I had been wishing to visit Pondicherry (or as they call it – Puducherry) since a long time. However this trip of mine was a sudden one (as always), but nevertheless I got sufficient time to research on the places worth visiting & luckily managed to cover all those in a weekend!
It was a wonderful experience roaming through the beautiful lanes surrounded with colorful cafes and filled with the laughter of fellow tourists…no doubt it’s such a popular site for people searching for new meanings of life!
In this post, I have covered my itinerary, pics & summary of the places I visited.
PS – I had rented a 2-wheeler (Rs 500/day) to roam the city & booked a room in White Town (a central locality, close to most tourist places & cafes)
DAY 1
Sunrise: Saw it at Promenade Beach
Had a long walk here & saw – Gandhi statue, French War Memorial, Chief Secretariat (these were on the beach itself)
Breakfast: Le cafe (on Promenade beach)
Morning: Visited Eden Beach (Blue flag) – very b’ful beach
Lunch: Coromandel Cafe (delicious food)
Afternoon: Visited Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (b’ful glass paintings), Aurobindo ashram (no mobiles allowed), Pondicherry Museum
Evening: Serenity Beach (in Pondi)
Dinner: Cafe Rendezvouz
DAY 2
Breakfast: Cafe des Arts (delicious food)
Morning: Boat ride from Chunnambur boat house to Paradise beach (awesome view). Spent time at this b’ful beach (camel ride available) & came back to the boathouse (had booked a 2-way boatride)
Afternoon: Travelled to Auroville (30 min ride)
Lunch at Bread & Chocolate cafe on the way; Visited Matrimandir & Golden Globe, Auro Beach (dirty beach)
Evening: On the way back to Pondi, stopped at Art & Craft village (saw artisans working) but skipped the boat ride here
Dinner: Villa Shanti (long waiting time, good food)
DAY 3 – Try to get an extra day leave to visit this b’ful place – Pichavaram (TN)
Morning: 2.5-hr cab ride to Pichavaram (in Tamil Nadu) for mangrove forest boating (1-hr boatride). Booked a row boat (& not motor boat) & didn’t regret giving the extra amount charged by the boatman to go inside 3 km as the scenery was HEAVENLY!
Lunch: Basic lunch in the campus itself
SUMMARY of the places I visited
BEACHES: Promenade or Rock Beach, Eden B, Paradise B (boatride from Chunnambur), Serenity B, Auro B
CAFE: Cafe des arts (breakfast), Le Cafe (breakfast), Coromandel Cafe (lunch), Villa Shanti (dinner), Rendezvous Cafe (dinner), Bread & Chocolate cafe (on way to Auroville)
SIGHTSEEING: Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry Museum, Gandhi statue, French War Memorial, Art & Craft village
OUTSIDE PONDI: Auroville, Pichavaram mangrove forest (boating)
How I REACHED Pondicherry from Delhi
I reached via Bangalore with a 8-hr long bus ride.
Departed via Chennai (3 hr from Pondi).
PS: To try out Artificial intelligence, I asked ChatGPT to write a 2-day itinerary for Pondicherry & the result was disastrous! Can you believe it didn’t include Chunnambur, Paradise beach & Eden beach…the most beautiful places in Pondi!
I was thankful that I had planned my visit based on research & not on AI; and would recommend the same to you!
I had been wishing to visit Pondicherry (or as they call it – Puducherry) since a long time. However this trip of mine was a sudden one (as always), but nevertheless I got sufficient time to research on the places worth visiting & luckily managed to cover all those in a weekend!
It was a wonderful experience roaming through the beautiful lanes surrounded with colorful cafes and filled with the laughter of fellow tourists…no doubt it’s such a popular site for people searching for new meanings of life!
In this post, I have covered my itinerary, pics & summary of the places I visited.
PS – I had rented a 2-wheeler (Rs 500/day) to roam the city & booked a room in White Town (a central locality, close to most tourist places & cafes)
DAY 1
Sunrise: Saw it at Promenade Beach
Had a long walk here & saw – Gandhi statue, French War Memorial, Chief Secretariat (these were on the beach itself)
Breakfast: Le cafe (on Promenade beach)
Morning: Visited Eden Beach (Blue flag) – very b’ful beach
Lunch: Coromandel Cafe (delicious food)
Afternoon: Visited Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (b’ful glass paintings), Aurobindo ashram (no mobiles allowed), Pondicherry Museum
Evening: Serenity Beach (in Pondi)
Dinner: Cafe Rendezvouz
DAY 2
Breakfast: Cafe des Arts (delicious food)
Morning: Boat ride from Chunnambur boat house to Paradise beach (awesome view). Spent time at this b’ful beach (camel ride available) & came back to the boathouse (had booked a 2-way boatride)
Afternoon: Travelled to Auroville (30 min ride)
Lunch at Bread & Chocolate cafe on the way; Visited Matrimandir & Golden Globe, Auro Beach (dirty beach)
Evening: On the way back to Pondi, stopped at Art & Craft village (saw artisans working) but skipped the boat ride here
Dinner: Villa Shanti (long waiting time, good food)
DAY 3 – Try to get an extra day leave to visit this b’ful place – Pichavaram (TN)
Morning: 2.5-hr cab ride to Pichavaram (in Tamil Nadu) for mangrove forest boating (1-hr boatride). Booked a row boat (& not motor boat) & didn’t regret giving the extra amount charged by the boatman to go inside 3 km as the scenery was HEAVENLY!
