Legend interlinks the origin of the city to lord Siva. Madurai’s fame today rests on the famous temples dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareshwar. This twin-shrine spread across six hectares is literally a city in itself, attracting tourists and pilgrims alike. This temple is the pivot around which the city of Madurai evolved. The original temple, which was erected 2000 years ago, was subsequently expanded under the patronage of different dynasties.

The temple offers a fine example of the Dravidian style of architecture. The first sight that greets a traveler on entering the city would be the four imposing, colossal gopurams or gateways enclosing the two shrines. The gopuram to the south, for instance, towers to a height of 60 meters and is covered with 1500 brightly painted gods and demons, reminiscent of the artistic fervor that prevailed in the bygone days. The thousand pillar hall, a remarkable construction inside the temple, has highly ornate, carved, life-like sculptures on each pillar. The outermost corridor of this hall has musical pillars carved out of stones, each of which producing a different musical note when tapped.

The Thirumalai Nayak Palace built in 1636, at a distance of about 1.5 Km from the Meenakshi temple, is another popular tourist attraction. Other attractions include the Thirupparankundram temple, Alagar koil, Gandhi Museum and Mariamman Teppakulam.