French dreams of an Indian Empire began and ended in Pondicherry. But in the scattered territories of the Union Territory of Pondicherry there remains what little there is left of the French influence in India and that makes the territory, especially its headquarters, Pondicherry, unique, something quite different from the rest of India.

The Union Territory of Pondicherry comprises of 4 coastal regions viz- Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam . Pondicherry and Karaikal are situated on the East Coasts in Tamil Nadu, Yanam in Andra Pradesh and Mahe on the West Coast in Kerala.

Pondicherry is the Capital of this Union Territory. It is on the east coast about 162 kms south of Chennai ( Madras ) located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal.

Like most ancient cities, the origin of Pondicherry lies buried in legends. It could have been the mythical 'Podhigai' said to have been the sacred abode of the legendary Sage Agusthia or it could be-the now forgotten 'Vedhapuri', a settlement of scholars well-versed in the vedas.

Excavations in the Arikamedu area near Pondicherry have brought to light the remains of a trading port which had connections with the Greeko-Roman world more than a century before the down of the Christian Era. You will be bound to see the glorious remains of Arikamedu excavations in the Archaeology section of the Pondicherry Museum.