42 Places to Visit in Pondicherry

OTHER TOURIST PLACES IN INDIA

TOURIST PLACES IN THE WORLD

PONDICHERRY also known as "PUDUCHERRY'' and ''PONDY'' is one of the Union Territories of India. It is one of the very popular tourist destination of India being visited by people from all over India as well as from all over the World to know about History and Heritage. It is one of the best destinations to visit. Visiting Pondy takes us back to 1675 to 1954 French Period. Pondy is a Hub for ''Art of Yoga'', ''Meditation'' and ''Spirituality''. It is a dream destination for The Food, The Beer, The Beaches, The Ashrams, The Night Life, The Windy Shores and what not. Highlights of  Pondy Tourism are the following, To get Blessings of an Elephant, Plenty of Water Sports, Bazaars to Wander, Plenty of Churches, Enjoy the Beaches along with Cruise, Endless Shopping, To get Positive Energy from Ashram, Enjoy Local Cuisine and Know about Culture in Museums. Most of the Sight Seeing places are within 2 Kilometer radius and hence the best way to explore all the places will be by travelling either on a Bicycle or Motor Cycle which are available for Rent. There are plenty of options available for stay right from hostels to expensive & luxurious hotels. October to March is the best time to visit this place. The main festivals celebrated here are Villianur Temple Car Festival, Bastille Day, Birth Anniversary of Sri Aurobindo, French Food Festival, International Yoga Day, Pongal and Masimagam. The New Year Celebration will be at its best. Foodies should try Salad Nicoise, Quiche, Steak Frites, Coq Au Vin, Sole Meuniere, Croque Madame, Bouillabaisse, Ratatouille, Crepes, Creme Caramel, Cheese Platter, Croissant and French Pastries which are the 13 must try dishes in Puducherry. Pondy is Shoppers Paradise and is famous for its Pottery, Textiles, Furniture, Food Products, Antique, Handicrafts and Leather Goods. You can do your shopping in Auroville, Aurobindo Ashram, Janaki, Home Trotter and Aurelia. 

How to Reach Pondicherry? 

There is an Airport in Pondy and the current terminal can handle 300 passengers. Spice Jet operates flights from New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai to this dream picnic destination. 
There are plenty of Government as well as Private Buses available from Chennai and other major cities to Pondy. There are two Bus Stands namely the New and the Old Bus stand. 
There are plenty of hotels available near both the bus stands. Pondicherry Railway Station comes under Southern Railway. There are 3 Platforms and one is exclusively for Goods Service. Trains are available from Chennai, Mangaluru, Tiruchirapalli or Trichy, Bengaluru or Bangalore, Kolkata or Calcutta, New Delhi, Mumbai or Bombay and Bhuvaneshwar. 

42 Amazing Places to be seen in Pondicherry: 

There are 42 sight seeing places in Puducherry. They are Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Rock Beach, Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Puducherry Museum, Old Light House, Puducherry Science Centre & Planetarium, Bharathidasan Museum, Matri Mandir, Bharathi Park, Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Temple, Promenade Beach, French War Memorial, Auroville - The City of Dawn, Gandhi Statue, Domas Church, Arikamedu, Serenity Beach, Museum, Auroville Beach, Botanical Garden, Police Museum, Pondy Beach, Auroville Botanical Gardens, Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Ganesh Garden, Pondy Backwaters, Pondy Forest Animal Rehabilitation, Bodhi Beach, Pogo Land, National Heritage Trust, Mahakavi Bharathiyar Memorial, War Memorial, Cazanove Farm, Bharathidasan Memorial, Quaid-E-Milad Arch, Pondy University Beach, Gender Gate, Sri Thirukameshwarar Temple, Pondy Light House, Veerampattinam Beach and St. Andrew's Church. 

THE SRI AUROBINDO ASHRAM is a Spiritual Ashram where you can learn ''Integral Yoga'', is located in this Sea Shore Union Territory. Sri Aurobindo was born on 15th August 1872 at Calcutta now known as Kolkata. He started practicing Yoga in the year 1905 in Baroda and got his Spiritual Realisations in 1908. Since 1910, he devoted himself entirely to spread spirituality and started working in Pondicherry. In 1926, along with his spiritual collaborator, The Mother, he founded Sri Aurobindo Ashram. He has written three books namely ''The Life Divine'', ''The Synthesis of Yoga'' and ''Savitri''. On 5th December 1950, Sri Aurobindo left his physical body. The Mother was born on 21st February 1878 in Paris. Her parents named her Mirra Alfassa. The Mother visited Pondicherry to meet Sri Aurobindo in 1914 and immediately she realized that Sri Aurobindo was guiding her from within all these years in the path of spirituality. In April 1920, The Mother joined Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry Ashram. On 17th November 1973 The Mother left her body. The Ashram is open for Visitors every day from 8.00 AM to 12.00 Noon and again from 02.00 PM to 6.00 PM. Hundreds of Thousands of Visitors from all over the World visit this Ashram Daily. It is one of best places to learn about Integral Yoga. Out of 37 volumes,34 Volumes of Sri Aurobindo's preachings are available for his devotees to know about his works and the rest 3 are yet to be published. The Ashram publishes two journals namely ''All India Magazine'' once in three months and ''Mother India'' every month. 

