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Promenade beach in Pondicherry, often called “Rock Beach” is the most popular beach in India. If someone visits Pondicherry, then they will visit the promenade beach road first before going anywhere else. Paradise beach in Pudukuppam is another beach that attracts tourists. Promenade Beach is located in the white town and stretches around 1.2 km from the Kargil war memorial at the north end to the Dupleix statue at the south end of the beach road.
Promenade Beach road is most enjoyable after 6 Pm when people of all ages go for a walk or relax at watching the sea where the waves crash the beach relentlessly. You can park your vehicle at the north end, where it is less crowded, and start working towards Rock beach road. It has Kargil War Memorial at the start just opposite the IFP (French Institute of Puducherry), and after that Chief Secretariat of Puducherry building on the right.
Promenade Road
Opposite the chief secretariat, the government has made an artificial sandy beach for tourists. You can walk on this beach and wet your feet. Don’t try to take a bath on this beach; it is not safe at all.
Just opposite the beach, you can try coffee from KBS Coffee Bar, the Pondicherry local’s favourite hangout place near Chief Secretariat. If you are hungry, then take snacks or drinks from Selva’s Sea View Restaurant, which is located next to the Chief Secretariat.
Grab your sundal from the food street area
When you walk towards the famous Gandhi Statue, you will see the “Aura” boutique store on the right, and they have a coffee and Fresh Juice Corner in their building. After that, you will see the famous “The Promenade” Hotel on the right.
A few years back, promenade beach had a lot of eatery shops here and there, and the waste from the eateries was spilt all over the beach. To regularise the shops, the Puducherry government allotted shops behind “The Promenade” Hotel to control the garbage, and it is working very well now.
You can taste all the local flavours here; you should try the famous Pondicherry Beach “Thatha Sundal”. “Thatha” means grandfather in Tamil; he got famous because of his mouth-watering hot Sundal (Chickpea with mango) that he used to sell the promenade road. He comes in the evening, and in no time, that sundal from him sells like hotcakes. He is no more, but his daughter is taking his legacy forward and setting up a shop in the food street area behind “The Promenade” Hotel.
Grab a sundal and move towards the Gandhi statue at the centre of the beach road, which is the main attraction. After that lies the French Memorial on the left side while the famous “Le Cafe restaurant” is on the right, where you can sip your favourite coffee while gazing at the sea.
If you want to taste good ice cream, you should walk towards the south end of the promenade road where the famous “Gelatario Montecatini Terme (GMT)” is located. GMT is famous for nature flavour ice creams. You should try once; it is always better to grab a few icecreams and get out. It has fewer tables, and it is always occupied. If you are planning to stay on the beach road, then “Cours Chabrol” hotel is the best one to have a beach view at a reasonable rate.
On the way to GMT, you will see the Pondicherry people’s favourite shop, “Richie Rich”, which is famous for ice cream but offers a few snack items like french fries, pizzas. Do check out; they have more tables to offer for the customers. “Waffles on the rocks” waffles shop next to Richie Rich is the new snack shop that came up recently.
A handicraft shop is next to the Waffles shop, which has a very good collection of handicrafts from the local Pondicherry artisans. Opposite GMT is where “Dupleix Park” is located.
You can cross Dupleix park and reach the beach’s dead end, where they laid rocks on the sea. It is a selfie place where you can take a few pics. Be careful not to venture too deep into the sea.
Best Season: July to March, April to June will be hot.
Entrance: Free (Open on all days)
