4 Best Sights in Goa, India

This grand shrine was a mere chapel before 1541. Soon after, in 1600, it became a parish, and its structure was rebuilt entirely. Now the church almost entirely presides over one of Panaji's squares. The building's distinctive zigzag staircases are a 19th-century addition, and the church's large bell was originally in the Church of St. Augustine in Old Goa. An annual December festival here draws huge crowds. At the other times of the year the square is a peaceful place to linger.

Just a short distance from Panaji, this delightful bird refuge is on the tip of Chorao, an island in the Mandovi. The ferry jetty for Chorao is on Ribander jetty on the southern bank of the Mandovi River, between Panaji and Old Goa, and boats travel regularly to the island and back. A taxi can bring you to the jetty for the 15-minute ride across the river. The Forest Department in Panaji organizes guided tours to Chorao. The tiny sanctuary, full of mangroves, is named after a dedicated Indian ornithologist. Although October through March is the best time to view migratory birds, the sanctuary is open year-round.

The shady, narrow streets of this largely residential neighborhood do not seem Indian—they are clearly still Portuguese at heart. From tiny balcaos (colonnaded porches), inhabitants watch as their quiet, unchanging world goes by, and through the old windows you can hear people practicing the piano and violin. At the heart of Fontainhas is the little whitewashed Chapel of St. Sebastian, which dates only to the late 19th century—new by Goan standards. Its claim to fame is an old crucifix that was once housed in the infamous Palace of the Inquisition in Old Goa.

This crumbling old neighborhood contains the General Post Office, a former tobacco trading house, and a maze of extremely narrow streets behind it. The tiny bars of this district are full of old-world character, and indeed you might need that drink to help banish the more grisly images of Goa's past—the area opposite the post office was once the site of Panaji's town executions.