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Discovering a city is partially incomplete without witnessing its shopping scene and the culture associated with it. This statement also holds true for Chennai, a heart-warming city that has a lot to offer to anyone visiting this multi-cultural hub. It gets a special mention amongst the compulsive shopaholics as it is home to some shopping places that are guaranteed to offer a memorable experience.
The capital city of Tamil Nadu, there are one of the best hot spots in Chennai. It not only displays a good collection of sightseeing options but also has a multitude of bazaars and shopping places, which sell a wide range of products at varied rates. It is now fast picking up the pace as India’s premier cultural hub. Shopping places in Chennai exude much of their cultural essence, giving travelers a feel like they’re taking home a small part of this charming city to relish forever!
From local shops selling detailed metal works from Thanjavur, exquisite stone carvings from Mamallapuram, traditional products like Pattamara mats, bronze and brass castings and silver jewellery from Kumbakonam, leaf handicrafts from Tirunelveli, and shimmering silks from Kanchipuram to well-equipped and enormous malls that feature both global and domestic brands, Chennai doesn’t disappoint its visitors in terms of shopping.
Delve right into a shopping spree as this city is famous for bringing out the best of both worlds – an amazing juxtaposition of tradition and modernity. So if you wish to shop till you drop, Chennai has many vivacious markets for you.
Yet another popular bazaar of this distinguished city, is the Pondy Bazaar, salwar materials, kurtas, fashion accessories, footwear, and handbags, trendy clothes, mobile phones, and accessories are some of the things to buy in Chennai. The streets of Pondy Bazaar and Ranganathan are overwhelmingly loaded with small and big shops selling several knick-knacks of daily use. The place is often dubbed as ‘the college teen fashion destination’.
Though also located in T-Nagar, this bazaar is home to Chennai’s favourites like Ratna Stores and Naidu Hall. Being a local market it deserves a mention of its own as it is often called ‘The Mecca of all Shopping’. In the bazaar, there is also a lively and refreshing flower market in its compound. This market includes junk jewellery (including silver and antique replicas), kids wear, fake watches, handbags, travel bags and suitcases, and bits and bobs like clips, pins, and scrunches for children and adults alike. In short, it sells everything that you could possibly need at remarkably low prices.
Insider Tip – Bargain with all that you can if you wish to steal some steaming deals. The amount of product that this market generates is copious. Over and above, it also has a good number of delectable restaurants offering lots of eateries with delicious food! And when you are absolutely exhausted from all the buying, refuel by treating yourself to some Udipi tiffin, which is the prime choice of these restaurants’ galore. Once when you are here, beat the heat with lip-smacking Faludas.
Cotton is the first choice of clothing for the locals in Chennai, considering the city’s hot tropical weather almost throughout the year. Pantheon Road is one of the best places where you can find good quality cotton garments at affordable prices. Be it bright shades, pastel shades or neutral whites, one can find all kinds of eye-catching colours in this market. The rich variety of newly designed fabrics and trendy patterned prints will leave you spoilt for choice. Premium quality fabrics at a reasonable price with plenty of options are what makes Pantheon Street a famous shopping place in Chennai.
If you’re looking for a suitable fabric for your blouses, dresses, cushion covers or upholstery, Pantheon Road in Egmore is a must-visit. Reams and reams of affordable cotton, semi-raw silk and printed blended fabric are displayed on the roadside, perfect for some mixing and matching. Unstitched salwar sets and kurtas are also available at very reasonable prices, and once in a while, you will find vendors selling export rejects – shirts, dresses, tops, skirts – in huge piles to dive into.
Cotton Street is a modest lane in Chennai, rendering stalls of nearly 60 vendors on each side of the lane and the starting price per meter of fabric is as low as INR 25! If you are looking for cheap shopping in Chennai for kurtas, sarees, and dupattas, Cotton Street can comfortably load your wardrobe without you having to spend a fortune!
Insider Tip – The market picks up pace post 2:00 pm. Deploy the best of your bargaining skills to steal a great deal. In the evenings, you will see some food stalls as well that provide nice refreshing teas and coffees.
If you have already begun missing the north Indian flavour, Sowcarpet is a one-stop destination for you. Called the Mini Rajasthan of Chennai, Sowcarpet is a multi-lined shopping site with lots of small shops selling sarees, lehengas, fabrics, churidars, cholis, salwar suits, kurtis, fashion accessories that are inspired by the northern part of the country.
Located in Peddanaickenpet, George Town, this market is in the northern part of Chennai an area that is habituated primarily by North Indians. Dazzling readymade garments are sold here. This is one of those places where language has no barriers, most of the shopkeepers descend from the north itself, so there is no major problem conversing in Hindi or Tamil.
Nevertheless, you can find some fantastic stuff here at budgeted prices and clarifies your queries like ‘what to buy in Chennai’, etc. You can buy different items from here in wholesale. If you have a knack at bargaining, you can get the best deals.
Insider Tip – The streets are really narrow. Avoid taking your car to this place. It can get really congested and you would not want to get stuck in the congestion. Also, you will find plenty of snacks stores in these lanes. They receive heavy traffic in the evening hours when it is pleasant and an ideal time to shop your hearts out.
Proximity to the sea and a happening and young beach-side may be what it’s best known for, but Besant Nagar’s otherwise posh streets can also be a haven for the thrifty shopper. Try on some dainty, fashionable-looking and fairly comfortable footwear, or browse through metres of cheap cotton handloom and mill material, including some bold, dramatic ikats and striped mangalagiri fabric.
