Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights & Activities
One of the pleasures of Panaji is long, leisurely strolls through the sleepy Portuguese-era
Sao Tomé, Fontainhas and Altinho districts.
Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
CHURCH
(cnr Emilio Gracia & Jose Falcao Rds; 10am-12.30pm & 3-5.30pm Mon-Sat, 11am-12.30pm & 3.30-5pm Sun)
Panaji's spiritual and geographical centre is its gleamingly white and oh-so-photogenic
main church, consecrated in 1541. When Panaji was little more than a sleepy fishing vil-
lage this place was the first port of call for sailors from Lisbon, who would clamber up
here to thank their lucky stars for a safe crossing before continuing to Old Goa, the state's
capital until the 19th century, further east up the river. It's usually closed in the evening,
but the exterior is wonderfully illuminated at night. Mass in English is held at 8am week-
days and 8.15am Sunday.
Goa State Museum
( 2438006;
www.goamuseum.gov.in
; EDC Complex, Patto; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Sat)
This spacious
museum, in the developing Patto area near the bus stand, has a sleepy feel and an in-
triguing hodgepodge of exhibits. In addition to Hindu and Jain sculptures and bronzes, the
museum has a good collection of wooden Christian sculptures, a room devoted to the his-
tory of print in Goa (replete with hulking old-school presses), an exhibition on Goa's free-
dom fighters, and nice examples of Portuguese-era furniture, including an elaborately
carved table used during the notoriously brutal Portuguese Inquisition in Goa.
MUSEUM
Secretariat Building
(Avenida Dom Joao Castro)
This colonial-era building is on the site of Bijapur Sultan Yusef Adil
Shah's summer palace. The current structure dates from the 16th century and became the
Portuguese viceroy's official residence in 1759. Nowadays it houses less exciting govern-
ment offices, but as the oldest colonial buildings in town it's worth a gaze. Immediately to
the west, the compelling
statue
of a man bearing down upon a supine female form depicts
Abbé Faria, a Goan priest, 'father of hypnotism' and friend of Napoleon, in melodramatic
throes.
HISTORIC BUILDING
Menezes Braganza Institute
MAP
HISTORIC BUILDING
GOOGLE MAP
