TTDC plans heritage walks through colonial-era hotspots

Chennai: The last surviving boundary pillar erected by the British in the 18th century outside Dare House in George Town, the Armenian Church, Young Men's Indian Association (YMIA) building, Royapuram railway station and Santhome Basilica are among historic landmarks, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) seeks to showcase through a new heritage tourism initiative in Chennai.TTDC has joined hands with MTC, city-based heritage collectives and photography communities to organise curated heritage walks, storytelling tours and photo explorations across some of Chennai's oldest neighbourhoods."MTC is already operating the Chennai Ula special circular tour bus service. We have tied up with them for heritage bus tours and the initiative will be rolled out soon," a TTDC official said.TTDC has also partnered with Heritage Inspired for a specially curated ‘Madras Suthalama?' city tour covering landmarks such as Fort St George, Vivekananda House, Ripon Building, Santhome Basilica, Armenian Church and Royapuram railway station."The tour includes a drive through George Town, Mount Road and the Marina stretch, showcasing Indo-Saracenic and art deco architecture, colonial-era institutions and historic trading quarters. At present, the tours are conducted using our own buses. Plans are underway to introduce MTC double-decker buses too," the official added.TTDC has also tied up with heritage organisation Madras Inherited to conduct guided walks through Egmore, George Town, Mount Road, Mylapore and Santhome."We began the walks in May 2026. We explore themes ranging from colonial architecture and mercantile history to cinema, mythology and urban transformation. Ticket are priced at 700 for adults and 450 for students, including souvenirs and tote bags," said Ashmitha Athreya, trustee of Madras Inherited.Prasanna S, architect and founder of Nam Veedu, Nam Ooru Nam Kadhai, said heritage walks have drawn interest from visitors. "We have been conducting such walks for some time. Now, we have tied up with TTDC to organise them on a larger scale. People from Mumbai and other states also participate," he said.Another collaboration with Madras Photo Bloggers will focus on experiential photo walks through Triplicane, Mylapore and Senate House precinct. Themes such as ‘Stories in Motion', ‘Streets & Spirit' and ‘Light, Legacy and Lens' aim to combine photography with local history and street culture. The fee for these sessions has been fixed at 250, of which 50 will be shared with TTDC.