It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the Indian census , Chennai is the sixth-most populous city in India and forms the fourth-most populous urban agglomeration. Incorporated in , the Greater Chennai Corporation is the oldest municipal corporation in India and the second oldest in the world after London. Historically, the region was part of the Chola , Pandya , Pallava and Vijayanagara kingdoms during various eras.
The coastal land which then contained the fishing village Madrasapattinam, was purchased by the British East India Company from the Nayak ruler Chennapa Nayaka in the 17th century.
The British garrison established the Madras city and port and built Fort St. George , the first British fortress in India. The city was made the winter capital of the Madras Presidency , a colonial province of the British Raj in the Indian subcontinent. After India gained independence in , Madras continued as the capital city of the Madras State and present-day Tamil Nadu.
The city was officially renamed as Chennai in The city is coterminous with Chennai district , which together with the adjoining suburbs constitutes the Chennai Metropolitan Area , [ e ] the 35th-largest urban area in the world by population and one of the largest metropolitan economies of India. Chennai has the fifth-largest urban economy and the third-largest expatriate population in India. Known as the gateway to South India, Chennai is amongst the most-visited Indian cities by international tourists and was ranked 36th among the most-visited cities in the world in by Euromonitor.
Ranked as a beta-level city in the Global Cities Index , it was ranked as the second most safest city in India by National Crime Records Bureau in Chennai is a major centre for medical tourism and is termed "India's health capital".
