Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry

Manakula Vinayagar Temple

This Ganesha temple predates the French, and it very nearly did not survive them. Under Dupleix there were attempts to pull it down, abandoned in the face of protest from the Hindu population and the risk of British and Maratha attack. That it is still standing is the story. It is a working pilgrimage site as much as a sight, and popular enough with visitors as well as devotees that the morning is the sane time to go; arrive at the wrong hour and you will be shuffling through in a queue rather than looking at anything.