Thalassery (IPA: [t̪laʃeɾi]) (formerly Tellicherry) is a commercial town on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district, in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahé (Pondicherry), Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kodagu (Karnataka). It is the second largest populated municipality of North Malabar. The Europeans nicknamed the town "Paris" or in other words "The Paris of Malabar", as it was the sole French military base in Kerala in that era.