Must-see attractions in Puducherry (Pondicherry)

  • The promenade in Pondicherry,India

    Seafront

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    Pondy is a seaside town, but that doesn’t make it a beach destination; the city’s sand is a thin strip of dirty brown that slurps into a seawall of jagged…

  • Sri Aurobindo Ashram

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    Founded in 1926 by Sri Aurobindo and a French-born woman, ‘the Mother’, this famous spiritual community has about 2000 members in its many departments…

  • Puducherry Museum

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    Goodness knows how this converted late-18th-century villa keeps its artefacts from disintegrating, considering there’s a whole floor of French-era…

  • Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    Pondy may have more churches than most Indian towns, but the Hindu faith still reigns supreme. Pilgrims, tourists and the curious get a head pat from the…

  • Notre Dame des Anges

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    Looking out to sea, past a statue of Joan of Arc (opposite), Notre Dame des Anges was completed in 1855, and is arguably Pondy's most attractive church…

  • École Française d'Extrême-Orient

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    This handsome heritage building and library is home to over 11,000 Indology books and a series of Sanskrit, Tamil and Manipravalam palm-leaf manuscripts…

  • Institut Français de Pondichéry

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    This grand 19th-century neoclassical building is also a flourishing research institution devoted to Indian culture, history and ecology. Visitors can…

  • Sacred Heart Basilica

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    Inaugurated in 1907, the Sacred Heart Basilica is a soaring brown-and-white neo-Gothic structure beautified by restored stained glass.

  • Raj Nivas

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    Once home to Governor Dupleix, the neoclassical governor's residence looks out over Bharathi Park from the north. You can't go inside.

  • Bharathi Park

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    A shady green haven that's always busy, Bharathi Park faces the neoclassical governor's residence, Raj Nivas, on its north side.

  • Old Lighthouse

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    Pondy's lighthouse was completed in the 1830s and functioned for more than a century before being replaced in 1979.

  • Gandhi Memorial

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    The main sight along seafront Goubert Ave is this bronze striding statue of Gandhi.

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