Pondicherry
After breakfast, you can head out for a full day excursion in Pondicherry. (This place was earlier called as Puducherry located on the east Indian seaboard. Here you can witness French influence architecture with a few Gallic accents). During the tour you can sightsee attractions like Manakula Vinayagar Koil Temple, the Sacre Coeur Church, the Raj Nivas and Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Return to the hotel in Pondicherry for an overnight stay.
Sri Aurobindo Ashram : Located on rue de la Marine, Sri Aurobindo Ashram is one of the famous ashrams set up in the year 1926 by a saint-yogi and a philosopher-poet Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo also taught Integral Yoga, it is a new and a modern way of mind developing, a synthesis of yoga and modern science. Also, another famous figure, a French painter, sculptor and a musician, Madame Mirra Richard Alfassa joined Sri Aurobindo later in continuing with the new era yoga. Even after the death of Sri Aurobindo, she continued the practice till her last breath. She died at the age of 93 in the year 1973.
The Pondicherry Museum : The museum is one of the best attractions in Pondi located in the Saint Louis street. It remains open between 10.00 to 05.00 pm all days except Mondays and national holidays. The Pondicherry Museum was the former residence of the French Administrator and it has a wide collection of impressive things from the Pallava and Chola dynasties like rare bronzes and stone sculptures. It also has objects found in an ancient port site Arikamedu 7km from the main city. Slos, you can find wide collections of Greek and Roman Jars, collection of temple lamps, 200 year old beads and precious stones and also some Chinese objects from the Tsung period.
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus : Located on the South Boulevard, Subbayah Salai, Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is an neo-gothic church endowed in white and brown. Built in the 1700’s by the French missionaries it is one of Pondicherry’s best Catholic Churches.
Manakula Vinayagar Koil Temple : Manakula Vinayagar Koil Temple is dedicated to Ganesha and it is more than 300 years old and it has a golden spire.