Meenakshi TempleLaid out in the order pilgrims move through it.

1. Ashta Shakti MandapamThe customary way in, through the eastern gateway. Its pillars carry the eight forms of Shakti, and pilgrims read them on the way through.the east entrance of the complex.
2. Meenakshi's sanctumMadurai sees the goddess first and her consort after — she is the city's ruler and he the one who came to marry her. Keep that order.inside the walls, along the corridor from the east entrance.
3. Potramarai Kulam, the Golden Lotus TankThe sacred tank at the centre of the complex, ringed by a pillared colonnade.between the two sanctums, inside the walls.
4. Sundareswarar's sanctumShiva as Sundareswarar, the goddess's consort, in his own shrine within the same complex.across the inner corridor from the tank.
5. The Thousand Pillar HallThe Nayaka-period hall of carved pillars, which also holds the temple's sculpture museum.in the north-east quarter of the complex.
6. The night processionBefore the temple closes for the night, Sundareswarar is carried in procession to Meenakshi's bedchamber. Whether it is performed on the evening you are there is for the temple to say — take it from the temple's own site rather than planning the night around it.inside the complex; follow the drums.

1. The outer gopurams and the ring streetsFour great gopurams face the four directions on the outer wall, and the old city's streets run in squares around them. Walking the outer circuit is how Madurai reads as a temple city rather than a city with a temple in it.the streets immediately outside the temple wall.
2. Thirumalai Nayakkar MahalThe palace of the Nayaka ruler whose dynasty gave the present temple much of its shape. It stands in the same old city.a walk from the temple's southern side.
3. Koodal Azhagar TempleA Vishnu shrine of the Divya Desam list, in the same old city — the counterpart most Madurai pilgrims add to a Meenakshi visit.within the old city, on foot.
4. Thiruparankundram Murugan TempleOne of the six great abodes of Murugan, cut into the rock of a hill on the edge of Madurai.outside the old city, reached by road.

Sundareswarar is carried in procession to Meenakshi's bedchamber — the palliyarai — and the doors are closed behind him. It is the rite the temple ends its day with, and it is distinct from the Thirukalyanam, the wedding rite of the Chithirai festival. Whether it runs on a given night is for the temple to say.

Archanai and abhishekam in your own name, and donation towards the temple. The temple is administered by the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department. Offerings and seva are booked at the temple's own counters.

Chithirai, the festival of the celestial wedding, is the temple's greatest season. It falls in the Tamil month of Chithirai (April–May) and takes over the whole city.