BASILICA OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS is one of the famous Christian Pilgrimage Centre. You may require one to two hours to enjoy this spot. Architecture of this Church resembles ''Gothic Style'' which is a treat to our eyes. In the stunning looking stained glasses, inside the Church depicts the Life of Jesus. This Church is open to public from 7.00 AM to 6.30 PM on all days other than Sunday's. On Sundays its from 8.00 AM to 6.30 PM. 

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHEDRAL is one of the ''Cathedral Mother Church'' in Pondy for ''The Roman Catholics''. It is also known as ''Saint Paul's Kovil'' and ''Samba Kovil''. Statues and Altars in this Church are St Joseph's Altar, Our Lady of Good Health Altar, Sacred Heart Altar, St Theresa of Lisieux Altar, Our Lady of Holy Rosary with St Dominic, St Francis of Assisi, Baptismal Font, Stoups, Grotto near the Gate and Christ the King Statue which was installed by Bishop Colas in the year 1933. There is also a Cathedral Cemetery where we can find the Tombs of Bishops of the Archdiocese. 

Located on Saint Louis Street, ''THE PONDICHERRY MUSEUM'' is open for visitors on all days except Monday's and National Holidays. Museum Opens at 10 in the morning till 5 in the evening. Rare Bronze and Stone Sculptures pertaining to Pallava and Chola Period are found in this Museum. In the Bronze Gallery, they have displayed Gods Images, Temple Lamps used during different Dynasties down many centuries. In the ground floor, they have displayed a Coach, a Palanquin that is a Sedan Chair and a Pousse-Pousse which was earlier known as Rickshaw that requires two attendants to steer and push. Greek Jars, Roman Jars, few monuments from Tsung Periods, Glass Beads, Precious Stones from Arikamedu are there in Pre Christian Relics section. There is a Geology Room, Shell & Fossil Room and several collection of ancient Handicrafts, Coins, Church Relics and French Furniture's can also be seen inside this Museum. 

Erected by L Guerre an Engineer in 1836, ''THE OLD LIGHT HOUSE'' in Pondy is one of the Puducherry's Land Marks. The base of this light house is rectangular in shape and the height is 29 Meters. There are 3 openings with a Shop and a place for Watch Man and the Inner Staircase leads to the top where the light is erected. This light once was visible upto a distance of around 29 Kilometers. Since most of the time the 1,000 watts light was not available a new light house was constructed in the Village of Kirapalaiyam. Various Cultural Activities, Musical Concepts and Commercial Activities takes place though out the year in this spot. 

PUDUCHERRY SCIENCE CENTRE AND PLANETARIUM is situated in Lawspet. This was developed and planned by the National Council of Science Museums. This Museum spread across 3 Acres of land with built up area of around 1500 Square Meters. This is considered as Children's Science Museum with collections like Fun Centre, Digital Planetarium, Marine Life and Science Park. The Marine Life gallery that spread across 300 Square Meters is divided in to five sections namely Marine Ecology, Marine Diversity, Marine Resources, Threats to Marine Resources and Marine Tourism. Fun Science Gallery gives opportunity to explore various aspects of Science. Visitors get to know about Astronomy in a Dynamic View in Digital Planetarium Gallery. 

THE BHARATHIDASAN MUSEUM is located on Perumal Kovil Street. It is the former house of Puducherry born Poet Late Shri Bharathidasan. He has written so many poems and scripts which includes Dravidian culture and Rights of Women. Visitors are allowed to see his creations, which are displayed inside this Museum, every day from 10 in the morning till 5 in the evening. 

