Pondicherry French Quarter

The French held Puducherry from 1674 until 1954, longer than any other European power held a comparable Indian settlement, and White Town, the quarter between the canal and the sea, keeps the plan and much of the fabric: a grid of streets with names still posted in French, houses in ochre and white behind high compound walls with deep verandas and louvred shutters, bougainvillea over the gates, and a seafront promenade closed to traffic in the evenings. Police still wear red kepis. The Tamil quarter west of the canal has its own architecture, with pillared thinnai porches and carved doorways.

What you actually see

• The ochre streets - walled houses with verandas and louvred shutters.
• The French street names - rue signs still posted through White Town.
• The seafront promenade - closed to traffic in the evenings.
• The Tamil quarter - thinnai porches and carved doors west of the canal.

When to go

October to March; the coast is hot and humid the rest of the year, with cyclone risk from October to December. Bastille Day in July is marked locally.

Honest expectations

The beach in town is rock armour rather than sand; the sandy beaches are outside the city. Heritage houses are mostly private or hotels. Puducherry is a union territory with cheaper alcohol, which shapes weekend crowds.

Nearby

Auroville lies north; Mamallapuram is further north.