Places to visit in Madurai, Madurai, A place where spirituality and devotion fill the air and the past comes alive in every nook and corner.  You come, you see and she conquers you. She is the modernity that villages lack and the tradition long forgotten by the cities.

Madurai is the second largest city in Tamil Nadu and  one of the oldest cities in the world.Madurai, often referred to as the “Athens of the East,” has been a center of learning, art, and culture for over two millennia.  Carbon dating evidence at Vaigai civilization is found to be from the 3rd century B.C.

Madurai city is called Thoonga Nagaram which means “the city that never sleeps” because of the busiest market places in the day time as well as the evening time. Madurai is famous for its temples and history The city is also called Temple city because one can see temples in every nook and corner, the center of the city also has the famous temple which is Meenakshi Amman temple.

Here we incorporated the best and attractive tourist places to visit in Madurai which includes various  temples, church, mosque, library, museum, parks, theme parks and palaces. We also included places to visit in Madurai at night, places to visit in Madurai in 1 day, places to visit in Madurai in 2 days and places to visit in Madurai with friends for you to explore.

Meenakshi Amman temple- Best places to visit in Madurai

 Meenakshi amman temple is located on the southern banks of the Vaigai river in the temple city of Madurai. The temple was built by pandyas at first but the  present form was built by Nayaks during the 16th-17th centuries. The story behind Meenakshi Amman temple was that Lord Shiva came as Sundareswarar to marry princess Meenakshi who was the daughter of the  Pandya ruler, believed to be the manifestation of Goddess Parvati.  

Madurai Meenakshi temple is famous for its brightly painted and completely covered figures of divinities, celestial beings, monster monks, guardians and animal mounts. It is considered as one of the best places to visit in Madurai because the  Meenakshi Amman Temple is famous for its  “Aayiram kaal mandapam ” where pillars of thousands in number are sculpted with the story of Princess Meenakshi’s beauty and her wedding with Lord Shiva.

 Best time to visit: One can Seek divine blessings during the Chitra festival, Avani Moola festival, Masi mandala festival and Navratri festival. 

Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple timings: Opens from 5am-1pm and 4pm-9pm. 

Distance:  It is just 2 km away from Madurai railway station.

Entry fee: There is no entry fee, but if you want to visit an art museum present in the temple it costs 5 INR  for Indian tourists and 50 INR for foreign tourists.

Contact:  0452 234 4360

Location:  Madurai Main, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625001

Sri koodal Azhagar temple-Best places to visit in Madurai

This temple is situated in the heart of Madurai city, which is close to Meenakshi Amman temple. It is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The name of the temple comes from “Koodal” means “Madurai” and “Azhagar” means beautiful one. This temple has beautiful architecture and it is surrounded by granite walls that one must not miss. It was built during Pandya time and developed during Vijayanagar dynasty and Madurai Nayak dynasty. The main deity of this temple is Koodal Azhagar The temple has other small shrines for Goddess Madhuravalli who is the consort of Koodal Azhagar, Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Krishna, Lord Rama and Lord Narayana. 

Temple timings: The darshan timings are from 5:30am to 12pm and from 4pm to 9pm.

Best time to visit:  December to February

Entry fee: No entry fee for this temple

Distance: It is very close to Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple which is 2 km away from Madurai railway junction and 11 km away from Madurai airport.

Contact:  1800 4253 1111

Location: W477+PGC, Koodal Alagar Perumal Koil Street, Pallivasal Ln, Near Periyar Bus Stand, Periyar, Madurai Main, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625001

Gandhi Memorial Museum-Best places to visit in Madurai

 Gandhi memorial museum offers a glimpse of Gandhi’s life and historical importances. Once it was a palace of Rani Mangammal from the Naick dynasty. Later it was established as a museum, because Gandhi entered Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple with harijans as a sign of fighting against untouchability which was seen as a crucial and historical step. 

 This museum benefits visitors by offering courses like Hindi and Sanskrit languages, yoga classes, pranayama, meditation classes and much more. This museum has the replica of the original hut( Gandhi kutir) of Mahatma Gandhi in Sevagram. It has an open theater which can accommodate 8000 people and has a library with 20,000 volumes, 2,70,000 letters of Mahatma Gandhi and many reels of microfilms.

This museum has a replica of blood stained cloth of our Nation’s father on the day of his assassination and it was still preserved in a glass box. It is considered as one of the important places to visit in Madurai for its historical importance. The museum has a famous letter from Mahatma Gandhi to Adolf Hitler where he addressed him as “dear friend ” and a congratulatory letter to Subramania Bharathi , a great poet and a freedom fighter.

 Timings : It opens on all days from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5.45pm. Except fridays. Distance: The museum was only 4.5km away from Madurai railway station. Tourists can book a cab or auto rickshaw till here.

