Pondicherry

About 140km down south from Chennai you'll find Pondicherry. This small town is what became of the original French village of Pondicherry when the French landed in India and settled down to open trade routes between India and Europe.

Today, it is mainly this old French part of Pondicherry that will please you as it is quiet and not as polluted as Chennai. Many of the restaurants, plotted around in the streets near the beach are inspired by the french cuisine, but nonetheless serve a Indian-French fusion kind of steak.

Yet Pondy is the perfect getaway from the big city for a weekend. The State of Pondicherry is independant from Tamil Nadu, resulting in the sale of tax free alcohol, at strongly reduced prices compared to Chennai. Eating and Drinking is the credo in Pondicherry!

Things to See

Mahadma Gandhi Memorial on the Beach

Sri Aurobindu Ashram

Places to Stay

The Promenade Hotel*****

Pondy's own 5 star boutique hotel, overlooking the sea and right in front of the Gandhi Statue. See their website here.

Hotel Mass ***

Situated right next to the bus station, this is one of the bigger hotels in Pondy. visit their website to check availibilty and prices (starting at 1800 Rs).

Guesthouses

There are many guesthouses available offering basic double rooms with bath room for only 400 Rs a night, on a 24 hour check-in basis. Before checking in you do good to run a quick check-up of the actual room and see if running water is available as well as clean bed sheets. Take a walk around in the streets near Pondicherry beach and you'll find one soon.

Guesthouse Villa Labourdonnais
Rue Labourdonnais
Pondicherry

How To Get There?

A taxi will bring you from Chennai to Pondicherry for prices ranging from 1800 to 2500 Rs. depending on how much they try to ripp you off and the size of the vehicle.

You can also take the bus in CMBT and take the 3,5 hour ride to Pondicherry for 61 Rs among (many) locals.

Transport

Getting Around in Chennai

Transportation in Chennai can be a real pain. The traffic is not only heavily unorganised, but also extremely overcrowded so you always have to calculate enough travel time when going for an appointment. As an expatriate in Chennai you might be lucky enough to have an AC car with driver, if not here are some other ways of transport in chennai.

Public Tranport

Public transport is available, mainly in the form of busses because Chennai has no metro or underground network yet. It can be fun once or twice to run after the bus and hold yourself hanging out of the door hoping not be hit by other users of the public streets, but busses are hardly recommandable to get around comfortable in Chennai.

Busses are cheap though(4Rs) (not surprising seen the number of people they can carry) and drive around at more or less fixed intervals. The city bus system consists of approx. 3000 busses on 617 routes and transports somehow 4 million passengers daily.

This tool will help you find out which bus you have to take to go to your desired destination in Chennai. You can also check the official Metropolitan Transport Corporation of Chennai website for exisiting bus routes.

Mofussil Bus Terminal (CMBT )

The biggest bus station in Asia, spread over 37 acres and therefore worth the visit even if you don't intend to travel. This is the main bus station in Chennai, and the best place to board the bus if you would like to have a seat on your way to Mammalapuram or Pondicherry. Auto drivers might refer to the same place as Koyambedu Bus Station, named after the place where it's located. If you are travelling by bus from or to Chennai, this is the place to be.

Auto-Rickshaws

This is an important way to get around in Chennai and therefore has a categorie on its own. Go to "Auto-Rickshaws".

Trains

Chennai has a train network accros the city. It consists of 2 main lines, one line going along the coast and another line going through the city, almost parralel to the other line at some points. In 'Fort' , the station near Fort Saint George, in the north of Chennai, you can change from one line to the other.

The coast line railway is being renovated and drops you from 'Fort' immediately in front of Tidel Park and Old Mahabalipuram road in the South. It goes all the way parralel with the coast line and stops in many stations.

The city line, also starting from 'Fort', stops in Egmore Railway Station, Chetpet, Nungambakkam, and continues through the city towards Kodambakkam, Mambalam, Guindy and Saint Thomas Mount.

Trains are cheap with rates ranging from 4 to 7 Rs for most destinations. To escape from Chennai by train (sleeper trains etc.) you'll most probably have to go to Chennai Central Station.

Click on the map for a more detailed view of Chennai's Railway network.