This gorgeous 19th-century French-run mansion is infused with contemporary character. Spread along plant-dotted galleries, immaculate, soft-toned rooms are done up in tasteful minimalist style, with stripy bedding, printed cushions, vintage furniture and stylish modern bathrooms. There's wonderful continental cooking in the romantic courtyard restaurant.
Villa Helena
Puducherry (Pondicherry)
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Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.18 MILES
Pondy is a seaside town, but that doesn’t make it a beach destination; the city’s sand is a thin strip of dirty brown that slurps into a seawall of jagged…
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0.57 MILES
Founded in 1926 by Sri Aurobindo and a French-born woman, ‘the Mother’, this famous spiritual community has about 2000 members in its many departments…
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5.6 MILES
To some, the large, golden, almost spherical Matrimandir (Auroville's focal point), set amid red (cement) lotus petals and surrounded by pristine green…
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0.43 MILES
Goodness knows how this converted late-18th-century villa keeps its artefacts from disintegrating, considering there’s a whole floor of French-era…
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Institut Français de Pondichéry
0.62 MILES
This grand 19th-century neoclassical building is also a flourishing research institution devoted to Indian culture, history and ecology. Visitors can…
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0.5 MILES
Pondy may have more churches than most Indian towns, but the Hindu faith still reigns supreme. Pilgrims, tourists and the curious get a head pat from the…
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0.17 MILES
Looking out to sea, past a statue of Joan of Arc (opposite), Notre Dame des Anges was completed in 1855, and is arguably Pondy's most attractive church…
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École Française d'Extrême-Orient
0.16 MILES
This handsome heritage building and library is home to over 11,000 Indology books and a series of Sanskrit, Tamil and Manipravalam palm-leaf manuscripts…
Nearby Puducherry (Pondicherry) attractions
1. École Française d'Extrême-Orient
0.16 MILES
This handsome heritage building and library is home to over 11,000 Indology books and a series of Sanskrit, Tamil and Manipravalam palm-leaf manuscripts…
0.17 MILES
Looking out to sea, past a statue of Joan of Arc (opposite), Notre Dame des Anges was completed in 1855, and is arguably Pondy's most attractive church…
0.18 MILES
Pondy is a seaside town, but that doesn’t make it a beach destination; the city’s sand is a thin strip of dirty brown that slurps into a seawall of jagged…
0.34 MILES
A shady green haven that's always busy, Bharathi Park faces the neoclassical governor's residence, Raj Nivas, on its north side.
5. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral
0.36 MILES
Begun in 1779 but not completed until 1791, this splendid Jesuit church (in whites, blues and yellows) is reminiscent of Goa's Portuguese-style churches,…
0.37 MILES
The main sight along seafront Goubert Ave is this bronze striding statue of Gandhi.
0.37 MILES
Pondy's lighthouse was completed in the 1830s and functioned for more than a century before being replaced in 1979.
0.4 MILES
Inaugurated in 1907, the Sacred Heart Basilica is a soaring brown-and-white neo-Gothic structure beautified by restored stained glass.