Georgetown Bazaar Walking Tour: Explore Historic Local Markets in India
4.6
10 Ratings
Chennai
Discover the vibrant and historic Georgetown Bazaar in India on this walking tour. Explore the bustling markets, winding streets, and diverse range of shops selling everything from bangles to spices.
Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Kotwal Chavadi Market - From being the Black Town to becoming a bustling wholesale market, George Town in Chennai has seen it all. A market place where practically anything that can be legally sold can be bought for the right price. The walking tour takes you into the heart of the vegetable and flower market, with fascinating stories that provide a context to the colourful sights. A visit to the heart of George Town is an experience you will not forget. Crowded markets, narrow lanes, fascinating history, and mesmerizing images are welcoming you to experience the colorful and rich culture.
What's Included
  • Bottled water
  • Snacks
  • All-inclusive fees and taxes
  • Expert guide assistance
What's Not Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

On this journey, we delve into the bustling district of Georgetown. This region features long-standing specific markets, featuring narrow twisting lanes, storage buildings, enclosed wholesale outlets, roadside vendors, and conventional stores.

Historically referred to as ‘Black Town’, this locale emerged in the tail end of the 1600s following the creation of Fort St. George. Indigenous individuals settled in this region for commerce and engaging in transactions with the fort. During the 1700s, a part of Black Town was decimated to facilitate an open space outside Fort St George. The inhabitants of Blacktown relocated beyond this open space, in an area known as New Black Town.

In the middle of the 1800s, the vacant space (former Black Town) was utilized for the construction of the majestic Madras High Court. In 1910, coinciding with King George’s visit to India, Blacktown was rechristened as Georgetown. Presently, Georgetown still stands as a bustling marketplace, offering an array of products: bracelets, textiles, fruits, vegetables, spices, stationery, jewellery, etc.

Location
HOTEL SARAVANA BHAVAN
NSC Bose Road
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.6
(10 Ratings)
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N3445kgalexandrah
Apr 30, 2024
Fabulous - Great walking tour at busy market area.Brilliant explanation by our guide Rajesh.Higjly recommend this walking tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Evancg4253ks
Apr 26, 2024
A great walking tour! - This was a great tour that hit all the highlights in Bazaar area and was a great way to begin our time in Chennai. Rajesh our guide, was so friendly and informative. He really knew his stuff, and he was happy to answer any questions we might have.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
859wilsonk
Oct 24, 2023
Great experience - I had a great time in Chennai thanks to Rajesh.He explained about the history and culture.We walked through busy market.
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K136itphilipt
Apr 28, 2023
Walking tour in Bazaar! - Great walking tour in Chennai. Visited different local shops in bazaar.Ended with beautiful flower bazaar.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Explorer25021567468
Feb 12, 2023
Informative - Learning history about Chennai and visited Bazaar area ! Rajesh was very informative and he took us to local shops .We have done several tours and this has been our favourite so far.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Smith23356
Aug 26, 2022
Highly recommended! - Great stories that i have never heard before despite many previous visits to temples.Excellent tour one of the best.
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Christinaking70
Mar 28, 2019
Electrifying afternoon at one of the most vibrant areas of Chennai - Rajesh gave a wonderful tour of the Bazaar at Georgetown, including pertinent historical details, cultural references, and information on the bazaar layout as it stands today. We both walked and took a bicycle rickshaw through the narrow streets and alleys and every inch of the tour was bursting with life and color. I was able to go into shops and make purchases as well and we ended the trip with a nice snack and chat at a local restaurant. This is a shorter tour, leaving much of your day open for other activities or to go back into the bazaar for more shopping.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oilbaronuk
Feb 16, 2019
Great tour - friendly and knowledgeable guide - Just completed a tour of the Georgetown bazaars. My guide was Rajesh who is the owner of Wonder Tours. The tour last about 2 hours and went through the various street markets of Georgetown - part on foot and part on tuk tuk. It was great to experience the sights and sounds of the various markets and see Chennai up close and personal. Rajesh explained the history of the different parts of the markets as went along. If you go on the tour, keep an eye out for the statue of King George who Georgetown is named after! It is a tour I would definitely recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Myriahl
Apr 9, 2019
I did not get the tour others got - I booked this tour as it seemed to have very good reviews, and I was looking forward to seeing this area as well as the markets. As it turned out I was the only one on the tour and although the tour guide was VERY sweet and nice (must stress this) the tour itself was NOT what I paid for and was a bit awkward. I was the only one taking the tour that day and the overview said it was going to be about 2 hours and there would be a chance to actually shop at the markets. We met at a hotel and then looked at the vegetable tables, then a rice store. Then we got into an auto rickshaw and just drove around the streets a few times. The guide tried to tell me a few things here and there but there was so much noisy traffic and people etc. (as well as a little bit of a language barrier) that I did not get anything at all from that rickshaw tour. In the end we ended back at the hotel we started from within an hour, having only seen a table of onions, a rice store, and some random blurry 'from a rickshaw' images of the neighbourhood. Again, sweet guide, horrible tour. I contacted Wonder Tours about how I got very little value for my money and requested a discount (as I really did not get a tour) however they did not respond.
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
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