Madurai is a major city and cultural headquarters in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and the 31st largest urban agglomeration in India.[4] Madurai is the third largest city by area and third largest city by population in Tamil Nadu. Located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
Madurai is popularly called Thoonga Nagaram meaning the city that never sleeps, on account of the active night life. The city attracts a large number of tourists from within the country and abroad. About 91,00,000 tourists visited Madurai in 2010, including 5,24,000 foreigners. Madurai is now famous for medical tourism also.