Pondicherry – Things to Do In White Town
In my previous blog, I have told you about White Town in Pondicherry which is basically the centrepiece of Pondicherry, a small locality located right next to the sea and stuck in a time warp. Logically this White Town is also home to some of the tourist spots in Pondicherry.
In this blog, I am going to tell you about eight of the key spots that you can visit while you are at White Town Pondicherry. These are mentioned in the order of the path that you can follow by which all of these can be covered within a walk of 1.2 Kilometres.
White Town Pondicherry Walking Tour
Sri Aurobindo Ashram – Pondicherry
People often confuse Sri Aurobindo Ashram with Auroville, these are two separate locations and separate entity. Sri Aurobindo Ashram was the place with Sri Aurobindo after retiring from politics settled here along with few of his followers and started a spiritual movement.
This is also the place where the remains of Sri Aurobindo and Mother (spiritual partner) are kept in a Samadhi (tomb). Many devotees and tourists visit this place and often can be seen standing in a long queue outside the house.
Pondicherry Museum (White Town)
If you are really interested in the history then spend some quality time in this museum. Even though we associate Pondicherry with only French history but in reality it goes much beyond that and in this museum you will be able to see glimpses of the rich history of this region.
This museum has a vast collection of arms like old guns, muskets, swords, and knives. A collection of statues of stone and metals is something that can rival any large museum. The centre piece is the huge statue of Nataraj which is kept on the ground floor.
On the first floor of the museum, you will get a glimpse of the French Pondicherry, mirrors, grandfather clock, furniture, cutlery etc. There are some rooms which have been carefully decorated with a specific theme like the dinner table, bed all using authentic French era objects.
Romain Rolland Library – Pondicherry
This is one of the few libraries in Pondicherry and one with a great history. This library was renamed to honour French scholar Romain Rolland in the year 1966. There is another library the old one which you can visit and the best part about the old library is that it’s still referred by its French Name “Bibliotheque Publique”
These libraries have a good collection of books and if you are in Pondicherry for few days then grab a copy and relax at the beach.
Beach Road – Pondicherry
This is the Sunset Boulevard of Pondicherry, during the day time traffic is allowed but from evening onwards traffic is restricted to allow visitors to enjoy. This winding road stretches right across the White Town at the edge bordering the Promenade Beach. In fact, most of the important tourist spots are all located on this road itself.