The eight-storeyed victory tower here was built by the Maratha King Serfoji in the year 1814 to commemorate the victory of the British over Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo. The name 'Mannora' is derived from the word minaret meaniing small minar. From this 30 metre high tower one can have a panoramic view of the palm fringed Bay of Bengal. This tower also served as a light house.

Pudukkottai town is the headquarters of the District of the same name.  Once a Princely State,  the area , which comprises the district, is of absorbing interest to historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and lovers of art.   The numerous dolmens, stone circles and other forms of megalithic burials in the district indicate the antiquity of this region dating back to pre-historical times.  This tract is mentioned in the Sangam classics.  The rulers of Pudukkottai have built several beautiful palaces and also constructed tanks and canals.  The Collect orate of the district is now functioning in one of the palaces.

Sittannavasal (58 km)
In this village are the remains of a 2nd century B.C. Jain cave temple. Fresco paintings reminiscent of Ajanta adorn the walls. Many of them are typical of the 9th century Pandyan period and include exquisitely detailed pictures of animals, fish, ducks, people gathering lotuses from a pond and two dancing figures

There are also inscriptions dating back to the 9th and 10th centuries. Fresco paintings from the 7th century can be seen on the ceiling of the Ardhamandapam.There are many pre-historic burial sites around Sittannavasal and among the relics unearthed are burial urns, cists and Kungupatarai.

Thanjavur (54 km)
The capital of the imperial Chola dynasty a thousand years ago.  The magnificent Brahadeeswarar temple dedicated to Lord Siva, bears witness to the glory of Chola architecture, sculpture and painting.  A museum in the temple courtyard has interesting Chola artefacts.  The Thanjavur Art Gallery has priceless collection of bronze icons and granite sculptures dating from the 9th century AD.  
The Saraswathi Mahal Palace was started by the Nayaks of Madurai around 1550 AD and completed by the Maratha rulers of Thanjavur.  The Palace Library Instituted by Maharaja Serfoji has a collection of 30,000 palm leaf manuscripts and many rare European books.  Thanjavur is a good place to shop for Thanjavur Art Plates, handicrafts, handwoven silk, bronze icons, intricately inlaid brass work and bejewelled paintings.

Kudumiyanmalai (25 km)
The Siva temple here has some interesting inscriptions as well as beautiful sculptures. One of the inscriptions deals with the musical treatise of Mahendravarman Pallava and his experimentation with an eight-stringed instrument called Parivadini.

Government Museum
Situate at Thirukokarnam, the museum is at a distance of 5 km, from Pudukkottai station. The rare collections in the section of Geology, Zoology, Paintings, Anthropology, Epigraphy, Historical Records, etc. are very interesting. The fine sculptures and bronzes of various periods are the attractive items of the Museum. Open on all days except Mondays and Government Holidays from 8 a.m. to 11.30a.m. and 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.