Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CENTRAL GOA
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Panaji (Panjim)
POP 115,000
One of India's most relaxed state capitals, Panaji (more commonly known as Panjim) sits at
the mouth of the broad Mandovi River, where paddle-wheel boats and floating casinos ply
the waters and giant neon advertising signs cast reflections in the night. A glorious white-
washed church lords over the city centre and grand colonial buildings rub shoulders with
arty boutiques, old-school bookshops and backstreet bars.
But it's the tangle of narrow streets in the old quarter that really steal the show. Nowhere
is the Portuguese influence felt more strongly than here, where the late afternoon sun lights
up yellow houses with purple doors, and around each corner you'll find crumbling ochre-
coloured mansions with wrought-iron balconies and cats lying in front of bicycles parked
beneath oyster-shell windows. Panjim is a place for walking, enjoying the peace of the af-
ternoon siesta, eating well and meeting real Goans. It's not to be missed.
