Sacred places
Pondicherry’s temples are built in the Tamil tradition, its churches range from Greco-Roman to Gothic Revival, and the Meerapalli is the oldest standing mosque in the city. Further out are the temples and the Lourdes shrine of Villianur, and Auroville’s Matrimandir.
Deepak-nsk · CC0 TempleSri Manakula Vinayagar Temple
Ganesha temple in the old town, older than the French settlement and one of the best-known places of worship in Pondicherry.
Arunankapilan · CC BY-SA 3.0 TempleVedapureeswarar Temple (Easwaran Koil)
Shiva temple in the Tamil Quarter, destroyed in 1748 and rebuilt in 1788; with the Varadaraja Perumal temple close by, the nucleus around which the old town grew.
Pinakpani · CC BY-SA 4.0 AttractionSri Aurobindo Ashram
Spiritual community founded in 1926 by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother; the courtyard of its main building holds their samadhi.
Pinakpani · CC BY-SA 4.0 ChurchBasilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Gothic Revival basilica on the south boulevard, built from 1902 and known for its stained-glass panels of the life of Christ and the saints.
BishkekRocks · CC BY-SA 3.0 ChurchImmaculate Conception Cathedral
Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore, consecrated in 1791 and known locally as Samba Kovil.
Aravindaraja · CC BY-SA 3.0 ChurchOur Lady of Angels Church
Église Notre-Dame-des-Anges on Dumas Street, built in 1855 in Greco-Roman style and facing the sea; mass is said here in French, Tamil and English.
- Mosque
Meeran Mosque (Meerapalli)
Sufi mosque built in the first quarter of the 18th century, the oldest standing mosque in Pondicherry, beside the grave of its founder, the Sufi saint Meeran Saheb.
Jayarathina · CC BY-SA 3.0 ChurchSt. Andrew’s Church, Reddiarpalayam
Church first built in 1745 by Kanakaraya Mudali, dubash of the French East India Company, whose tomb is inside; believed destroyed in 1761 and rebuilt in 1830.
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Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0 TempleThirukameeswarar Temple, Villianur
Shiva temple at Villianur where Shiva is worshipped as Kameeswarar and Parvati as Kokilambigai; its two-acre complex has inscriptions from the 14th century.
- Church
Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, Villianur
Marian shrine and parish church at Villianur, among the first in the world dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes outside France; its statue was crowned in 1886.
Matthew T Rader · CC BY-SA 4.0 Place of worshipMatrimandir, Auroville
The golden sphere at the centre of Auroville, conceived by the Mother as the “Soul of the City” and completed in 2008. In Tamil Nadu, north of Pondicherry.
In Tamil Nadu, outside the Union Territory of Puducherry
- Temple
Irumbai Mahakaleswarar Temple
Shiva temple at Irumbai in Vanur taluk, Villupuram district (Tamil Nadu), where Shiva is worshipped as Maakaleswarar and his consort as Kuyilmozhi Ammai.
In Tamil Nadu, outside the Union Territory of Puducherry