Lunch: Basic lunch in the campus itself
SUMMARY of the places I visited
BEACHES: Promenade or Rock Beach, Eden B, Paradise B (boatride from Chunnambur), Serenity B, Auro B
CAFE: Cafe des arts (breakfast), Le Cafe (breakfast), Coromandel Cafe (lunch), Villa Shanti (dinner), Rendezvous Cafe (dinner), Bread & Chocolate cafe (on way to Auroville)
SIGHTSEEING: Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry Museum, Gandhi statue, French War Memorial, Art & Craft village
OUTSIDE PONDI: Auroville, Pichavaram mangrove forest (boating)
How I REACHED Pondicherry from Delhi
I reached via Bangalore with a 8-hr long bus ride.
Departed via Chennai (3 hr from Pondi).
PS: To try out Artificial intelligence, I asked ChatGPT to write a 2-day itinerary for Pondicherry & the result was disastrous! Can you believe it didn’t include Chunnambur, Paradise beach & Eden beach…the most beautiful places in Pondi!
I was thankful that I had planned my visit based on research & not on AI; and would recommend the same to you!
I had been wishing to visit Pondicherry (or as they call it – Puducherry) since a long time. However this trip of mine was a sudden one (as always), but nevertheless I got sufficient time to research on the places worth visiting & luckily managed to cover all those in a weekend!
It was a wonderful experience roaming through the beautiful lanes surrounded with colorful cafes and filled with the laughter of fellow tourists…no doubt it’s such a popular site for people searching for new meanings of life!
In this post, I have covered my itinerary, pics & summary of the places I visited.
PS – I had rented a 2-wheeler (Rs 500/day) to roam the city & booked a room in White Town (a central locality, close to most tourist places & cafes)
DAY 1
Sunrise: Saw it at Promenade Beach
Had a long walk here & saw – Gandhi statue, French War Memorial, Chief Secretariat (these were on the beach itself)
Breakfast: Le cafe (on Promenade beach)
Morning: Visited Eden Beach (Blue flag) – very b’ful beach
Lunch: Coromandel Cafe (delicious food)
Afternoon: Visited Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (b’ful glass paintings), Aurobindo ashram (no mobiles allowed), Pondicherry Museum
Evening: Serenity Beach (in Pondi)
Dinner: Cafe Rendezvouz
DAY 2
Breakfast: Cafe des Arts (delicious food)
Morning: Boat ride from Chunnambur boat house to Paradise beach (awesome view). Spent time at this b’ful beach (camel ride available) & came back to the boathouse (had booked a 2-way boatride)
Afternoon: Travelled to Auroville (30 min ride)
Lunch at Bread & Chocolate cafe on the way; Visited Matrimandir & Golden Globe, Auro Beach (dirty beach)
Evening: On the way back to Pondi, stopped at Art & Craft village (saw artisans working) but skipped the boat ride here
Dinner: Villa Shanti (long waiting time, good food)
DAY 3 – Try to get an extra day leave to visit this b’ful place – Pichavaram (TN)
Morning: 2.5-hr cab ride to Pichavaram (in Tamil Nadu) for mangrove forest boating (1-hr boatride). Booked a row boat (& not motor boat) & didn’t regret giving the extra amount charged by the boatman to go inside 3 km as the scenery was HEAVENLY!
Lunch: Basic lunch in the campus itself
SUMMARY of the places I visited
BEACHES: Promenade or Rock Beach, Eden B, Paradise B (boatride from Chunnambur), Serenity B, Auro B
CAFE: Cafe des arts (breakfast), Le Cafe (breakfast), Coromandel Cafe (lunch), Villa Shanti (dinner), Rendezvous Cafe (dinner), Bread & Chocolate cafe (on way to Auroville)
SIGHTSEEING: Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry Museum, Gandhi statue, French War Memorial, Art & Craft village
OUTSIDE PONDI: Auroville, Pichavaram mangrove forest (boating)
How I REACHED Pondicherry from Delhi
I reached via Bangalore with a 8-hr long bus ride.
Departed via Chennai (3 hr from Pondi).
PS: To try out Artificial intelligence, I asked ChatGPT to write a 2-day itinerary for Pondicherry & the result was disastrous! Can you believe it didn’t include Chunnambur, Paradise beach & Eden beach…the most beautiful places in Pondi!
I was thankful that I had planned my visit based on research & not on AI; and would recommend the same to you!