Chennai Shopping Tour: Experience Cultural Imprints at Bazaars, Markets and Shops
5.0
14 Ratings
Chennai (Madras)
Immerse yourself in the vibrant culture of Chennai through a shopping tour. Explore wholesale markets, leather shops, flea markets, and more to discover unique treasures and local crafts.
Duration: 7 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Five Senses Tours - orientation
  • Koyambedu Market - 6 AM- Our guide will pick up you from the hotel

630AM- Koyambedu wholesale market

Over the next 1.5 hours we will walk through the lanes for flowers, fruits and vegetables. We begin at the flower market where 60 tons of flowers are sold every day. Roses, jasmine, marigold and firecracker flower are the fast selling varieties.

  • Burma Bazaar - Leather market- We visit a wholesale market for leather where traders visit from many parts of the world. Set up a few decades earlier, this market has emerged as a gateway to one of the most important leather manufacturing pockets of India. Shoppers love this market because of its reputation for products made from genuine leather.

Flea market- Moore market is a flea market that has literally risen from the ashes. The original market with more than 800 stalls selling books, clothes and plastic goods was gutted in a fire in 1985. The shops were relocated to the present location and this flea market has become popular again. The market is a great place to shop for used books, junk & antiques and even gramophones!

Burma Bazaar- We will visit Burma Bazaar, one of the most popular flea markets in Chennai. Set up for refugees from Burma, this bazaar today is great for good bargains on stationary, clothes, DVD’s, electronic items, software, perfumes and toys.

Fish market- After visiting bazaars and flea markets, we now head to a fish market! This fish market is the most famous in Chennai and it supplies to all the hotels in the city. Located next to the Chennai Harbour, this is a great place to shop for seer, pomfret, prawn, shark, sardine, crab, silverbellies, carangids and mackerel.

  • VTI Chennai - Traditional Art & Crafts Emporium

Victoria Technical Institute was established in 1887 to commemorate the golden jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria. Today this institute promotes traditional handicrafts by scouting for artisans and craftsmen living in the remote areas, training them and providing a marketplace for their labour. It is a fantastic place for shopping for clothes, toys, wooden furniture and carvings, paintings, bronze sculptures and sandalwood items.

1PM- Shopping in Chennai tour ends after we drop you back to your hotel

What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • All taxes, fees, and handling charges included
  • Lunch provided
What's Not Included
  • Drinks
Additional Information

Embarking on a shopping escapade in Chennai enables you to soak up the city’s profound heritage. On this Chennai Shopping Tour, you’ll have the opportunity to explore a mass market for flowers, fruits, and vegetables, a specialized leather market, a bazaar filled with antiques and discarded items, the Burma bazaar flea market, a bustling fish market, along with an arts and crafts store.

Location
Five Senses Tours
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(14 Ratings)
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Roam28048101439
Dec 13, 2023
I love the red dresses - One of the most beautiful shopping in chennai the dresses are very beautiful and very nice ... And the red dresses were just wow
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fernando_raz
Dec 12, 2023
Nice clothes - Me and my friend went to shopping trail to buy some dresses the clothes was very nice and nice colour
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Morgan67316
Dec 11, 2023
Shopping - Today we went for shopping and do bazar the place was very clean and very comfortable the staff were so good and nice
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Global50240627078
Dec 10, 2023
Excellent - Today we went to shopping bazar to buy some dresses it was such a big bazar i really Love the dresses and the colour
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lizpr9345xr
Dec 1, 2023
Excellent tour - definitely recommended - In every way this was an excellent tour. Hareesh was a total gentleman, polite, friendly and helpful. He was informative about the different markets, the history of Chennai and life in India. During the tour he took many photographs of me at each venue, which he sent on promptly after the tour. Our discussion about life in India resulted in a very useful book recommendation. The tour also gave a good opportunity to purchase gifts to bring home, in a wide range of prices. I was taken to a great restaurant for lunch - delicious food. I would definitely recommend this tour to others.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trail46735560485
Nov 11, 2023
A great market taste - The market experience was just amazing: fruit, veggies flowers and fish. Colorfull picture of the Indian way of life. Our guide was great, explained us with details Indian society, history and new challenges. We enjoyed the all experience and the indian lunch was full of savour and delicious.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Culture687635
Oct 3, 2023
Perfect day in Chennai - I had a great day exploring Chennai. I booked shopping and bazaar trail. When Kennan my guide picked me up at the hotel he took the time to ask me a lot of questions to make sure I got the best experience as possible. I got to se a lot of things I was not expecting and it was great. The lunch was one of the highlights. Being a sensitive person when it comes to spicy food he made sure I was ok and still got great local food. Some of the extras I got to see was St. Thomas Cathedral , the Lighthouse and Marina Beach
Review provided by Tripadvisor
383robyns
May 3, 2023
Simply Perfect Tour - Guide Nivi was friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating to my requirements. She was flexible with the itinary, and a great companion for a solo female traveller. Could not have asked for a better guide. The driver was very courteous and always got out of the vehicle to open the door for you and made sure that you got out of the car safely. I felt totally safe with his driving, and was able to sit back relax and and enjoy the journey.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jenniferav8578vg
Apr 29, 2023
Shopping in Chennai - Had a unique experience exploring the fresh fruit and vegetable and fish markets today with Nivi. There is so much energy in the markets and a side of Chennai that few see. Nivi explained the customs about gifts to the bride and wedding guests. She took me shopping for some last minute gifts for family and topped it off with a yummy lunch. Customer service is top notch wotk Nivi!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wheresemilynow
Apr 16, 2023
You should do this one - There will be a TLDR at the end. It was as a great experience. I have to start by talking about the guide because they can make it break the experience. Nivi was mine. She is so sweet! Definitely ask for her because she is very good at navigating these places, great information at places we went, setting expectations about the places we went, giving good tips on solo female travel in India, negotiating with sellers, taking great candid photos through the day, and checking in with you to make sure you’re ok and always comfortable. I took a tour on a Sunday. Sundays are good because the traffic is significantly less but not all the shops are open early if at all, particularly at the bazaar. I don’t feel like I missed out though. First, we went to the fish market. It is open air, right near Marina Beach. Manage your expectations. It’s a fish market so there will be smells. Lots of cool fish though. Then we went to the bazaar, most shops were closed, so we came back later when there were some more open. Then we went to the Victoria institute of technology. It’s not a school, it’s a three story shop with amazing furniture and trinkets. The amount of detail is breathtaking. Then we went to a fruit and veg market. It so busy but so interesting. Amazing amounts of things for sale. Finally, we had lunch and Nivi helped me find some amazing new foods. TLDR: lots of things to see, so many options to buy things. Sundays have less shops open but more fish and fruit and veg stalls open. Nivi is amazing and you should ask for her
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May 2024
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