festival or pop-up. Hotels and restaurants run festivals and tasting menus most weeks. See our food festivals page. Various.

23. Dinner in Besant Nagar. Cafés and restaurants line the road behind Elliot’s Beach. Besant Nagar; bus to the terminus.

24. A sabha-canteen lunch. In December only: caterers set up canteens at the music sabhas, open to everyone. TTK Road, T. Nagar, Mylapore.

Outdoors

25. The Marina at sunrise. A promenade of about six kilometres along Kamarajar Salai; swimming is prohibited. Marina; Chepauk, Thiruvallikeni, Light House (MRTS).

26. Elliot’s Beach at dusk. Smaller and calmer than the Marina, with the Karl Schmidt Memorial on the sand. Besant Nagar.

27. Semmozhi Poonga. A 20-acre botanical garden; entry ₹15, open 10 am to 8 pm, closed on Tuesdays. Cathedral Road; Thousand Lights or AG-DMS (Blue).

28. Kalaignar Centenary Park. Opened in October 2024 across the road, with a zipline, an aviary, a glass garden and a musical fountain. Entry is ₹100 for adults and ₹50 for children, with attractions charged separately. Cathedral Road.

29. The Theosophical Society gardens. A 260-acre wooded campus on the Adyar river with a famous old banyan tree. Visiting hours are limited, so check before you go. Adyar; Kasturba Nagar (MRTS).

30. Birdwatching at Pallikaranai. The marsh south of Velachery draws migratory waterbirds in the cooler months. Carry binoculars. Velachery (MRTS), then auto.

31. A morning run. Running groups meet across the city at dawn, and organised 5K and 10K runs fill weekends from November to February. See marathons and runs. Marina, Besant Nagar, ECR.

Family

32. Birla Planetarium. Sky shows in English and Tamil plus eight science galleries; open 10 am to 5:45 pm. Kotturpuram; Kotturpuram (MRTS).

33. Anna Centenary Library. A free nine-floor library with a 15,000 sq ft children’s section, open 8 am to 8 pm. Kotturpuram; Kotturpuram (MRTS).

34. Vandalur Zoo. Arignar Anna Zoological Park covers 602 hectares, with a lion safari; open 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, closed on Tuesdays. Vandalur (suburban).

35. Guindy Children’s Park and Snake Park. Beside one of India’s smallest national parks; both close on Tuesdays. Guindy; Guindy (Blue), Kasturba Nagar (MRTS).

36. Wonderla Chennai. The amusement park near Thiruporur opened on 2 December 2025 with 43 rides. OMR; cab or bus. More ideas are on our kids and family events page.

The East Coast Road

37. Cholamandal Artists’ Village. The 1966 artists’ commune has a museum of the Madras Movement; open daily 10 am to 5 pm. Injambakkam.

38. DakshinaChitra. Eighteen relocated heritage houses and working craftspeople at DakshinaChitra; entry ₹200 for adults and ₹100 for children aged 5–15, closed on Tuesdays. Muttukadu; buses 109, 588, 599.

39. Muttukadu and Kovalam. Boating on the backwater at Muttukadu, then the surf beach at Kovalam, where surf schools give lessons. About 25–30 km from Adyar.

40. Mahabalipuram. The Shore Temple, the Pancha Rathas and Arjuna’s Penance, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984, about 60 km from the city. Our ECR weekend guide has the full route. Bus or cab.

What’s coming up

When	What	Where
11–20 October 2026	Navaratri golu season	Mylapore and across the city
2–8 November 2026	Chennai Open WTA 250 tennis	SDAT Tennis Stadium, Nungambakkam
Sunday 8 November 2026	Deepavali	Citywide
15 December 2026 – 1 January 2027	Music Academy’s 100th Annual Concerts	TTK Road
Sunday 3 January 2027	Freshworks Chennai Marathon	Marina to ECR
7–19 January 2027	50th Chennai Book Fair	YMCA Grounds, Nandanam
14–17 January 2027	Pongal	Citywide

Weekend tips

Mornings for outdoors, evenings for shows. For most of the year the hours between 10 am and 4 pm are too hot for walking.
Watch the closed days. Tuesday shuts the zoo, the Guindy parks, Semmozhi Poonga and DakshinaChitra; Friday shuts the Government Museum and the Fort Museum.
Use the trains for the core. The Blue Line runs under Anna Salai, the Green Line serves Egmore, Anna Nagar and Vadapalani, and the MRTS covers Chepauk, Mylapore, Adyar and Velachery. Since 11 October 2026 the Yellow Line also links Vadapalani with Porur and Poonamallee.
Budget for the last mile. The Music Academy, the T. Nagar sabhas and Besant Nagar are each 1.5–2.5 km from a station.
Have a rain plan from October to December. The north-east monsoon brings sudden heavy spells; keep an indoor option ready.

Looking for zero-rupee plans? Read our guide to free things to do in Chennai. Whatever you choose, the live list of events for Saturday and Sunday is always on this weekend in Chennai.

Frequently asked questions

What can I do in Chennai this weekend?

For a classic Chennai weekend, walk Mylapore's temple streets on Saturday morning, catch a comedy show or a concert that evening, and spend Sunday on the East Coast Road at DakshinaChitra or on Elliot's Beach. Chennai2Go's this-weekend page lists every event happening in the next few days.

Which places in Chennai are closed on weekends?

Very few. The catches are on other days: the Government Museum is closed on Fridays, and Vandalur Zoo, the Guindy Children's Park, Semmozhi Poonga and DakshinaChitra are closed on Tuesdays, which matters on long weekends.

What are free things to do in Chennai on a weekend?

Marina Beach and Elliot's Beach, the Kapaleeshwarar Temple and Mada streets, San Thome Basilica, the Anna Centenary Library, free concerts at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and exhibitions at the Lalit Kala Akademi all cost nothing.

What is there to do in Chennai on a weekend night?

Stand-up at the Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall or a small room like Medai, a Carnatic concert or Tamil play at a sabha, a band night at Hard Rock Cafe in Nungambakkam (21+), or dinner in Besant Nagar after a walk on the beach.

What are good weekend activities in Chennai with kids?

The Birla Planetarium, the Anna Centenary Library's children's section, Kalaignar Centenary Park, Vandalur Zoo and, for a full day, DakshinaChitra or Wonderla Chennai are reliable weekend picks.