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 furniture sitting in the South Indian humidity. On the ground floor look especially for Chola, Vijayanagar and Nayak bronzes, and pieces of ancient Greek and Spanish pottery and amphorae (storage vessels) excavated from Arikamedu, a once-major trading port just south of Puducherry. Upstairs is Governor Dupleix' bed.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Puducherry (Pondicherry) attractions

1. Raj Nivas

0.04 MILES

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

2. Bharathi Park

0.09 MILES

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

3. Old Lighthouse

0.11 MILES

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

4. Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple

0.13 MILES

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…

5. Gandhi Memorial

0.14 MILES

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

6. Sri Aurobindo Ashram

0.17 MILES

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…

7. Institut Français de Pondichéry

0.19 MILES

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

8. Notre Dame des Anges

0.3 MILES

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…

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