Art galleries
Raasi Art Gallery
1 anna avenue, bakthavatsala nagar, adayar, +91 44 2441 0389.
Lakshmi Ethiraj Art Gallery
70 1st main road, cit nagar, +91 44 4359 223.
Contemporary arts and crafts showroom
41 cp ramaswamy road, alwarpet, +91 44 2499 7069, +91 44 2466 0159.
Prakrit Art Gallery
Dhandayuthapani nagar, 2nd street, kotturpuram, +91 44 42188989 prakrit art gallery (http://www.prakritarts.com/).
Apparao Galleries
7th street, wallace garden, +91 44 2827 226.
Jewellery
Vummidi Bangaru Jewellery
Nungambakkam, features diamonds and gold. there is also a location t'nagar.
Aishwarya Jewellery
Mylapore tank. gold and silverware.
Joyalukkas
Joyalukkas , 39 North Usman Road, T'Nagar. India's largest exclusive jewellery mall, housing the worlds largest jewellery showroom of international retailer Joyalukkas amongst other world renowned retailers.
narayana Pearls
Good collection.kasi arcade,t.nagar
Jugalkishore Jewellers
Cp ramaswaamy road, alwarpet. traditional and antique jewellery.
Aarthi Thanga Maligai
60 east kalamandapam road, royapuram. gold for reasonable prices.
Jaipur Gems
50 cathedral road. exclusive designer starfire diamond jewellery, authentic jadau jewellery.
KANISHK
Usman road, t'nagar. great value for money & wide range.
B.B Jewellery
6/127 arcot road, porur. specializing in gold.
Rasvihar, 17a, Sterling Avenue, Nungambakkam. For exclusive contemporary jewellery.
Rasvihar, 17a, Sterling Avenue, Nungambakkam. For exclusive contemporary jewellery.
Bapalal Jewellers
Kakani towers, cathedral road. diamond merchants.
Shopping plazas
Spencer Plaza
(http://www.spencerplaza.com/) 769, anna salai. spencer is a chennai landmark that dates back to colonial times. the original was destroyed in a fire, so the current building dates to 1983, but the newest "phase iii" section has a mock indo-saracenic atrium in the style of the original. one of the largest shopping malls in india, it has grown to cover three "phases", and while the layout can be confusing, it's an excellent place to buy pretty much anything and everything you could possible want from india. good food courts on the 2nd levels of phase i and iii.
Prince Plaza
Pantheon road, egmore. it has been featured in many movies.
Ampa Mall
(http://www.ampamall.co.in/). the biggest retail outlet in chennai with big names like the body shop,levis,bossini,landmarkbook and stationery store,united colors of bennetton,adidas,reebok.it also has a food court with a lot of resteraunts and it also has fast food giants like mcdonalds,kfc and pizza hut.it also houses pvr cinemas,a 7-screen multiplex and a 20 room boutique hotel.
Ispahani Center
Nungambakkam road. it has a cafe, bar & shops.
Shoppers' Stop
(http://www.shoppersstop.com/) 2, harrington road, chetpet. the k.raheja groups shoppers' stop is a departmental store.
Express Avenue
The new amazing mall on royapettah high road. probably one of the biggest in the heart of the city. the biggest lifestyle store is in this mall. it's also got big names like the fcuk, mothercare, hush puppies, haley's, peekaboo patterns etc, and also the big bazaar.
Chennai Citi Center
(http://www.chennaiciticen...) 10, radhakrishnan salai. opened march 2006 - mostly has western style clothing and such. spencer's is better for indian style wares. has food court, cinema, and a supermarket.
Books
Odyssey
Behind gandhi nagar bus stand, adyar and express avenue,royapettah
Kennedys Book House
Anna salai.
Higginbothams
Anna salai.
Landmark
(http://www.landmarkonthen...), spencers plaza, anna salai mount road - books, toys, cd's etc. four locations: spencer plaza, anna salai mount road - 37,000 sq. ft. apex plaza, nungambakkam high road - 12,000 sq. ft. - the original store. chennai citi centre, radhakrishnan salai
Spencer Plaza, Anna Salai Mount Road - 37,000 sq. ft.
