Puducherry, earlier known as Pondicherry, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South India. The city, which has a French influence, has many colonial buildings, churches, temples, and statues, which, combined with the systematic town planning and the well planned French style avenues, smack of the colonial ambience.

The most popular tourist destinations are the four beaches in Puducherry, the first being  the Promenade beach on which are several land marks like the War memorial, the statue of Joan of Arc, the heritage town hall, the statue of Mahatma Gandhi,  Dupleix statue, and an old light house built in 1836. The Paradise beach is flanked by a quiet flowing creek on one side, the beach can only be accessed by boat, and the Serenity beach is a virgin beach with its serene surroundings and is an ideal place to laze away your day. The Auroville beach is close to Auroville (City of Dawn), which is an “experimental” township, dedicated to Sri Ma, located 8 km North-West of Puducherry, where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, regardless of caste, creed, politics and nationality.

Other attractions are the The Ashram, the Arikamedu site, where ancient sites have been excavated and many interesting artifacts have been found, the fairs and festivals, monuments, the churches, temples and mosques. Pondicherry is also considered as the centre for Yoga and Meditation in South India. Yoga courses to suit the various tourists have been designed which makes it a very attractive. There is also an annual food festival, called the Gourmet, organized by the Department of Tourism of Pondicherry which is another attraction for the tourists. The Botanical Gardens of Pondicherry is extremely famous and is home to a lot of unusual specimens of plants.

Best time to Visit: September to March

Closest Airport: Chennai (135 km)

Nearest Railhead: Villupuram (36 km)

By Road: From Chennai (150 km) and Bangalore (320 km)