5-Day Shopping and Heritage Tour of Chennai, Puducherry and Kanchipuram

• Arrive at Chennai Airport or Railway Station and head to Pondicherry, the former French colony.

• Check in to your hotel and freshen up.

• Visit the attractions of Pondicherry, including French Fort Louis, Aayi Mandapam, Ananda Ranga Pillai Museum, Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Aurobindo Ashram, backwater lakes and gardens, and the 19th-century lighthouse.

• Indulge in this shopper's paradise as you stroll through the city, which offers a wide variety of handicrafts, fabrics, stones, wooden sculptures, mats, pottery, perfumes, mirror work, lamps and candles.

• Drive to Chennai via the heritage city of Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram), the 7th-century sea port of the Pallava Empire and said to be the birthplace of temples and their architecture.

• Marvel at its vast variety of temples and beaches.

• Mahabalipuram is an ideal place for buying wonderful idols of Hindu deities carved in granite or wood, along with decorative shell items.

• Spend time in the evening shopping in Chennai.

Overnight stay in Chennai.

• Drive to Kanchipuram, also known as the city of temples. Kanchipuram is revered as one of the top seven holiest places for Hindus. As per Hindu mythology, 'moksha', or salvation, can be attained by visiting all seven holy places during one's lifetime. This city is sacred to the devotees of both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. Ancient Kanchipuram once had almost 1,000 temples, now reduced to 126.

• Go shopping in this city, as it is home to some of the finest silks in India. Kanchipuram silk is woven from silkworms raised purely on mulberry, and the silk-weaving tradition here has a history of 400 years.

• Visit Gandhi Road to pick up silk sarees, as well as Nadu Street and TN Nambi Street. Interesting souvenirs such as idols of gods and goddesses, jewellery boxes and other artefacts can also be purchased here.

• Spend the whole day in Chennai, visiting attractions such as St. George Fort, the Fort Museum, St. Mary's Church (the oldest Anglican church in India), Marina Beach (the second-longest in the world), and San Thome Cathedral Basilica, which houses the mortal remains of Christ's doubting apostle, St. Thomas.

• Bring out the shopaholic in you as you discover a wide range of things to shop for. From traditional items like Pattamadai mats, Tirunelveli leaf handicrafts, bronze and brass castings, Kumbakonam traditional jewellery, Tanjore metal works, granite carvings of Mamallapuram and silks from Kanchipuram to modern items, Chennai will always fulfil your interests.

• Depart for home by train or flight.