Must-see attractions in Puducherry (Pondicherry)

Pondy is a seaside town, but that doesn’t make it a beach destination; the city’s sand is a thin strip of dirty brown that slurps into a seawall of jagged…

Founded in 1926 by Sri Aurobindo and a French-born woman, ‘the Mother’, this famous spiritual community has about 2000 members in its many departments…

Goodness knows how this converted late-18th-century villa keeps its artefacts from disintegrating, considering there’s a whole floor of French-era…

This grand 19th-century neoclassical building is also a flourishing research institution devoted to Indian culture, history and ecology. Visitors can…

Pondy may have more churches than most Indian towns, but the Hindu faith still reigns supreme. Pilgrims, tourists and the curious get a head pat from the…

Looking out to sea, past a statue of Joan of Arc (opposite), Notre Dame des Anges was completed in 1855, and is arguably Pondy's most attractive church…

This handsome heritage building and library is home to over 11,000 Indology books and a series of Sanskrit, Tamil and Manipravalam palm-leaf manuscripts…

Begun in 1779 but not completed until 1791, this splendid Jesuit church (in whites, blues and yellows) is reminiscent of Goa's Portuguese-style churches,…

Inaugurated in 1907, the Sacred Heart Basilica is a soaring brown-and-white neo-Gothic structure beautified by restored stained glass.

Once home to Governor Dupleix, the neoclassical governor's residence looks out over Bharathi Park from the north. You can't go inside.

A shady green haven that's always busy, Bharathi Park faces the neoclassical governor's residence, Raj Nivas, on its north side.

The main sight along seafront Goubert Ave is this bronze striding statue of Gandhi.

Pondy's lighthouse was completed in the 1830s and functioned for more than a century before being replaced in 1979.