PUDUCHERRY -An erstwhile French colony

Pondicherry is a little town, located on southern coast of India. It was a French colony till 1954. The French relations, colonial lay out of the town, the heritage buildings, the spiritual scene, long beaches, back water, a choice of restaurants serving a mélange of cuisines attracts domestic and foreign travelers to here. For detailed map : http://tourism.pondicherry.gov.in/images/maps/pdy1.jpg

 Best time to visit: October to February

Main attractions:

·         Beaches – Promenade, Paradise, Serenity and Auroville beach. The 1.5 km long Promenade running along the beach is the pride of Puducherry.

·        Sri Aurobindo Ashram: This is one of the most well known ashrams in India, with devotees from India and abroad flocking to it for spiritual salvation.

·        Auroville :Idea behind this is to build a city where people of goodwill can live together in peace and harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities.

·        Temples, churches and mosques: The Church of sacred Heart of Jesus built by French missionaries in the 1700s in a contrasting Neo-Gothic manner, with towers flanking a central gable and stained glass windows on the side.

·        Heritage buildings and Monuments.

·        Museums: Puducherry Museum, Ananda Ranga Pillai Museum, Bharathi Museum, Bharathi Dasan Museum, Children’s museum and Jawahar toy Museum.

·        Back water , Lake and Gardens

·         Arikamedu :Arikamedu, the ancient Roman trade centre is 4 Kms south of Puducherry on the right bank of Ariyankuppam river.  

GANDHI STATUE ON BEACH ROAD

How to reach:

By Air: The nearest airport is CHENNAI, which is about 135 Kms away from Puducherry. Trichi (220Kms), Bangalore (320Kms) and Madurai are other nearest airports. Chennai and Bangalore airports are well connected with domestic airports in India and these have connections to Europe, USA, Middle East and South East Asia. 

By Rail: Though there is railway connection to Puducherry, direct trains are few. Travellors can get down at Villupuram, which is about 30 kms away from Puducherry located on main line from Chennai to Kanyakumari.

By Road: Puducherry is conveniently accessible by road, either by bus or taxi. Almost all towns in south India are well connected to this place.  There are frequent express buses in every 15 minutes from Chennai.( Koyembedu bus stand) reaching Puducherry within 3 hrs.

PARK MONUMENT(Aayi Mandapam)

Accomadation:

Hotels are comparatively cheap in Puducherry. Comfortable rooms in reasonable rate are available in hotels near bus stand itself. ADITYA is one among them. In Kamaraj Salai (about 2Kms from bus stand) Hotel JAYARAM is an ideal hotel. A very good vegetarian restaurant is attached with this hotel. For more reliable information visit: http://tourism.pondicherry.gov.in/hotels.html:

PUDUCHERRY MUSEUM

Travel Tips :

§  Puducherry is humid in weather. It is best to avoid thick dresses. During winter take sweaters and jackets.

§  Taxi and Auto drivers would cheat you unless you set the charge before travelling.

§  Don’t miss walk on beach road and a hot coffee from LE CAFE in evening. It is very interesting.

§  Puducherry Tourism Development Corporation conducts sightseeing trips, week end tours and seasonal tours. For information contact: Tourist Information Bureau, Beach Road, Puducherry. Ph:0413-2339497, 2226744