Palace

Palace - it is 1 Km from the temple & it was built by Nayaks around 1550 AD and partly by Marathas. The total area of the palace is around 10 acres. The palace has huge corridors, spacious halls, observational and arsenal towers and shady courtyards. Now inside the palace, King Saroboji Saraswathi Mahal Library, Art Gallery and Sangeetha Mahal are situated.

Saraswathi Mahal Library

Saraswathi Mahal Library - The Saraswathi Mahal Library was started between the intervals of 1535 AD and 1673 for the Royals of Nayaks and the library was expanded by the Maratha kings between 1673 AD and 1855. Specifically during the kingdom of Saroboji II, thousands of books were got placed. And the library has collections of rare and illustrated manuscripts in Indian and European languages. The palm leaf manuscripts go beyond 20,000 in number. The rare Sanskrit books in the library were collected by the King Saroboji from various places of the western side of India and hence the name Saroboji.

Nayak Art Gallery

Nayak Art Gallery - the art gallery occupies the Nayak Durbar Hall. It has a collection of Bronze statues and stone statues of Cholas ranging from the12th to 15th centuries.

Maratha Durbar Hall

Maratha Durbar Hall - The splendid Maratha Durbar Hall, built by Shahji II in 1684 has elaborately decorated pillars, walls and ceilings. The Durbar Hall now houses the Rajaraja Museum and Art Gallery with an impressive collection of bronze and stone idols dating from 7th to 20th centuries

Sivagangai Garden

Sivagangai Garden - It is a beautiful park. It is located to the North of the Big Temple. It has a good collection of beautiful flowers, birds and animals.

Tamil University

Tamil University - It is established in 1981. The university is engaged in advanced study and research in Tamil. It has a collection of coins and musical instruments.

Day Excursions from Tanjore

Tanjore - Velankanni (Vailankanni) - Tanjore

Velankanni is a small town, located on the shores of Bay of Bengal. Velankanni is famous for Roman Catholic church, dedicated to 'Our Lady of Good Health'. It is 100 Km from Tanjore & will take 2 - hours drive.

Tanjore 'Tranquebar ' Tanjore

Tranquebar is 120 Km from Tanjore. Tranquebar is also known as Tarangambadi, which means 'Place of the singing waves'. Tranquebar is a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district. It is about 100 km south of Pondicherry near the mouth of a distributory of River Cauvery. It was a Danish colony in India from 1620 - 1845.

Tranquebar Beach

Tranquebar Beach - Tranquebar beach is a sea side village, where the Danish merchants settled for trade. A beautiful Governor's palace is on the right of the beach, which tells us the past. It is an ideal shore for Sun and tans our skin.

Fort

Fort - A Danish navy officer built this fort in 1620 A.D. It is called as Dansborg Fort. It is still standing like a rock. It is just 100m away from the sea shore. The fort consists of two levels. The Rooms adjoining the Rampart wall at the lower level were used as godown, prison as well as rest area for the soldiers. The upper level was used for the residence of the Governor and the Priests. The monument is declared historically important under the Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1966.

Tanjore 'Gangaikondacholapuram' Tanjore

Gangaikondacholapuram is 75 Km from Tanjore & 35 Km from Kumbakonam. The city was founded by Rajendra Chola to commemorate his victorious march to the Ganges. The name means - The Town of the Chola who captured Ganges. The temple which is found here is a replica of Brahadeeswara Temple in Tanjore. It was built by Rajendra Chola son of Raja Raja Chola. The Shiva Lingam in the temple is the biggest in South India. The inner sanctum always remains temperature controlled. It remains cool during summer and warm during winter. There are 42 Chola style sculptures on the roof as well as in the walls. The best time to visit this place is winter. It is located in between Chidambaram and Kumbakonam.

Fairs & Festivals

Thiruvaiyaru Music Festival

About 14 kms from Thanjavur, a Carnatic classical music festival (Thiyagarajar Aradhana) is celebrated at Thiruvaiyaru in the month of January. It is celebrated in honor of the Carnatic music saint, Thiyagarajar. He is one of the Trinity of Carnatic Music. The Thiyagarajar Aradhana festival is being celebrated in many places all over the world. However, the Aradhana festival at Thiruvaiyaru is much valued.

Pradosham

Pradosham is grandly celebrated every month in the Big Temple. It is believed that all the Devas & Gods are assembled in the Siva temples during Pradosham time. Pradosham falls once in every 15 days and considered most auspicious by Saivites, almost 2 days before either Amavasya (new moon day) or Pournami (full moon day).

Birth Anniversary of King Raja Raja Chola

Birth Anniversary of King Raja Raja Chola is celebrated as 'Sadhaya Vizha' at Tanjore Brahadeeswarar Temple every year during his birth star Sadayam which falls in the Tamil month of Iyppasi (October).

Dance Festival

Dance Festival - Festival of dance and music held in the Brahadeeswarar temple every 2nd and 4th Saturdays of a month (evening time).

Hospitals in Tanjore: (STD Code - 04362)

Our Lady of Health Hospitals - 236572
Adventist Hospitals - 226262
Annamalai RKR Hospital - 236196
Chola Hospitals (P) Ltd - 275555
Govt. Raja Mirasudar Hospital - 274197 Dhanalakshmi Nursing Home - 2421368
Municipal Maternity Centre - 2430361
Sri Ramakrishna Nursing Home - 2431641
S.N.I Hospital - 2420295
Rathna Hospital - 2400066

Railways:
There is a railway junction in Kumbakonam.It is well connected with Tanjore, Trichy, Chennai, Bangalore and Mysore

Airways:
The nearest airport is at Trichy. Next closest airport is at Madurai; It's about 220 kms by road.If you come from other parts of the country, you can land in Chennai airport. Kumbakonam is around 320kms south of Chennai by road.

Road:It is well connected with other cities in Tamilnadu.