Entry fee: Entry to this museum is free for all Indians and foreigners.

Contact details: 0452  2531060,  0452 2522822, Email: [email protected]

Location:  Collector Office Rd, Alwarpuram, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625020

Saint Mary’s Cathedral-Best places to visit in Madurai

 Saint Mary’s Cathedral is the church of Our Lady of Dolours . It is one of the most popular churches in Tamil Nadu. It was built in the year 1841 as a small chapel by Fr.Garnier and the  present structure of the church was built in 1916 which shows that the church is more than 150 years old.

Apart from religious people, it also attracted many tourists because of the exquisite architectural beauty with a blend of Roman,European and other architectural styles. This church has two tall bell towers with Roman architecture and each tower was 42m tall. It is one of the best places to visit in Madurai for those who have an interest in architecture.

Timings: opens on all days.

Entry fee: No entry fee for this church

Distance:  It is located just 2 km away from Madurai railway junction. Tourists can hire an auto rickshaw till here.

Location: W47G+872, E Veli St, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625001

Thirumalai Nayak Palace-Best places to visit in Madurai

Thirumalai Nayak palace was built in the year 1635 during the reign of King Thirumalai Nayak. This palace served as the King’s residence during the time of his reign. It has a beautiful architecture with a mix of Dravidian and Islamic architectural designs, designed by an Italian architect. The current building is actually the remains of the palace after distortion by various reigns. The special features of this palace are the grand gates with massive pillars of height 82ft and width 19ft and circular shaped garden. The exquisite architecture and the history of this palace makes it one of the best places to visit in Madurai.

Timings: This palace opens for tourists on all days from 9am to 5pm.

Light show timings: This palace offers special music and light shows about Silapathikaram, an early epic tamil poem.

Best time to visit: The best time to visit this palace is in the evenings and one shouldn’t miss the music and light shows. The show starts from 6:45pm to 7:35 pm in English language and from 8 pm to 8:50 pm in Tamil language. 

Entry fee:  For Indian tourists, it costs 10 INR and for foreigners it is 50 INR. For still cameras it is 30 INR and video cameras it is 100 INR.

Distance: Tourists can easily reach this place through taxi or auto rickshaw  from Madurai railway station which is  3 km away, it is 10 km away from Madurai airport

Location: W47F+XHJ, Palace Rd, Mahal Area, Madurai Main, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625001

Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam-Best places to visit in Madurai

The tank called “Teppakulam” is associated with Vandiyur Mariamman Temple. This temple tank is located 5 km away from Meenakshi Amman temple. It is one of the largest temple tanks not only in Tamil Nadu but also in South India which makes this temple tank one of the significant places to visit in madurai. This temple tank was built during the period of King Thirumalai Nayak. The pond is surrounded by long stairs made of granite. The water to the tank is obtained through underground channels from Vaigai river. It is one of the attractive tourist places to visit in Madurai at night.

Best time to visit: The best time to visit this temple tank is at night during the months of January and February where usually the temple festival called Teppotsavam or Float festival is celebrated. At first it was to celebrate the birthday of King Thirumalai Nayak. During this festival the temple tank is decorated with thousands of lamps on the full moon night. It is very beautiful to see the reflection of those lit lamps on water. 

Distance: It is located 5 km away from Meenakshi amman temple, 7 km away from Madurai railway junction and 14 km away from Madurai airport.

Location:  Vandiyur, 625020

kallalagar temple( Alagar Kovil Temple)-Best places to visit in Madurai

This temple is situated at the foot of Alagar hills. It is very beautiful to see such a natural setting around this temple. This temple was built during the Pandyan dynasty and dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The Pandyan dynasty contributed a lot for this architectural development, later Nayaks took over and added artistic features to the temple during their reign. This temple has exquisite sculpting and beautiful mandapams. It is one of the top places to visit in Madurai. The main deity of this temple is Lord Alagar who was believed to be the manifestation of Lord Thirumal. The processional idol is Lord Alagar who is the brother of Goddess Meenakshi. 

Entry fee: No fee

Temple timings: The best time to seek divine blessings is from 6am to 12:30pm and 3:30pm to 8pm. 

Distance: The temple is located 42  km away from Madurai airport, 32 km away from Madurai railway station. It is well connected via road. Many frequent buses are there from Madurai to Alagar hills. So we suggest  tourists hire a taxi from the city to the hills.

Best time to visit: During chithirai festival  

Location:  Alagarkovil – 625301

Puthu Mandapam-Best places to visit in Madurai

This was built by King Thirumalai Nayak during 1628-1635 as a summer abode for Lord Sundareswarar and Goddess Meenakshi. It is located on the eastern side of Meenakshi Amman temple. There are 124 pillars on this mandapam carved with ancient hindu texts, the story of the wedding of Goddess Meenakshi with Lord Sundareswarar. This mandapam has a height of 25ft, length of 330ft and breadth of 105ft. Now this mandapam serves as a marketplace with vibrant and diverse shops. It is one of the oldest markets of Tamil Nadu functioning since 1920. This mandapam is one of the best places to visit in Madurai at night.

