Let’s get away: Puducherry

In the mood for a short holiday? In an attempt to make your decisions easier, Apoorva Sripathi tells explores Puducherry's culinary scene

Goubert Avenue (Beach Road). Photo: S.S. Kumar

The best part about travelling is that even a bad experience makes for a good story. But not in Puducherry. On the surface, admittedly, this is an oft-explored destination for bored Chennaiites. However, for those who take the trouble to look beyond it's obvious charms, Puducherry offers a quirky art scene, impressively sophisticated food culture and edgy souvenirs. There's a reason this charming town is called ‘The French Riviera of the East’.

Food trail:

Puducherry might have been dominated by the French, centuries ago but it's essentially south Indian in nature. And with all things south Indian, this too starts with coffee. The Indian Coffee House, on Jawaharlal Nehru Street that reportedly inspired Yann Martel's

Life of Pi , is a good place for an old school hangout. Order a cup (or two) and people-watch. Or get inspired enough to write a novel. If you'd like to mingle with tourists and indulge in a slice of cheesecake, head to Le Cafe, White Town that's by the beach. Is it overrated? Yes. But what's a touristy experience without one? However, if you're one of those coffee snobs who takes it single-origin, single-estate and perhaps through an IV, we suggest you check out Marc's Cafe on Auroville Main Road for some posh options.

People, we realise, are essentially divided into two rival camps when it comes to their first meal of the day: those who eat it and those who don't. But even the staunchest of breakfast-skippers might just be compelled to switch camps when they're in Puducherry. Cafe des Arts on 10, Suffren Street, is bohemian-vintage, sunlight-friendly, cozy and offers free WiFi along with (arguably) one of the best Continental breakfasts in town -- baguettes, waffles, pancakes, crepes, salads and coffees.

Naturellement Cafe is quite literally a trek in the Auroville woods but the al-fresco setting -- it's situated in a lush garden -- makes up for it. The cafe offers locally-grown and sourced produce; don't miss their ricotta and spinach galette, which comes with a generous side serving of a salad and stick of frozen grape juice lolly.

If you'd like to start things on a sweet note and by that we mean cheesecake, the Well Cafe at Auroville is your best bet. But if you want to get your daily fix of idli-dosai, head to Surguru Spot at No 10, Nehru Street. Or there's always Adyar Anandha Bhavan.

For lunch, how about going the Creole route? The Carte Blanche restaurant at Hotel de l’Orient on Rue Romain Rolland serves up some good mutton curry and ratatouille. Blueline at The Promenade offers a smashing Puducherry-style coq au vin and butter rice. We think dinner should be a private, romantic affair (even if it's for one) and La Maison Rose, 8, Romain Rolland Street, White Town, is your best bet. Start with a glass of rosé wine, work your way through the shrimp salad and perhaps a parmigiana and end on a sweet high with the New York cheesecake? Life sounds perfect, doesn't it? Or grab a pizza at the famous Tanto Pizzeria (two outlets at Auroville) and a bottle of iced tea and take in your surroundings.

Time-pass: A good way to spend time (and money) is to shop on Mission Street for clothes, jewellery, bric-a-brac and more. Check out the Sunday Market on M.G. Road and the Goubert Market (named after the city’s first Chief Minister) with its row of flower sellers, fish vendors and vegetable sellers. The Pondicherry Museum, the Ashram Centre and the Manakula Vinayagar Temple are worth a visit.

Heritage enthusiasts will swoon over the old-world-Tamil-meets-French-Continental look. Walk through the streets of the French and the Tamil quarters to experience the difference. You can print a heritage trail map from the INTACH Pondicherry website. For souvenirs of the food kind, visit Farm Fresh in Auroville (pesto, nuts, cheese, coffee, organic food) and the Auroville Bakery for dense sesame loves and chocolate and lemon biscuits.

How to get there: Puducherry is around 170km from Chennai. You can get there by train, cab or bus but, if you can, just drive down. With less than Rs. 2,000 worth of petrol, one can easily roam the city for three days (including driving from Chennai and back, with a pit-stop at Mahabalipuram).

Where to stay: With Airbnb arriving in India, home rentals are a good option for the budget traveller. But go through profiles and pictures thoroughly before you book. During the off-season, most heritage hotels offer discounts so ask for one even if they haven’t been vocal about it. Auroville offers guest accommodation services on varied comfort levels; best to book in advance.