Apex Plaza, Nungambakkam High Road - 12,000 sq. ft. - The original store.
Chennai Citi Centre, Radhakrishnan Salai
Ampa Mall, Injambakkam- newest location
Alwar's Roadside bookshop
Opposite kamadhenu theatre in mylapore.
Chennai has a wide selection of rare books and maps in the many second-hand book stalls.
Vendors near the Central Station
Vendors on Mount Road outside Devi Theatre and the GPO General Post Office
Giggles
Connemara hotel binny road - general books from a friendly shop keeper
For more current publications
Bookfield
Opposite the lic building on anna salai mount road
Crafts
Hidesign
Ispahani centre, nungambakkam high rd & phase 3, spencers plaza. (http://www.hidesign.com). leather goods.
Crafts and Weaves
#1, 1st main road, cit colony, mylapore , â +91 44 2466 0232. handicrafts.
Ashvita - Arts and Artifacts
11 2nd st, radhakrishnan salai, mylapore, â +91 44 2847 6063. art, jewellery, photo prints.
Manasthala
12 cenotaph rd, â +91 44 2433 2842. terracotta ceramics.
Giri Stores
Adjacent to kabaleeswarar temple, opposite the radha silk emporium, mylapore tank. hindu spiritual items like rudraksha garlands, books, cds & tapes for chanting, incense sticks, camphor and lamps.
Vimonisha Art Gallery
12 khadar nawaz khan rd. handicrafts.
Amethyst
Sundar mahal, padmavathi rd, jeypore colony, gopalapuram, â +91 44 2820 3582. they sell handicrafts.
Jidoka Store
1st lane, nungambakkam high rd, â +91 44 2822 3516, +91 44 2822 3317. handicrafts.
Clothes
Just Casuals
Nungambakkam, 1, sterling road, +91 044 28273882. a good place to head if you're in the mood for the banana republic/abercrombie/old navy/gap type stuff. they seem to get all the export rejects or overstocks. you'll find that all the brand tags are cut out due to some agreement with the manufacturer. the quality and prices are good, but unfortunately there's no bargaining possible.
FabIndia
(http://fabindia.com/store...). the ilford house location at 3 woods road is probably the best in terms of choices and selections. this is the place to go for all your natural-dyed, hand loomed and hand made textiles. the prices have been going up the last few years, but fabindia is the only source for this sort of textile in chennai at any retail outlet.
Brass Tacks
(http://www.brasstacksmadr...), 77/13, corporation shopping complex, c.p. ramaswamy road, alwarpet, +91 44 4208 1767. contemporary clothing from natural fibres for women.
Shanti Colony
Annanagar is a hub for "seconds" clothing as in the above description for "just casuals".
Handloom Exhibitions
Year-round there is always a handloom exhibition profiling the work of one state or the other. these temporary installations you'll have to check the local papers to find out where they set up generally have a good selection of interesting fabrics and textile products. and there is always the option to bargain, which makes it a better bet than oft-overpriced retail stores. the royapettah ymca across from royapettah hospital has a regular handloom exhibition.
Sarees
Shilpi
29 c.p. ramaswamy rd, alwarpet.
Revathy Stores
No. 7/8, rk mutt rd, luz bazaar building, â +91 44 24934328â. small store with a wide variety of kalyani and indian hand-loomed sarees.
Aavaranaa
15, ashoka street, alwarpet, â +91 44 24988292.
Radha Silk Emporium (Rasi)
Silk sarees, ethnic wear, arts & crafts in multiple locations.
Vardhrams and Son's Silks
Harington rd, chetpat.
Florists
Music
Shruthi Musicals
10 harleys rd, kilpauk, â +91 44 2660 3630.
Sapthaswara Musicals
Features western and indian musical instruments.
Lakshman shruthi
Vadapalani signal, vadapalani. musical instruments, cds.
Sruthilayais
93 royapettah high rd, mylapore, â +91 44 2499 4045,+91 44 2498 2625. musical instruments.
In addition to these there are several exhibitions at Das Community Hall Cathedral Rd, Shankara Hall TTK Rd where artisans display their work. Check the local newspapers for details and timings.