India · State of Mahārāshtra
Where to Stay in Pune, State of Mahārāshtra
Old wadas and museums fill the Deccan Plateau city of Pune in Maharashtra, founded in 1436 and once spelled Poona, known for the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum.
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Where to stay in Pune
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
Pune sorts its lodging between the historic old town and the greener western districts, so the base you pick depends on whether you want heritage streets or leafy calm. The old town around Vishrambaug Wada and the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum is the choice for travellers who want the wadas, temples, and markets of the founding-era core within walking distance. Across the river, the Deccan Gymkhana district gives a more open, tree-lined base near the National Film Archive of India, well suited to a longer, quieter stay.
The streets near the Mahatma Phule Museum put you close to the civic heart of Poona and its colonial-era institutions. City rooms fill on event weekends. Reserve ahead.
Wherever you land in Pune, the compact old quarters and the Deccan Plateau setting keep the museums, mansions, and churches of the city within easy reach.
About Pune
What is Pune known for?
Pune is a major city of Maharashtra on the Deccan Plateau, an educational centre often called the Oxford of the East. Museums and old mansions define its core. The Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum and the historic Vishrambaug Wada anchor the old town, while the National Film Archive of India and the Mahatma Phule Museum add to a dense cultural map.
Founded in 1436, the city carries the older name of Poona.
What are the main landmarks in Pune?
Pune keeps a rich set of museums, old wadas, and civic sites. The Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum holds a celebrated collection of everyday artefacts, while the Vishrambaug Wada and the Mahatma Phule Wada preserve grand old mansions of the city. Scholarship has a home too.
The Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal and the National Film Archive of India sit alongside the Mahatma Phule Museum and the Savarkar Smarak. Deep and varied.
What is the history of Pune?
Pune traces its charter to 1436 and grew into a seat of power on the Deccan Plateau, the Maharashtra city the British later spelled Poona. Its old mansions tell that story. The grand wadas, among them the Vishrambaug Wada and the Mahatma Phule Wada, went up as the town became a centre of Maratha rule, laying out the dense old quarter of courtyards and lanes that still forms the historic core.
Scholarship and reform followed the ruling houses. The Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal grew into a research institution, memorials such as the Savarkar Smarak and the Umaji Naik Samadhi and Jail fixed political memory in stone, and the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum gathered the everyday craft of the region. Colonial institutions layered on top.
Churches such as St. Mary's Church and the National Film Archive of India joined the city's map, and the reputation as the Oxford of the East grew from its many schools. Through Maratha, colonial, and modern eras alike, Pune kept the shape of a plateau city built around its wadas.
Where is Pune?
Pune sits on the Deccan Plateau in western Maharashtra, an inland city set above the coastal lowlands. Rivers thread the plateau. The old town spreads over the level upland where watercourses meet, with the historic core on one side and the greener Deccan Gymkhana district across the water.
It is a raised, inland setting.
What is the climate of Pune?
Pune has a mild upland climate, tempered by its height on the Deccan Plateau. Its air runs drier. The monsoon brings the year's rain to Maharashtra, but the plateau setting keeps Pune noticeably cooler and less humid than the coastal lowlands, with pleasant, temperate winters.
Elevation eases the heat.
How do you get to Pune?
Pune is a major road and rail hub of western Maharashtra, linked by highway and express train to the coast and served by its own airport. Routes climb the plateau. Expressways run up onto the Deccan Plateau from the lowland cities, while the railway ties Poona into the national network.
Arriving from the coast means a scenic climb.
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More cities in State of Mahārāshtra
Updated July 2026