Timings:  all days from 9am to 8.30 pm

Things to buy: The marketplace includes tailoring shops, clothes, books, bangles, accessories, sandalwood and many more shops. One can find traditional and rare souvenirs to take home. 

Distance: It is only 2 km away from Madurai railway junction and 11 km away from Madurai airport

Location: It is located opposite to the east gate of Meenakshi Amman temple

Samanar Hills-Best places to visit in Madurai

The word Samanar is derived from a Sanskrit word Saramana meaning Jain. In Tamil “Malai” means hills. Thus Samanar malai denotes a Jain hill. It is located in the village of Keelakuilkudi which is 12 km away from Madurai. Samanar hill was declared as a protected monument by the archaeological survey of India. This hill is associated with Jainism with Tamil brahmi inscriptions.

This cave has carvings which date back to 1st century A.D which give an insight to history and Jain religion. The sculptures and carvings were built by the Jain monks during the 9th century B.C. The cave has sculptures of Gomateshwara, Mahavira, Yakshi, Yaksha, Settipodavu and Pechipallam. Settipodavu presents the image of Lord Mahavira who was the last Tirthankara of Jainism. The cave was a home for many monks during ancient times and it was believed to be more than 2000 years old. It is the most meaningful place to visit in Madurai to spend some quiet time and to meditate.

Timings: Opens all day

Entry fee: no entry fee

Distance:  It is located 9 km away from Madurai railway station and 24 km away from Madurai airport.

Contact:  1800 4253 1111

Location:  W2FX+W59, Kilakuyilkudi, Tamil Nadu 625019

kutladampatti waterfalls-Best places to visit in Madurai

Kutladampatti waterfalls is located in Cholavantha village near Madurai. It is located inside the reserve forest of Kutladampatti. It is one of the top places to visit in Madurai because of its  quiet atmosphere with lovely sounds of nature and gentle waterfalls. This place is a lush green place with a cool breeze and calm ambience. It is a perfect spot and one of the best enjoyable places to visit in Madurai with friends.

Distance: It is just 30 km away from Madurai town, 47 km away from Madurai airport and 28 km away from Madurai railway junction.

Best time to visit: September to February.

Location: Madurai Kutralam, Water Falls Rd, Sirumalai R.F., Tamil Nadu 625501

Kalaignar centenary library-Best places to visit in Madurai

The Kalaignar centenary library   is a six storeyed building. It was inaugurated by the honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Thiru M.K.Stalin. It is located on the new natham road with spread over 2.13 lakh sq.ft., and contains nearly 3.3 lakh books and features various amenities and services. Madurai  library has sections including book rentals, read your own books, children section, for competitive exams, rare titles and have disabled friendly features like braille converters, braille printers and braille readers. More than 1500 books are available in braille format and 1100 audio books. 

Kalaignar centenary Madurai library lies among the best tourist  places to visit in Madurai for its  art gallery. The art gallery of the Madurai library is  present on the ground floor. It contains pictorial display of dance forms, replicas of Keezhadi   excavation site, black and white drawings of people and places of Madurai by the late Manohar Devadoss , traditional games, vintage photos of Madurai  and works of other artists. 

Timings: opens on all days from 9am to 8pm

Distance:  it is located 4.1 km away from Madurai railway station and 15 km away from Madurai airport.  Tourists, Art lovers and book lovers can hire a taxi or auto rickshaw till here.

Contact details:  0452-2535400 Email : [email protected]

Location: W4RP+P94, Natham Rd, Race Course Colony, Reserve Line, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625002

Kazimar big mosque-Best places to visit in Madurai

It is the first Islamic place of worship in Madurai city of Tamil Nadu. The mosque was built in the 13th century by Mazrat Kazi Syed Tajuddin, descendant of prophet Muhammed. He visited Madurai during the 13th century and bought land from the then king Kulasekara of Pandyan dynasty and built the Kazimar mosque which stands strong even today. The mosque has the capacity to accommodate 2500 people. It attracts hordes of devotees from everywhere because of  the Maqbara  

It  refers to the  graves of all three saints Mir Ahmad Ibrahim, Mir Amjad Ibrahim and Abdu Salam Ibrahim  are in the Kazimar big mosque, situated in the heart of Madurai city. This place serves as an important site for Arabic learning. Every year the mosque celebrates the founder’s day with a great pomp and passion on the 15th of Rajab,the seventh month of the islamic calendar. It is considered as one of the sacred shrines and important places to visit in Madurai.

