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The coastal town of Pondicherry with a French ambience is known for its serene atmosphere. Legend associates ancient Pondicherry with great Hindu sage Agastya. Sri Aurobindo Ashram and the nearby Auroville International Township lend a unique spiritual flavour to the city. The city nurtured two great Tamil revolutionary poets, Sri Subramani Bharathi and Sri Bharatidasan.

The climate is tropical (between 18° C and 38° C) with two monsoons, having fairly heavy rainfall in November and very moderate rainfall in July. The city is the capital of Union Territory of Puducherry with a Legislative Assembly and an imposing Chief Secretariat. Total population is 0.8 million with very high literacy and total area of 492 square km. Pondicherry is 160km down south from Chennai well connected by bus through East Coast Road.

French dream of an indian empire has taken life but it also rapidly came to an end in Pondicherry. Among the dispersed territories of the territorial Union of Pondicherry, it is in Pondicherry itself that we can discover what has symbolized the french influence in India. That is also what makes this territory unique and especially, the french district. Something quite different from the rest of India.

All the french tradition, the quiet atmosphere of the town influenced by the Ashram of Aurobindo and the beach, make a whole to give to Pondicherry an attractive destination.The Union Territory of Pondicherry includes 4 enclaves located in three states of South India. It includes the coastal towns of Pondicherry and Kerala in the Tamilnadu, Yanam in Andra Pradesh and Mahe in Kerala

The old french colony has retrieved its indian character, but the scent of the french influence in "Pudicheri" as we call now, can be found again in the red kepis of the police officers, french spelling on signboards and traffic signs and some buildings and old stones .

The slight french accent which tinged tamil and english languages that we can sometimes hear, remains a living memory of this culture. In the same way, the alignment at right angle of the streets remains a lovely inheritance of french architects.Legends associate old Pondicherry with the great hindu sage Agastya. Escavations in the region of Arikame near Pondicherry have proved that romans had settled 2000 years ago. Pondicherry has been successively called Poduke and Podukay in the works of geographers and historians from the first centuries of our era.

Pondicherry, as we know now, became wide known on the arrival of the French on the 4 february 1673. 20 years after in 1643, the town became the property of the Dutch before belonging to France in 1699 with the" traité de Ryswick".François Martin who was appointed Administrator following the "traité of Ryswick", restored stability to Pondicherry and developed the town. Dumas who succeeded him, followed the principles created by François Martin.

Pondicherry is one of the most fascinating destinations in India. A French territory for a long time, Pondichery is an interesting mix of Indian and European culture, which is very well reflected in the lifestyle of the people and architecture of the place.Pondicherry boasts of numerous palm-fringed beaches, splendid sea resorts, beautiful backwaters, facilities for water sports centre, fabulous tiny fishing villages and hamlets. The most importnat attraction of Pondicherry is Sri Aurobindo Ashram, the world-class Auroville city and the internationally acclaimed Yoga centers.

Air

As Pondicherry does not have an airport in its territory so visitors avail the facility of Chennai International Airport while coming to Pondicherry. This airport is just 135 km from Pondicherry and regular flights arrive here from Europe,Middle East,USA .At Chennai Airport all the private and public airlines operate.