Pondicherry in a day from Chennai to experience french legacy
Description
This private journey from Chennai to Pondicherry goes beyond a typical day trip, blending comfort, culture, and conscious travel. Explore at your own pace, whether in the serene spaces of Sri Aurobindo Ashram or along the charming French Quarter. The experience is enriched with curated local moments such as a French style lunch and traditional craftsmanship, while offering insight into the philosophy of Auroville. Designed to support local livelihoods through expert guides and small businesses, the tour ensures your visit benefits the community. Operated by Five Senses Tours, a Ministry of Tourism recognized company and a member of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, it offers both authenticity and professional assurance.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Sri Aurobindo Ghosh is arguably the most famous citizen of Pondicherry. The tour begins with a visit to his memorial at the Aurobindo Ashram. Guests will get a brief experience of his life and times as well as his philosophy and revolutionary ideas. The memorial also has a section on Sri Aurobindo’s famous disciple Mirra Alfassa. It is the perfect place for meditation.
A French heritage walk is organized through the heart of the city where one can see glimpses of exquisite French style of architecture. This heritage walk will help you appreciate the French connection with Pondicherry.
We visit a unique factory which makes hand made paper. Sri Aurobindo Paper Factory started 50 years ago and makes paper from 100% cotton rag pulp. In this visit guests will experience how the paper is produced from cotton rags and then processed with techniques like silk screen printing and marbling.
A walk through the famous promenade of Pondicherry facing the lovely Bay of Bengal follows this.
Post lunch we travel to Auroville, the radical concept of a global village where thousands of people from across the world have given up their nationalities and are living as global citizens. Auroville was conceived with the vision that- “There should be a somewhere on earth, a place which no nation could claim as its own, where all human beings of goodwill who have a sincere aspiration could live freely as citizens of the world and obey one single authority, that of the supreme truth; a place of peace, concord and harmony…”. Guests will also get to see the various ways in which its citizens practice sustainable way of life. Matri Mandir is a giant dome for silent meditation. Guests can see it from outside on a day visit. Note permission for meditating inside has to be taken one day in advance in person.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Lunch is planned in a traditional south indian restaurant
Reviews(17)
charles was an exceptional guide and storyteller - very generous in tailoring our tour on our interests! highly highly recommend him for a thoughtful and local view of all things pondicherry - he immersed us in his own life experiences and the colorful history and cultural traditions. can’t say enough about how great he was! thanks again
Thanks for everything. It was a very experience. From check in till check out, we had a great experience. Quite expensive, but worth it. Thank you.
Worst experience i ever had. Had to give $50 to check in Otherwise they told that it was impossible to fly. Students choose cheap flights because they can't afford huge amount of money. Will never choose this flight again.its ribbing people.
This is posted under the wrong business. The reviewer has posted about an airline ticket price while this tour has no flight component and nor has this person taken this tour. I have requested TripAdvisor to remove this but it has not been done. I hope they remove it as this is clearly not making sense !
A beautiful day. I was lucky, the weather was great. Kannan with a great guide. A nice and well organised tour. You will enjoy it
The whole trip was a breeze start to finish. The journey to and from Pondicherry went by so quickly. My guide Kannan took the time to explain all the different sights and also gave me tips for other places in Tamil Nadu which was a bonus. We also went for a great lunch! I would thoroughly recommend Five Senses Tours to solo travellers, it was so nice to have someone explore the sights with you who has all the knowledge to help guide you through.
Beautiful discovery of Pondicherry with a guide of 5senses. exciting day to visit Auroville and understand all its history and evolution since its creation in 1968 thanks to Vetrivel our guide. An exceptional place of peace of beauty. Then visit the ashram of Sri Aurobindo in the French Quarter where you can see the essentials: it is a small jewel of decoration and floral arrangement around the meditation places. Photos forbidden but beautiful memories. Then a guided tour of the historic Franco-Indian places of this great district which retains all its charm and obviously a fond memory of the French recent. End of the walk on the waterfront in front of the statue of Gandhi Unforgettable.
I booked a day trip from Chennai to Pondicherry for my parents and they are talking about it even after a month. 5 Senses made a customised tour for them and even went ahead to further customise it on the day of travel. Mahabalipuram was not included in the original plan, but 5 Senses included it on the last minute, without any extra charge. Car used for the trip was exceptionally clean and the driver was very courteous. I would highly recommend the services of 5 Senses.
Hello and thank you for sharing your views on the tour. Vijay and Kannan were delighted to host you both. I am glad you enjoyed both Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry. It was our pleasure.
Kannan our tour guide is very knowledgeable about the history of Pondicherry. We felt like he was genuinely interested in helping us know about the history and culture of the sites we visited in Pondicherry. He was very accommodating and he made sure our kids were safe and had fun during the trip. The itinerary Five senses provided was very thorough and covered many of must see places in Pondicherry. They were also knowledgeable of entrance fees and age restrictions for kids. Last but not least, Driver Gopu did a great job as well.
We had a two day trip to Pondicherry. Kannan made everything run smoothly even when plans changed because we were running late, the kids were tired, or the boat operators were on strike. He was great with the kids, and they quickly warmed up to him. Kannan was also very knowledgeable about the cultural sites we were visiting.
Wonderful experience on the road to Chennai, Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry. Thanks to the kindness and professionalism of my guide Vijay and our super driver, I spent 2 unforgettable days. Very interesting visits, as diverse as unexpected. A night in Pondicherry very exotic. A stroll in Auroville surreal. A lot of sharing with the guide. I highly recommend this tour
