Pondicherry in 3 days: what to see, in what order

Pondicherry's best known temple, to Ganesha, a few steps from the Aurobindo Ashram in the heart of the old town. It is older than French rule here, and the French are said to have tried more than once to close it. Inside, the walls are painted with Ganesha in his many forms, and a gold chariot comes out on festival days. Lakshmi, the temple elephant, gave blessings at the door until she died in 2024.

The ashram founded round the thinker and yogi Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, who shaped much of the town's spirit and later founded Auroville. Visitors walk through a quiet courtyard of trees and flowers to the Samadhi, the flower-covered tomb of both, where people sit in silence. The ashram owns many of the grey and white buildings in the streets around.

Pondicherry's cathedral, on Mission Street, with a pale blue and gold front. It was built by Jesuits and finished in 1791, after earlier churches on the site were pulled down in wars between the French and the British.

The house where the Tamil poet and freedom fighter Subramania Bharati lived for about ten years after fleeing British India for French Pondicherry. It keeps his photos, letters and poems.

The green square at the heart of the French town, with the white Aayi Mandapam monument in the middle, built in the time of Napoleon III. Around it stand the Lieutenant Governor's house (the Raj Nivas), the legislative assembly and old colonial buildings. Shady paths make it a good break between sights.

A small museum in an old French house by Bharathi Park. It has Roman pottery and beads dug up at Arikamedu, Chola bronzes and stone sculptures, and rooms of French furniture, including a bed said to have been slept in by Dupleix, the French governor.

A pink and cream church near the sea, finished in 1858, with two square towers. Mass is still said here in French, Tamil and English. A statue of Joan of Arc stands in the little garden in front.

A tall red and white Gothic church opposite the railway station, finished in 1907. Its stained glass windows show the life of Christ and the saints, and it was made a basilica in 2011, one of a few in India.

A garden laid out by the French in 1826, with old trees from round the world, a small aquarium near the gate and a toy train for children on some days. Quiet and shady, a place to rest after the White Town streets.

The town founded in 1968 by the Mother as a place where people from every country could live together. At its centre is the Matrimandir, a huge golden globe in a garden. Visitors watch a short film at the Visitors Centre, take a free pass and walk about 1 km to a point where you see the Matrimandir from outside. The Visitors Centre has cafes and shops selling Auroville-made goods.

A quiet beach of rocks and sand north of town, popular with Aurovilians and visitors staying nearby. Small cafes sit behind it.

A long sandy beach 5 km north of the town, known for surf schools and beach cafes. It is wilder than the Promenade, with real sand to walk on.

An old Vishnu temple in Mudaliarpet, south of the old town, said to go back more than a thousand years. Quieter than the town temples, with carved pillars and a tall tower over the gate.

A large Chola temple to Shiva in Villianur, west of town, with a tall tower and a big temple tank. Its huge wooden temple car is pulled through the streets at the yearly festival.

A Gothic church from 1877, built after the Lourdes shrine in France, with a tank in front where pilgrims come for the holy water. A big festival is held here in May.

An old trading port on the river south of town, where Roman pottery, coins and glass beads were found, proof of trade with Rome about 2,000 years ago. Today there is little to see but the ruins of a French Jesuit mission house and the quiet river bank. Many finds are in the Puducherry Museum.

A long, clean beach on a sandbar where the Chunnambar backwater meets the sea. You reach it by a short boat ride from the Chunnambar boat house, past mangroves and fishing boats. There are huts for shade and food stalls on the beach.