Timings: opens from 4:30 am to 11 pm

Contact details: : 0452 233 7904

Distance: It is located at a distance of 500 m away from the central bus stand and 1 km away from Madurai railway junction and 10 km away from Madurai airport. It is  800 km away from Meenakshi Amman temple. One can use public transport or even hire a taxi to reach this place

Best time to visit: December to February

Location: Kazimar St, Periyar, Madurai Main, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625001

Madurai corporation Eco park-Best places to visit in Madurai

Madurai corporation Eco park is situated in the western side of Annamaligai at Madurai. The recreation center was set up by Madurai corporation  with an area of around 5.5 acres of land. The park has a variety of plants and trees with a calm and pollution free place amidst the hustle bustle city. It has boating facilities. play equipments for kids, exercising equipment and a big grass lawn to play. The park serves as a perfect spot for relaxation for all age groups.

It has good walking paths to walk and jog. Throughout the park we can see sculptures made of iron waste and steel. The special feature of this park is the musical fountain that pumps water up to 110ft. It is one of the best places to visit in Madurai at night, a perfect spot to enjoy in the evening and considered as one of the best places to visit in Madurai with kids.

Entry fee: The public is charged with a nominal entry fee to enjoy the place thoroughly. For musical fountain shows it costs 50 INR for adults and 30 INR for kids.

Musical show timings: The show starts from 7.15 pm to 8 pm and on holidays, they perform two shows from 7 to 7.45 pm and 7.45 to 8.15 pm.

Best time to visit: For strolling, exercising and jogging, one can visit this place early morning and evenings.

Opening timings: 4am to 9 am and 5 pm to 9 pm. Rest of the day, the park  serves as a study  spot for students with all kinds of exam preparations. 

Distance: It is just 5 km away from Madurai railway station and 19 km away from Madurai airport.

Location:  W4PQ+38R, Melur Main Road, Corporation Colony, Dr Thangaraj Salai, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625020

Madurai Athisayam-Best places to visit in Madurai

Athisayam is a massive water cum amusement park located on the Madurai-Dindigul main road. This park covers 70 acres of land and the park boasts of a total of 40 dry games and 20 water rides, 7D theater, an eatery and recreation garden for kids. It is one of the good places to visit in Madurai with kids as kids like games.

Some of the best dry games are swing chairs, columbus, jumping frog, tora tora etc. Some of the popular water games in Madurai Athisayam are cyclone, welcome shower, spiral slides, mat multi slide, wave pool etc. Madurai Athisayam is considered as one of the most fun places  to visit in  Madurai  with friends. Madurai Athisayam is popular for its artificial waterfalls named Madurai courtallam which is very delightful to see the water falling from 70 feet height. 

Entry fee: 700 INR for adults and 500 INR for kids. Tickets can be bought from the counter at entrance.

Opening hours: Fun begins at 10 am to 6 pm, snack bar opens from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm

Best time to visit: June, July and August.

Distance: It is located 21 km away from Madurai airport and 12 km away from Madurai railway junction. One can hire a taxi or use public transport to reach this place.

Location: Madurai-Dindigul main road, Paravai, Tamil Nadu-6254021

Contact details: +91 9786966881, 04522463849.

Places to visit in Madurai at Night:

These following spots are one of the best and attractive places to visit in Madurai at night and one should not miss the local delicacies around these places

• Meenakshi  Amman temple for its mesmerizing allure after sunset, illuminated gateway towers
• Puthu Mandapam for its market place where you can find souvenirs and enjoy local shopping experience
• Thirumalai Nayak palace for its music and light shows
• Vandiyur Mariamman temple tank-The temple attains a magnificent appeal at night with the luminance of the lights
• Samanar hills, a night safari for the adventurous and thrilling experience
• Madurai corporation Eco park for its musical fountain

Places to visit in Madurai in 1 day:

• Meenakshi Amman temple
• Puth Mandapam
• Thirumalai Nayak palace
• Gandhi memorial museum
• Samanar hills
• Alagar kovil temple

Places to visit in Madurai in 2 days:

Day 1: 

• Meenakshi Amman temple
• Thirumalai Nayak palace
• Puthu Mandapam
• Gandhi memorial museum
• Samanar hills

Day 2:

• Azhagar kovil temple
• Kutladampatti waterfalls
• Kazimar big mosque
• Saint Mary’s Cathedral
• Kalaignar centenary library

Places to visit in Madurai with friends:

• Kutladampatti waterfalls
• Madurai Athisayam
• Puthu Mandapam
• Samanar hills

Places to visit in Madurai with kids:   

• Madurai corporation Eco park
• Madurai Athisayam- theme park
• Kutladampatti waterfalls