Pondicherry or Puducherry is known for its clean beaches, cute cafes and colonial style buildings to name a few. Just about 150 kms from Chennai, once colonised by the French, Pondicherry has maintained their influence even after 70 years of liberation.

My trip to Pondicherry was very last minute but after a quick pack (read here) and barely making it to the airport we were there! Since our travel was during the pandemic we were a little paranoid and extra careful throughout. There are no direct flight to Pondicherry but is easily accessible through the Bangalore and Chennai airports. We took a flight from Mumbai to Chennai which was then followed by an almost three hour road trip. The entire travel was a smooth ride so no complains there.

There aren’t a lot of things to do or see here but enough to suffice a 3 day vacation. If you follow me on social media, you would’ve already seen the images, stories and reels about it. If not, click here. Moving around the city is very pocket friendly if you have a two-wheeler licence. Renting a scooty is not only cost effective but also saves time. If not comfortable, then there are autos and buses available for public too. I have covered the food here in a different blog post (click here) as this was too much information in one otherwise.

The most famous tourist attraction here is Auroville, however I personally was not intrigued enough and skipped this place. Below I have shared things you must enjoy when in Pondicherry!

• Walk around the French Quarters: One of the biggest tourist attractions in Pondicherry and one of my favourite experience, White town has maintained its old French colonised charm with colourful facades, clean street and detailed architecture. With many old houses turned hotels and bougainvillea clad doors turned cafe entrances a walk in the neighbourhood admiring the beauty is a must!

• Enjoy a gorgeous sunset at Surya beach: Pondicherry is known for its white sand beaches. But as is the issue with any tourist attraction, most of the beaches have trash lying around making it filthy and not enjoyable. We planned on visiting the Auro beach but listening to the locals and their recommendation switched to Surya beach last minute. It is the lesser known beach which means it barely had any tourists, completely clean water, cool white sand and we also witnessed a sunset like no other.

• Spend the day at Paradise beach: A beach that got its name due to the stunning views is a quick boat ride away from Pondicherry. Only accessible via boat, the ride goes through backwaters with lush green mangroves on either side. Presenting a scenery like no other and pristine blue water for as far as the naked eye can see, Paradise beach has a lot to offer. Be it spending your time sunbathing or enjoying water sports, a day trip here would not be waste.

• Catch an epic sunrise at Promenade: Promenade beach, also known as Rock beach or Gandhi beach to name a couple is a short but beautiful stretch which is also home to couple attractions such as the Gandhi Statue, Old Light House, Notre Dames Church and more. With White Town being only a couple minutes away, the ideal idea could be enjoying a walk along pomade followed by exploring and grabbing breakfast at a nice cafe in White town.

• Stop at the Shore Temple: I came across this while researching for my trip but was running late on my way back to the airport which is why we couldn’t stop here. Sharing some information here to give you an idea: The Shore Temple which is on the banks of the Bay of Bengal is one of the main attractions of Mahabalipuram. Its beautiful structure is an architectural marvel, which depicts the ancient finesse of art. The Shore Temple which was built during 700 – 728 AD has stood the test of times. Once a busy village port of Mahabalipuram is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Tamil Nadu. – Source