College students particularly love the area for the many gypsy beads stalls that dot the roads –wildly colourful, differently-shaped beads strung together in bohemian neckpieces, funky earrings, and customizable bracelets make for great accessories.
Insider Tip – Due to its proximity to the beach, try on some of the sumptuous seafood that is freshly prepared on the spot. You can see a massive range of such morsels and that too at really nominal rates. Also, have a look at the menu that features a wide variety of ‘dosas’.
Chennai does not like to take a back seat when it comes to leading malls as well. Ampa Skywalk is relatively smaller mall than its rivals, but its prime location in the heart of Chennai has made it the “Mall for All”.
Having ample outlets of leading apparel brands, this mall sports a 7-screen multiplex, a gaming zone, and a lavish food court. It has been constructed in an area of roughly three acres and features a 25-metre long skywalk, which connects the mall with ticket boxes to the theatres. The food court is huge and can accommodate a whopping 650 people at once. The food court serves delicious local and international dishes for you to feast upon. All the major national and international brands can be found here such as the Basic Life, Westside, Lifestyle, Adidas, and UCB etc.
Insider Tip – Plan to watch the 7-D theatre hall. It is where you can view movies that are 7D in structure. 7D refers to the animation that is created in a way that you can feel in reality, for example, if you see a scene having mild snowfall, you will just as well feel snowfall in your seats. Amazing right?
The Phoenix Market City Mall is one of the best shopping places in Chennai and supposedly the biggest of them all. It gives you the perfect answer to questions like, what to buy in Chennai. This mall also has a variety of brands that include Adidas, Big Bazaar, Allen Solly Parcos, L’Occitane, ZARA, Diesel, ONLY, and the Cha Republic among others. The mall features the first IMAX theatre of the state with 11 screens. Along with that an interactive gaming zone rendering spectacular effects like smoke, snow, thunderstorm, and bubble along with seat movement, synchronized with the movie has been set up recently. The mall has a vast spread of an area of 1.5 million square feet and is equipped with the latest state-of-art facilities making it an ideal bait for people hovering to spend some quality time with friends and family.
Insider Tip – The mall has amazing dining partners like Rajdhani, Nalas Appakadai, Bombaysthan, Cha Republic, and Gelato Italiano. Scary House, Fun City, and Chhota Bheem are the best entertainment options for bowling and fun games. Furthermore, it also has some coffee shops like Costa Coffee and Starbucks, which ensures that you have a splendid place to hang out.
Chennai is famous for many things, to enlist a few would be the high rise corporate towers, a thriving IT industry, and an emerging Film Industry after Bollywood. It holds the special honour of hosting the second longest beach in the world, the Mariana Beach. From delicious filter coffee to astonishing silk sarees, it has it all!
Thyagaraya Nagar, better known as T. Nagar is the most sought-after shopping destination in Chennai. The area is full of saree stores that sell the indigenous designs of the city along with huge jewellery stores that offer a wide range of beautiful gold ornaments.
Best buy: Traditional sarees and gold jewellery
Just near the Central Railway Station is the Burma Bazaar. A huge hub for electronic goods, the place has many stores that sell imported electronic devices such as handsets, music players, television sets as well as movie DVDs. If you are lucky, you can even get yourself an imported doll in this exclusive bazaar.
Best buy: Television sets and DVDs
If you are looking for some budget buys in Chennai, make sure you make a trip to Cotton Street. The modest street has hawker stalls that sell the beautiful cotton fabric at thirty rupees a meter. You can get dupattas and cotton kurtas as well as sarees in this place without burning a hole in your pocket.
Best buy: Cotton fabric for your custom designs
If you want to experience the authentic taste of Chennai, book your stay at hotel rooms nearby and visit the streets of George Town. One of the oldest areas of the city, the place is full of market lanes that shine brightly with vivid colours and make sure you can have a wonderful time picking up local stuff that will help you stock up on some of the best buys.
Best buy: Sarees
A favourite among locals, Ritchie streets is a labyrinth of lanes comprising a large number of shops that sell electronic goods. All these devices can be bought at half their actual price, however, it is best to visit the shops with locals for better bargains.
Best buy: Electronics
A prime residential area in Chennai, Anna Nagar is also a major shopping hub. It is the center of many big brands that sell the latest fashion. These stores started developing after the World Trade Fair boom and are more popular amongst the young crowd, offering them a space to enjoy some recreational time.
Best buy: Branded merchandise
Snugly situated near Usman Nagar, Panagal Park is most renowned for selling sarees and jewellery. Bags and handicrafts are also thrown into the mix. The green pastures of Panagal Park that is quite close to the market pull in many tourists who wish to enjoy delightful shopping time.
Best buy: Jewellery and colourful bags
Apart from its growing metropolitan status in the country to the various age-old temples and resplendent natural bounties, Chennai is also famous for its enormous shopping scene. From vibrant ethnic markets selling traditional handicrafts and apparel to bustling shopping malls showcasing the top-notch brands of the world, this city has a diverse range of options for all kinds of shopaholics. Whether you are a street shopper or a luxury lover, you can find something to suit your style and taste in the city of Chennai. So why wait? Plan your trip, explore all the shopping places in Chennai, and take home some real deals.
Happy Journey!
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April 15, 2024 
