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’s nightclub, Pasha ( 044/5214-4000; Wed–Sun), a crowded club that’s all about being seen—it warrants a visit even just for a few minutes to watch (easy if you’re residing at The Park, which automatically gives you free access). Another groovy watering hole, attracting a slightly older crowd, is Havana ( 044/4225-2525), in the Raintree Hotel—this is more of a lounge-bar, comfortable for people-watching and particularly entertaining when the (small) disco floor gets productive. The Bike & Barrel at The Residency Towers is more faux English pub than disco, and has the awful habit of holding karaoke nights, but on certain nights the place is transformed into a more happening spot—look out for evenings when DJs Anto and Vivek spin retro remixes and reedits, or play popular motion picture sound tracks. More highbrow fare is served at Rhapsody, the lounge-bar at Courtyard by Marriot—while there’s no dance floor it’s a great venue, and like Havana attracts a more sophisticated local crowd. Alternatively, head over to Distil ( 044/5500-0000) at the Taj Connemara: With large-screen TVs, it has a bit of a sports-bar feel, but when it’s full it has an energetic buzz, and the fresh fruit cocktails are great: try the lychee vodka or the watermelon martini. Fort St George ( 044/6600-2827) at Taj Coromandel serves the most expensive beer in the city, and attracts a suitably well-heeled and glossy clientele.

SHOPPING

Chennai isn’t charming, but it does offer good shopping—if you want a one-stop mall destination, head to the labyrinthine Spencer Plaza, conveniently located opposite Taj Connemara. Said to be the largest shopping complex in South India, Spencer Plaza was Chennai’s first mall, and is still the most popular, but with low ceilings and claustrophobic corridors, and a generally confusing layout, this is not mall shopping as you know it in the West. It has around 400 shops; if you haven’t for instance had a chance to shop at the famous FabIndia, where you can pick up cotton garments, kurtas (tunics), and ethnic furnishings and linens for next to nothing, you can do so at the small Spencer Plaza outlet. There are however five more outlets in the city, all open daily; if you hate malls, the best (and biggest) FabIndia outlet is in a beautifully renovated heritage home: Ilford House, 3 Woods Rd. (off Anna Salai; 044/2851-0395 or 044/5202-7015). Spencer Plaza also has an outlet of Hidesign, the Pondicherry-based outfit renowned for top-quality leather goods, created by Indian craftsmen and internationally renowned Italian designers. There is also a Hidesign in the Ispahani Center (one of the city’s smallest, glitziest and most peaceful malls) located on Nungambakkam High Rd.; 044/2833-2111 or 044/5214-149); here you can also pop into Casablanca for men and women’s wear (women shouldn’t miss a look at particularly the Gecko range). But perhaps the best shopping experience, also in Nungambakkam, is to stroll along Khader Nawaz Khan Road: potholed it may be, but Chennai’s retail “golden mile” holds the densest concentration of Indian high-street designer stores in the city (as well as, bizarrely, a Marks & Spencer). If you’re not going to Pondicherry, this is where you can browse the goods produced by the community in the City of Dawn at Naturally Auroville Boutique (8 Khader Nwaz Rd.; 044/2833-0517); also pop into Cotton World just above, and don’t miss Evoluzione at #3 ( 044/4213-9800).

If you prefer a more sanitized environment, browse the Taj Coromandel’s Khazana Shop (37 M.G. Rd.; 044/5500-2012 or -2827), where you’ll find a particularly good selection of top-quality silks, saris, and various objets d’art in an upmarket, luxurious environment (and pay the price). Across the road from the Coromandel, Central Cottage Industries Emporium (672 Anna Salai; 044/2433-0809 or -0898) is the fixed-price government emporium with a virtual monopoly on package tourist shoppers. Farther up the road is Poompuhar, the government emporium of Tamil Nadu (818 Anna Salai, near recommended bookstore Higginbothams), which has a better selection of art