MATRIMANDIR is a Spiritual place to learn Integral Yoga and it is situated at the centre of Auroville. This was initiated by The Mother. It is also referred as ''Soul of the City''. The Matrimandir does not belongs to any religion or section. There are four main pillars in this mandir and they represents four aspects of the mother namely ''Maheswari - South Pillar'', ''Mahakali - North Pillar'', ''Mahalakshmi - East Pillar'' and ''Mahasarawathi - West Pillar''.  Silence has to be maintained inside Matrimandir as the entire area is called as ''Peace Area''. The Mother referred this place as a symbol of the Divine's answer to anyone's aspiration for perfection. This place is equipped with solar power plant. This Mandir is divided in to four zones and they are Residential Zone, Industrial Zone, Cultural or Educational Zone and International Zone.  Around Matrimandir, the garden is planted with many varieties of medicinal and herbal plants. 

PONDICHERRY BEACH which is also known as ''PROMENADE BEACH'' spread across 1.2 Kilo Meters of distance. It is one of the famous tourist spot in Puducherry. Puducherry Beach starts from War Memorial and extends till Dupleix Park. Along this beach stretch few attractions like  War Memorial, Chief Secretariat, The Promenade, Le Cafe, Mahatma Gandhi Statue and Dupleix Park are found. 

MANAKULA VINAYAGAR TEMPLE is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. It is one of the popular and famous Hindu Pilgrimage Destinations in Puducherry. It is one of the ancient temples and is believed that it exists even before the French Period. This Temple is open for devotees from 5.45 AM to 12.30 PM and again from 4.00 PM to 9.30 PM. During Holidays and Festivals, the Temple timings are subject to change. Beautiful Golden Chariot here was donated by Temple Devotees. 7.5 Kilograms of Gold is used along with other materials to build this divine chariot. The height of the chariot is 10 Feet and its breadth is 6 Feet. Apart from Gold the other materials used are Teak Wood and Copper Plates with amazing art works and plates with golden rakes. Golden chariot runs inside the temple premises every day and on Vijayadhasami day this chariot run outside the temple every year. There is a belief among devotees that their wishes are fulfilled by pulling this Golden Chariot inside the temple premises. 

FRENCH WAR MEMORIAL is one of the main attractions for visitors to Puducherry which is situated on Goubert Avenue in White Town. It is located just 100 Meters from another Pondy attractions spot Mahatma Gandhi Statue. Generally people visits this place after visiting Gandhi Statue since it takes less than 15 minutes by walk. This location is about 3.5 Kilometers from Puducherry Bus Stop. This memorial was built in the year 1971 to celebrate the Brave Soldiers who sacrificed their lives during First World War. There are four stark columns with Soldier's life size statue in a leaning posture. Small and well maintained garden is there around this structure. Every year on 14th July this French War Memorial is illuminated in view of Bastille Day. This memorial is open to visitors every day from 10 in the morning till 5 in the evening. 

AUROVILLE which also known as ''THE CITY OF DAWN'' is a part of Villupuram District in Tamil Nadu State of India with some parts of this township in Puducherry. Auroville was founded by ''The Mother'' in the year 1968 and was designed by famous architect Roger Anger. As per mother, this was constructed mainly for those who seek Peace and Harmony Progress. The main purpose of this place is to realize the importance of human unity. We can Visit as well as stay in Auroville. Also we can Volunteer & Intern, Study in Auroville, Join Auroville, Can attend Workshops & Therapies. The Auroville spread across approximately 20 Square Kilometers of land. Inauguration was held on 28th February 1968. Delegates from 124 Nations attended the inauguration ceremony. Anyone can visit this place as it belongs to nobody in particular. Actually this place belongs to humanity. To stay in Auroville, we must have Divine consciousness. Auroville serves as a bridge between our past and future. 

''THE MATRIMANDIR'' is located in the middle of this township which is a symbol of Divine's answer to our aspiration for perfection. Residents of Auroville contributes to this community by work, money or kind. 

THE BOTANICAL GARDEN adds great educational value to Puducherry. French Architectural style can be seen in the entrance gate that leads to the garden. Initially in 1826, this garden was laid out with few Pruned Trees, Beautiful Flowers with lined paths and beautiful fountain. Currently more than 1500 species of plants and trees are spread across 22 acres of this garden. The garden is divided in to 28 plots and each plot has a separate theme. Other attractions in this place are Toy Train Ride and 6 Fountains which includes one Musical and Dancing Fountain. 

