Legend associates ancient Pondicherry with the great Hindu sage Agastya. Excavations in the Arikamedu area reveal that a Roman settlement existed here about 2000 years ago. In 1673 Pulicheri, a fishermen's coastal village 160 kms south of Chennai was acquired by the French as a trading post which they then called as Pondicherry. Kariakal was purchased by the French from the king of Thanjavur in 1738. Mahe was given to the French by the ruler of Badgara in 1721. Yanam came into their possession in 1731.
Aurobindo, a revolutionary turned saint founded an Ashram at Pondicherry to shape his ideas. It has now grown into an International Centre for seeking after divine life of Truth, Service and spiritual development. The Mother, a Paris-born painter-musician, became Aurobindo's close companion from 1920 until his death in 1950.
Places of interest:
Aurobindo Ashram: Situated all along the beach, this is the best known land mark of Pondicheriy. In the courtyard of the Ashram are the marble Samadhis where Aurobindo and the Mother have been laid to rest and the houses they lived in. Across the road is the Aurobindo International Centre, a school for children. 
Auroville: 10 kms bordering Tamil Nadu. This new city designed by the French Architect Roger Arger is intended to be a future- oriented International City where persons of all nationalities irrespective of caste, creed and religion would live together in harmony. About 550 persons from different countries live here in the 40 settlements. Bharat Nivas, India's pavilion, has unique features of each Indian state. The Sphere shaped Matri Mandir a hall of meditation is the splendid centre of Auroville. 
Bharati Dasan Memorial Museum: Situated in Perumal Koil street in the town, it has become a place of pilgrimage today to the Tamil people. 
Raj Nivas: This grand Palace, typically French, was once the residence of Dupleix, a great builder of Pondicherry. Today, this exquisite building with beautiful lawns in front and decorated with sculptures is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Pondicherry.
Pondicherry Museum: Located opposite the Government Park with the premises of the Romaine Rolland Library, the museum has an outstanding collection of artifacts especially relating to French Indian history. The sculpture gallery is a treasure house of Pallava and Chola art.
Botanical Gardens: 2 kms Conceived in 1826 by C.S.Perrotet, this garden boasts of a variety of rare and exotic plants from India and abroad. The aquarium inside is worth seeing.
Manokulla Vinayagar Temple at M.V.Street is a popular shrine attracting large crowds of devotees.
Vedapureeshwarar Temple, the 12th century Tirukameshwarar temple at Tiruvandar and Panchanadishwarar temple of 10th century are the ancient temples worthy of visit.
The French Institute was established in 1955 to conduct research in Indian languages and culture. It also prepares various kinds of maps of India.
Mandajapatti: 50 kms This is the location of the cave temple dedicated to the Trinity - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. This is believed to be the first temple built during the reign of Pallava king Mahendra Varma.
Tiruvakkarai: 29 kms An ancient temple dedicated to Chandramouleshwara noted for its architectural grandeur of the Chola period is a famous shrine. The fossil-bearing areas around this region are believed to be hundred million years old.
Tourist Packages
Pondicherry Tour Packages
How to Reach
1. The closest airport is in Chennai, which is around 135 kms from puducherry (approx. 2 ½ hrs. journey). Chennai has excellent connections with almost all cities in India and direction connection to Europe, USA, Middle East and South East Asia. Trichy airport is 220 kms away. Bangalore (320 kms) and Madurai are the other nearby airports.
2. Though puducherry is on the rail map journey by train to and from puducherry is not very popular. Villupuram is the nearest junction, it is fairly well connected to places like Chennai, Madurai and Trichy.
3. puducherry is well connected to all districts and major towns of various states like Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andra Pradesh. puducherry is best accessible by road, either by bus or by taxi. There are frequent buses, almost every 15 minutes in the day from Chennai’s new bus stand in Koyembedu.
4.The express buses takes 3 ½ hours to reach puducherry. Preferably take the buses coming by the East Coast Road via Mahabalipuram, instead of the National Highway, as the ECR is far more scenic with shimmering sea to give you company most of the way.
