Popularly regarded, as "The Gateway to the South India" Chennai is the fourth largest and the capital city of Tamil Nadu. It presents a culture that is distinct from that of the northern part of India and is famous for its traditional yet modern outlook.

Coimbatore, Trichy, Sivakasi
Coimbatore is one of the most industrialised cities in the state and is popularly known as "The Textile Capital of South India" or "The Manchester of the South". Trichy is a thriving commercial centre and is famous for artificial diamonds, cigars, handloom cloth, glass bangles and wooden and clay toys. Sivakasi may be called as "A town of three industries", namely Matches, Fire works and Printing. Salem is well known for cotton and silk handloom weaving.

Cities Of Importance
Poompuhar is an archaeologist delight and Courtallam is famous for its season and waterfalls. Tirunelveli is known for its Shiva Temple and is surrounded on all sides by paddy fields. Nagercoil is famous for the Nagaraja temple.

Nilgiri Backdrop & Kanyakumari
The Nilgiri Hills provide beautiful sceneries with steep hills and fantastically narrow valleys with numerous rivers and rivulets running in all directions with a few fine waterfalls here and there. At the southern most land tip of India, where the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal meet, lies Kanniyakumari, an important pilgrim centre.

Other Major Cities Of Tamil Nadu
§ Thanjavur : Thanjavur's most attractive feature is the Brihadeeswara Temple, which is an architectural wonder and reflects the artistic skills of the erstwhile Chola rulers who ruled peninsular India in the early medieval period. Built by the Chola king Rajaraja I in the 11th century, it is one of the tallest temples in the world.

§ Rameshwaram : Rameshwaram is a pilgrimage centre of nationwide importance, as Rama is said to have worshipped Shiva here on his way back from SriLanka.

§ Madurai : Madurai or the "city of nectar" is the oldest and second largest city of Tamil Nadu. This city is located on Vaigai River and was the capital of Pandyan rulers till the 14th century.

§ Mahabalipuram : Located at a distance of 58-km from Chennai, Mahabalipuram has everything that makes a site memorable; tradition, history, piety, western annals, and current importance as a centre of tourism. This temple town is also counted among India's list of the World Heritage Sites.