VARADHARAJA PERUMAL TEMPLE in Puducherry is also known as ''THIRUBUVANAI TEMPLE''. Main deity in this temple is Hindu God Vishnu. This was constructed based on Dravidian Style of Architecture. This temple is surrounded by Granite walls. It is believed that this temple was built by The Cholas as there are few inscriptions pertaining to Rajaraja Chola period found in this temple. The temple gateway tower ''The Rajagopuram'' is 34 Meters tall. The main deity statue of Varadaraja Perumal is 1.5 Meters tall and it is made of granite. This temple is one of the 108 Divine Divya Desams of Lord Vishnu. This temple tank consists of 83 springs. It is believed by devotees that it contains medicinal values and cures any ailments if we take a dip in this temple tank. Rituals are performed four times a  day and they are Kalasanthi at 8.00 AM, Uchikalam at 12.00 Noon, Sayarakshai at 5.00 PM and Sayarakshai at 8.00 PM. Each ritual consists of three steps like Decoration (Alangaram), Offering Food (Neivethyam) and Waving of Lamps (Deepa Aradanai) for Varadaraja Perumal and Perundevi. The Main Festivals celebrated in this Varadaraja Temple are 10 Day Annual Brahmostavam, 5 Day Pavitrotsavam and 25 Day Ramar Festival. 

THE ANANDA RANA PILLAI MUSEUM or Natives Quarters, is well known for its collections of history about French India during 18th century. You should obtain special permission to visit this oldest surviving building. 

SUBRAMANYA BHARATHI MUSEUM, located at Eswaran Dharamaraja Koil Street, is one of the pilgrimage places for Tamil People. Subramanya Bharathi also known as Bharathiyar, was a well known Tamil poet and Patriot. His collections are displayed in this historical building. 

JAWAHAR TOY MUSEUM is located on the Goubert Avenue just next to the old lighthouse. There are over 120 collections of dolls displayed inside the museum. Highlight of this display is that, every doll is dressed in traditional costumes from all states of India. 

Plenty of Snail Shell collections can be seen in CHILDREN'S MUSEUM which is located near Botanical Garden. 

OUSTERI WETLAND AND NATIONAL PARK is one of the wetlands that covers an area of around 390 hectares. It is filled with many different varieties of aquatic animals. Also, many varieties of birds can be seen. Bharathi Park is one of the significant vacation spot located in the old colonial town. Attraction here is the presence of The Aayi Mandapam in the center of the Bharathi Park. 

THE SCIENCE PARK is also known as PUDUCHERRY SCIENCE PARK or PUDUCHERRY SCIENCE CENTRE AND PLANETARIUM. It is located in Lawspet. Several Live Demonstration and Experiments takes place in this planetarium for the visitors to know about science. Children can enjoy by seeing few simple experiments and solving puzzles in the Children's Corner. 

THE VEDHAPUREESWAAR TEMPLE, which is also referred as Eashwaran Koil, is one of the famous pilgrimage center located on M G Road. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Colorful Gopuram is decorated with numerous statues of gods and goddesses. 

French Architectural style is seen in KANNIGA PARAMESHWARI TEMPLE, located in M G Road. This Temple is dedicated to Goddess Shakti. Traditional Granite Pillars can be seen supporting the inner ceiling. One of the best place to know about typical Tamil design. 

THE KAMATCHI AMMAN TEMPLE located in Bharathi street is totally a different temple, comparing with the temples in South India. This dark rust colored kamatchi temple is dedicated to Goddess Durga. 

POLICE MUSEUM, located in Jawaharlal Nehru Street helps to build up the relationship between the police and public. One can know about the various aspects of Pondicherry Police along with its evolution starting from the French time till today's Modern Indian Time. There is a separate section called Armoury Section where various types of arms and ammunition are kept for public view. 

POGO LAND is the Best Amusement Park in Pondy. It is also referred as Sampourna Amusement Park. It is one of the best place to spend whole day with family. There are several attractions and rides for all ages. Visitors can enjoy the entertainments like train ride, water flash, relax in kuttralam falls, water shoot, water slide, swimming, slide swimming, bumper boat, pigeon multi ride, columbus ride and dashing car. Facilities includes, baby swimming pool, babies air balloon, locker facility for Indoor Park toddlers. 

Some of the Attractive Facts about Pondicherry: 

Pondy is known as ''White Town'' since it has been built with an excellent planning. Official languages spoken here are Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Best place to meet people from many parts of the World. It is believed that Siddhar Agathiya Munivar was in Pondicherry. Cost of the Beer in Pondy is lesser than a bottle of Cool Drink. Pondicherry name was changed to Puducherry on 20th September 2006. Pondicherry consists of 4 Isolated Districts Geographically. They are Puducherry itself, Mahe in Kerala, Karaikal in Tamil Nadu and Yanam in Andhra Pradesh. While entire Indian Nation celebrates its Independence on 15th August, Puducherry celebrates on 16th August. Influence of French can be seen even today across Puducherry. Madras was the former capital of Puducherry between 1948 and 1954. Puducherry is the only Union Territories having its own elected Chief Minister. 

OTHER TOURIST PLACES IN INDIA

TOURIST PLACES IN THE WORLD