Hotel De Ville. Premium service from one of the world's most knowledgeable travel companies, Your holiday is fully protected by the Package Travel, Package Holidays & Package Tours Regulations 1992, Flight-Inclusive Bonding: We are licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority and hold ATOL Number 7159, Flight-Exclusive bonding: Your holiday is further protected by our membership of ABTOT Membership Number 5197, Fraser House, Southrop, Gloucestershire, GL7 3NR UK 9401 Overlea Drive, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA, The Ultimate Explorer’s safari of Africa by Private Jet, Historic India and Maldives by Private Jet, 10 steps to the perfect Latin America holiday. Pondicherry Museum functions as an adjunct to the library and is well worth a visit, housing a remarkable collection of artefacts from all parts of former French India. If you’re looking to soak in the best of the colonial architecture Pondicherry has to offer, we’ve custom-crafted a little routine you can take when in town. Several details accentuate its colonial exterior and interiors, including two square bell towers, a polygonal dome, vaults, arches, vertical rectangular windows, Corinthian columns and a dull powder pink frontage. A few steps to the left of Cluny Embroidery centre, at Dumas street, is a vision in pastel yellow and blue—the École Française d'Extrême-Orient, or the French School of the Far East. A two-minute walk down Romain Rolland Street will bring you to this heritage home, which has been restored over the course of three years in collaboration with INTACH, an organisation that restores and maintains heritage sites across India. In the not-too-distant future, India's tourist authority is likely to promote Pondi as a cultural destination. For four years between 1693 and 1697, the post was occupied by the Dutch who endowed it with strong fortifications before handing it back to the French in a peace settlement. This graceful building, filled with fine period furnishings and decorations, is an exquisite example of Franco-Indian architectural design, successfully blending elements of both traditions into a single whole. Even today, forty years after the Tricolour was lowered for the last time, Pondi remains redolent of France, with many streets still retaining their French names. We're friendly and available to chat. Nearby, in a little garden off Rue Dumas, is a statue of the French heroine Joan of Arc, burned at the stake by the English in 1431. You start at the sea-facing Beach Road and zigzag your way through the parallel Dumas and Romain Rolland streets. These include the Romain Rolland Library, which holds more than 60,000 volumes on its shelves, many of which are old and rare. Thanks to the efforts of the Project Implementation Agency (PIA) of the Puducherry Government, the site is on its way to being redeveloped right now, and is estimated to be completed in early 2020. Nestled at the intersection of Bussy and Romain Rolland street, the structure is made in a Greco-Roman style of architecture. At the north end of the esplanade stand the French Institute and Consulate-General, whilst the south end terminates in the Alliance Francaise, all housed in fine old colonial buildings. An archetypal shade of Pondicherry yellow, black metal brackets, wooden beams and long rectangular windows with plenty of greenery in the foreground highlight this quaint space. Hop in to explore, or simply gawk at the distinct architectural style of the buildings. If you walk from Bussy towards Bazaar Saint Laurent street, you’ll encounter a hotel dating back to the 1760s that has a very interesting history. Here the air is filled with the scent of spices, the familiar aroma of Indian cuisine, and the warm, rolling vowels of Tamil speech. The interiors feature four poster beds, high ceilings, hand-written postcards and an in-house Creole restaurant offering regional cuisine. Hanging within this church which was built in 1865, is a rare oil painting of Our Lady of the Assumption presented by Emperor Napoleon III. Near the mosque are halal restaurants and bookshops selling Qur'ans and Islamic prayer caps. Think bougainvillea-lined streets, colonial-style villas with compound walls and stately doorways, soothing flashes of pastel pinks and yellows, ornate balconies, long windows with vertical cast iron bars as grills, large courtyards and stucco designs. Gothic in style and serene in atmosphere, it boasts some fine stained glass and an elegant stucco facade. It not only served as the abode of the municipal and local assembly in the 1880s, but also saw the first-ever democratic exercise during 1871 to 1900, much before the first general election was held in British India. The main doorway is accentuated with two ornamental sculptures created with the bas-relief technique. Nicola Shepherd, founder and CEO of The Exploration Company, organises unusual trips for HNW and UHNW clients ranging from birthday parties at an Indian Maharajah's palace to reliving Sir Vivian Fuchs's 1950s expedition to the South Pole. To the north is the most Indian part of Pondicherry. Immediately behind lies the former French Place, today renamed Government Square — the heart of colonial Pondi dominated by the Raj Nivas. Here, appropriately enough on Cathedral Street rise the twin spires of Pondicherry Cathedral. The remainder of the Ville Blanche can best be divided into northern and southern sectors. As it turns out, it has served as the home for the governor general of the French establishment, as well as the headquarters of the Department of Education. Here, we list out all the structures you need to make a pitstop at. Thirty years later in 1674, its representatives acquired the territory around Putucéri from a local Tamil ruler and set about establishing a French trading post which they renamed Pondicherry. To the north lies the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and to the south, easily identified by its striking square towers, stands Notre Dame des Anges. Over the next century this enterprise enjoyed mixed fortunes. Some recall famous generals — Rue Suffren and Rue Mahé de La Bourdonnais, for example. Viewed from here, the city's twin cultural heritage is immediately apparent. The building, with its once white and stately facade, is one of most important administrative and political landmarks in Pondicherry. In the nearby cemetery elaborately carved headstones mark the final resting-place of early French settlers. For the moment however, the enclave remains a delightful and fascinating backwater which is sure to appeal to the discerning traveller. The French colony of Pondicherry has a typical French colonial style of buildings with compounds and high walls. Witness the under-construction 143-old historic site—also known as Town Hall or the … A short walk through the gridded, cobblestoned lanes of Pondicherry’s French Quarter, also known as White Town and the French Riviera of the East, can throw up some French architecture marvels that are nothing less than a visual treat. Further south still, on Mulia Street, the minarets of the Kuthpa Mosque indicate that Tamil Muslims, known locally as Labbais, also contribute to the ethnic mosaic of Pondicherry. Others celebrate literary figures, such as Rue Alexandre Dumas or politicians like Rue St Martin. Nearby are other fascinating reminders of the past. As the sun sets over the distant Eastern Ghats, it illuminates an unexpectedly evocative scene. The property boasts an impressive entrance with solid columns, a high roof built over teak-wood beams and chessboard-like floors. Witness the under-construction 143-old historic site—also known as Town Hall or the Mairie building— that collapsed in 2014 due to incessant rain in the region. A collection of plans and elevations of South Indian temples, Tamil and colonial houses, and maps of South Indian towns and cities are also available in this one-of-a-kind library. The Compagnie des Indes, the French equivalent of the British East India Company, was established in Paris with the blessing of King Louis XIV in 1644. This two hundred year old building, perhaps the finest surviving example of Indo-French architecture, was once the residence of the redoubtable Marquis Dupleix and today houses the Lieutenant-Governor of Pondicherry. The seafront is certainly the best place to start any exploration of Pondi. Located at a mere six-minute walk away from Hotel De Ville, this is the fourth oldest church in the union territory, and offers mass in three languages––English, French, and Tamil. This eminent Indian, who was Dupleix's trusted confidant and trading agent, enjoyed great wealth and power during his long life.

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