There are frequent buses to puducherry from places like Chidambaram, Thanjavur Trichy and Coimbatore. Especially private luxury buses are connecting puducherry with other major cities in Tamil Nadu and Bangalore.
Fairs & Festivals
January
International Yoga Festival
Shopping Festival
Karaikal Carnival
February
Food Festival
Mahe Mahotsav
Heritage Festival
September
World Tourism Day
Goan Food Festival
December
Air Show
Yanam People's Festival
Yoga Camp
Shopping Festival
Shopping
There are five major Shopping area's for visitors
- Anna Salai
- Nehru Street (J.N.Street)
- Mahatma Gandhi Street (M.G.Street)
- Cathedral Street (Mission Street)
- Romain Rolland Street
Puducherry is the favourite stomping ground of the passionate shopper. It's an octroi - free destination for everything from cars to consumer goods. In addition, there is an enticingly low incidence of sales tax. Shop - hoppers will also relish the pleasant ambience of the boutiques in puducherry, which cater to a wide range of tastes, offering stylish garments, semi - precious stones, perfumes, hand - made incense, candles embossed with real petals, marbled silks and aromatherapy products. One can also find a variety of handicrafts from Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Karnataka, Kashmir, Tibet and puducherry of course.
Furniture puducherry offers antique furniture and curios such as refinished Tamil, Keralite, and French and British colonial furniture.
Leather: Making leather the forgotten way, with exacting attention to detail, is what separates the puducherry brands from the rest. Carefully finshed, innovative products with quality can be found in many leather shops in Pondy.
Pottery: Excellent ceramic artists and artisans work in puducherry and Auroville. They keep a keen eye out for the right kind of clay and glazes and make the kilns appropriate to the local environment. Lending their signature an elegant simplicity and a unique decorative flourish.
Aromatics: The aromatics in puducherry is world famous for high - quality non - toxic incense sticks and cones as well as scented candles, perfumed oils and sachets, incense holders, ceramic holders and diffusers.
Foods: A variety of jams is produced by Naturellement in Auroville. Some of the produces available are jellies, jams, marmalades, chutneys, pickles, French mustard, peanut butter and other exotic preserves. One can also find snacking cheeses and the cooking kind in Auroville.
Weather
WINTER: Runs from December through February. Daily temperature around 30° C and nights are pleasant, even cool. This is high tourist season in puducherry.
SUMMER: From March through July has hot and humid climate. Temperature routinely touching
40° C in May and June. Normally around 35° C-38° C.
MONSOON: The monsoon on the west coast brings temporary relief towards the end of July and in
August which results in milder temperatures and occasional showers which might continue right upto the month of October. The North West Monsoon in October through December brings cooler whether. The monsoon develops through out this period, peaking in November and occasional quick tempered storm fill the streets for a day or so.Throughout the year, evening sea breezes can bring relief.
Hotels
UPMARKET HOTELS
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BEACH RESORTS
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MID RANGE COMMERCIAL HOTELS
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GOVERNMENT GUEST HOUSES/YATRINIVAS
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SMALLER COMMERCIAL HOTELS
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Family
Guest House
526,
M.G.Road
Puducherry
– 605 001
Web
: www.familyguesthouse.com
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2228346
4208686
2220637
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Sri
Krishnas Guest House
29/31,
Rangapillai Street
Puducherry
– 605 001
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2334477
2221818
2221010
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2221333 | ||||||
Mid
Town Guest House
152,
M.G.Road
Puducherry
– 605 001
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5209955
5209966
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Murugaa
Inn’s
78,
Kamaraj Salai
Puducherry
– 605 011
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4206555 | - | ||||||
Ram
Guest
546,
M.G.Road
Puducherry
– 605 001
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2220072
2222549
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2337734 | ||||||
Samarpan
Yatri Bhavan
3,
Suffren Street
Puducherry
– 605 001
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2338972 | |||||||
Shree
Ravikrishna Guest House
60,
Vellala Street
Puducherry
– 605 001
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2224813
2224921
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2223168 | ||||||
ASHRAM RELATED GUEST HOUSES
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Home Stay
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