Sri Aurobindo Ashram - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Raj Niwas is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. It is located in Puducherry's capital city of Pondicherry. The present lieutenant governor of Puducherry is Dr. Kiran Bedi. Once it was the official residence of the French Governors.

The Kargil War Memorial was built by the Indian Army in remembrance of soldiers who fought the dreaded and unforgettable war of Kargil. It is located opposite to the Chief Secretariat Office, at the northern end of the main Puducherry Beach. The main memorial has an inscription on a marble plate that says “Government of India War Memorial” with a rifle and a soldier’s cap over it. There is an array of stone pillars of variable lengths that surround the memorial.

The Romain Rolland Library, founded in 1827 as the Bibliothèque Publique, is one of the oldest Libraries of India located in the union territory of Puducherry. In the year 1966 when the birth centenary of the Great French Scholar, Romain Rolland who was also a contemporary and a close friend of Mahatma Gandhi was celebrated, the Library was renamed after him and ever since it is known as ‘Romain Rolland Library’

Bharathiar Memorial Museum cum Research Centre located at Puducherry was established commemorating the renowned Tamil poet and freedom fighter Subramanya Bharathiyar, popularly entitled the sobriquet "Mahakavi", literally the supreme poet. The museum was established in the very abode of Bharathiyar, where the poet took refuge from the ruling British Raj, from 1908 to 1918, when Puducherry (erstwhile Pondicherry) was governed by the French regime.

Aayi Mandapam is a white monument in Pondicherry, India built during the time of Napoleon III, Emperor of France. It is situated in center of Bharathi park. The monument commemorates the provision of water to the French city during his reign. It was named after a lady courtesan called Ayi. She destroyed her own house to erect a water reservoir to supply water for the city.

In nineteenth century, the only light to guide ships coming to Pondicherry was atop the Red Hills which was inadequate. The project was finally taken up during the tenure of Governor Saint Simon in 1835. Louis Guerre was the engineer of the project. The foundation stone for the lighthouse was laid at the end of 1835 and the inauguration ceremony took place in February 1836.