11 Most Popular Places To Visit In Pondicherry

If you have a wish to visit France but don’t have enough money then go to Pondicherry. Pondicherry or Puducherry  is a French colony settlement in India until 1954 and now it is a Union Territory. The architecture of Pondicherry is French. The road Symbols are also in French, English and Tamil. You will also find people from France settled in Pondicherry and living a simple life. You can cover all major tourist places in Pondicherry in 2-3 days.

Here we are listing down the best places to visit in Pondicherry:

1. Paradise beach

It is the best beach in the Pondicherry. The peaceful and serene ambience of this beach has contributed to its name as Paradise beach. It is located along the Cuddalore Main Road, 7km past Pondicherry. This beach can be accessed only from Chunnambar Resort via boats. Don’t go on weekends to avoid heavy rush. Outside food is not allowed. It has changing rooms, showers and clean toilets. You can also get snacks at the beach. You cannot consume liquor on the beach.

Location: Nonankuppam
Timings: 9:00AM-5:00PM

2. Auroville Ashram – Matrimandir

Auroville has its origins in the French language, ”aurore” meaning dawn and “ville” meaning city. The Matrimandir is situated in the centre of the emerging township and covers 62 acres of the city. It is not a temple as such but a place for individual silent concentration. The visit is free of cost.You need to walk for almost 15-20 minutes to reach the mandir. A free shuttle service is also available if you don’t want to walk. Absolute silence is required in the Matrimandir. In case of rain or if the pathways or garden areas are too muddy, the Matrimandir will be closed and all bookings for the day will be cancelled.

Location: Near Bharat Nivas, Auroville
Timings: 9:30AM-12:30PM; 2:00PM-4PM. Sunday; 9:30AM-1:00PM

3. Rock Beach/Promenade Beach

It is the most popular beach in Pondicherry. Vehicles are not allowed in this area after 6pm. It is not like regular beaches, you can’t get into water. You can just sit and enjoy the beach and Sunrise. This beach has about 2-3 kms full stretch of black rocks and it is the most secure place in Pondicherry. It will give you the feel of french beaches. You can also call it as a romantic beach as you can see most of the couples there. One can also spot Chief Secretariat, Gandhi statue, Old customs house, French War Memorial, Le Cafe and Old Harbour.

Location: White town
Timings: 24/7

4. Serenity Beach

Serenity beach is a wonderful beach close to East coast Roads. Surfing is very popular here as the waves are bigger than the adjoining Auro Beach. This is a perfect destination for sunbathing, swimming and just relaxing. It is basically the lane of rocks, manually created to some distance within the sea. The restaurants near this beach is quite costly but the ambience is pretty good.

Location: Kottakuppam, Off ECR, Tamil Nadu
Timings: 5:30AM–9:30PM

5. Sri Aurobindo Ashram

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram is one of the most well known and wealthiest ashrams in india. It provides an introduction to the vision of Sri Aurobindo and their method of spiritual practice, through permanent exhibits of photographs, captions, text, videos and books. This town was found and designed by the mother who was successor of Sri Aurobindo’s after his death. The practices in ashram combines both Yoga and modern Science. People from India as well as from world visit this ashram and donate money for the welfare of this ashram.

Location: No. 9, Near Junction of Manakula Vinayagar, Kovil Street and Marine Street, White Town, Pondicherry, 605002
Timings: 8:00AM-12:00PM; 2:00PM-6:00PM (all days)

6. French War Memorial

It was built in 1971 to commemorate the brave soldiers who laid down their lives during first world war. There is an inscription that says, ’Aux combattants des indes Francoises morts pour la patrie, 1914-1918’ which means French fighters of India who died for their country in 1914-1918. People from nearby areas and cities gather to pay their respects to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the protection of others. It is a very stylish structure because of which this structure attracts the filmmakers. The movie One Two Three (2008) had some shoots over here.

Location: Beach Road, Goubert Avenue
Timings: 10:00AM-5:00PM

7. Pondicherry Museum

Pondicherry museum houses a fantastic collection of sculptures like the remains from the Arikamendu Roman settlement,Bronze sculptures of God and Goddess, a wide gathering of temple lamps,handicrafts and some specimens of Chola and Pallava art from pondicherry and Karaikal.This museum has various stone statues and fossilized tree trunk.You are not allowed to touch anything as they need to maintain the beauty of things.They have people all around watching you to make sure that things are not being touched.This museum also has Geology room, a shell and fossil room with an exceptional collection of coins,handicrafts and church relics.

Location: Easwaran Kovil Street, Near Canteen Street, Puducherry, 605001
Timings: 10:00AM-5:00PM. (Closed on Sunday and national holidays)

8. Botanical Garden

The 22 acres garden built by French colonists houses more than 1500 species of plants. This could well qualify as one of the best botanical gardens in south India. It is also has aquarium which is home to various types of fishes and other marine life that offer a tourist glimpse into the aquatic life. This botanical gardens also have musical and dancing fountains. You can watch these fountains working on weekends with two shows in the evening. You should visit this place with family. The fresh air and chirping of birds will make your day. You can also enjoy Toy Train rides in this garden but this train rides are chargeable.

Location: Marimalai Adigal Salai, Near Anna Statue, Ambedkar Nagar, Orleanpet, Puducherry, 605001
Timings: 10:00AM-5:00PM

9. Ousteri Lake

Lake is almost 10 km away from the main city. The lake is a prominent site in the region for migratory birds, has been declared as Bird Sanctuary by the Pondicherry Government. PTDC offers boating facility which includes paddle boats and motor boats. These boats have about 20 seats and offer 30 mins ride that allows visitors to enjoy the cool breeze and visual treats. This lake extend up-to 390 hectares. It supports a variety of fauna and flora. This place is best for nature lovers and photographers as they can shoot various types of plants and birds in water. This Lake is basically the 15th bird sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.

Location: Oussudu village, Vazhudavoor Road, Pondicherry
Timings: 9:00AM-5:00PM

10. New Light House

A Lighthouse was constructed in pondicherry in the nineteenth century by the french rulers.The engineer for this project was Louis,who was commenced in Feb 1836, having square base and round tower of 29 meters height. A new light house was constructed in 20th century by the government of india. The old lighthouse has first beamed light on 1 September 1836.The view from the top of the lighthouse is really good but is little unsafe for the children.It is situated at the rock Beach.If you are a person who is interested in historical things then you should definitely visit this place.

Location: Dubrayapet, Puducherry, 605004
Timings: 3:00PM-5:00PM

11. Immaculate Conception Cathedral

This Cathedral was built in 1779 but not completed until 1790, this splendid Jesuit church (in whites,blues and yellow) is reminiscent of Goa’s Portuguese- style churches,and has pairs of columns on its facade.This church is mother church for Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore.It has a very colourful statuary and a beautiful painted ceiling.The lights on the Church looks very beautiful at night.It is a very quiet place,you can actually meditate there.It is one of the oldest tourist sites in Pondicherry because it was visited by Mother Teresa during her visit to pondicherry.

Location: 204 Mission street,near V.O.C school mission street
Timings: Monday- Saturday: 5:15AM, 6:15AM and 5:30PM; Sunday: 5:00AM, 6:30AM, 8:00PM and 5:15PM in Tamil and 6:15PM in English.