Things to do in Panaji (Panjim)
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Sunset Boat Cruise
A host of floats sets out each evening just before sunset to ply the Mandovi waters and entertain tourists with nothing more sophisticated than the view, a beer or two and a dash of traditional Goan dancing. A number of companies run competing tours from the Santa Monica Jetty, with the GTDC’s being the most serene and least raucous of the bunch. Head to the jetty to compare watery offerings and pick up your tickets.
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Sher-E-Punjab
A cut above the usual lunch joint, Sher-E-Punjab caters to well-dressed locals with its generous, carefully spiced Indian dishes. There’s a pleasant garden terrace out the back, and an icy AC room if you’re feeling sticky. Try the delicious paneer tikka (Rs90) but note, if you’re hungering for snacks, that the fish fingers and chicken fingers are ‘seasonal only’.
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Hotel Venite Restaurant
With colourful graffiti covered walls and half a dozen tiny balconies hanging over the street this Latin flavoured restaurant is the perfect spot to pause for one of their delicious milkshakes and a light snack.
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Barracuda Diving
The closest beach to Panaji is at Miramar, 3km southwest of the city along Dayanand Bandodkar Marg. It's far from the cream of Goa's beaches but is a pleasant enough place for a sunset stroll and a good place to aim for on a short bike ride out the city. On the way you'll pass the Goa Marriot Resort, where you'll also find Barracuda Diving, one of the state's most professional diving operations.
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Kala Academy
On the west side of the city at Campal is Goa’s premier cultural centre, which features a program of dance, theatre, music and art exhibitions throughout the year. Many shows are in Konkani, but there are occasional English-language productions; call to find out what’s on when you’re in town.
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Chapel of St Sebastian
Aside from its general old-world charms, Fontainhas is notable for being home to the pretty Chapel of St Sebastian, built in 1818. This small whitewashed church at the end of a lovely lane contains one of only a few relics remaining as testament to the Goan Inquisition, which terrorised the state’s population for more than two centuries. A striking crucifix, which originally stood in the Palace of the Inquisition in Old Goa. Christ’s unusual open eyes are said to have been conceived to strike fear into the hearts of ‘heretical’ suspects brought before the Inquisitors, and awaiting their usually grisly fate. Following the end of the Inquisition in Goa in 1814 – due to an…
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Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate
Panaji’s spiritual, as well as geographical, centre is its gleamingly picturesque main church, built in 1619 over an older, smaller 1540 chapel and stacked like a fancy white wedding cake to the southeast of the ragged municipal gardens. When Panaji was little more than a sleepy fishing village, 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 Ela (Old Goa), the state’s capital until the 19th century, further east up the river.
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Goa State Museum
An eclectic collection of items awaits visitors to this large, though not bursting-at-the-seams, museum, in a strangely uncentral area southwest of the Kadamba bus stand. As well some beautiful Hindu and Jain sculptures and bronzes, there are a few nice examples of Portuguese-era furniture, some ancient coins and quirky antique lottery machines. The gruesome star exhibit for most, however, is the elaborately carved table and high-backed chairs used by the notoriously brutal Portuguese Inquisition in Goa during its reign of terror.
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Hospedaria Venite
Along with Viva Panjim, this is without doubt the lunch address to which most tourists head, and, though the food isn’t exactly excellent, the atmosphere warrants the visit. Its tiny, rickety balcony tables, which look out onto pastel-washed 31st January Rd, make the perfect lunchtime spot, and the Goan chouriços (spiced sausages; Rs145) and vegetable vindaloo (Rs95) are really pretty tasty. Order a cold beer or two, munch on a slightly ’70s-style salad (think cold boiled vegetables in vinaigrette) and watch lazy Panaji slip by.
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Houses of Goa Museum
This interesting museum was created by well-known local architect Gerard de Cunha to illuminate the history of Goan homes, apparent statewide in various states of picturesque decrepitude. Marooned shiplike in the middle of a traffic island, the museum is hard to miss; to find it, turn right at the O’Coqueiro junction and then left at the fork, and you’ll find it just there. If you don’t have your own transport, a taxi here from Panaji should cost around Rs200.
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Cine Nacional
If you’re feeling up for a bit of grim local grime, you’ve found the place at the Nacional. It’s dismal, dark and dank, but with unique appeal if you’re looking for an unforgettable dose of Bollywood. Just make sure you don’t have too much soft drink, as the only filmic quality the toilets possess is their likeness to a certain scene in Trainspotting. Films are shown about four times daily; check at the box office for current screenings.
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India on the Menu
India on the Menu is a recommended five-day Indian cookery course offered by London-based On The Go Tours. The programme is based in Betim, just across the river from Panjim, and covers North and South Indian cuisines, Goan cuisine and a market tour. On the final day you can choose to be taught how to cook your favourite Indian dishes by the course tutor. Each of the cooking sessions lasts half a day (including lunch).
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Cidade de Goa
After a day of poking about the coastline, a good place to recover before heading homeward is at one of the eight restaurants at this swanky village-style place, designed by renowned Goan architect Charles Correa, close to Dona Paula in the village of Vainguinim. Chow down at its Portuguese-themed Alfama restaurant, which comes complete with wandering minstrels, or just drop in for a cool sundowner at the Bar Latino.
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Ferry to Betim
If you’re in the mood for something less slick than a full-blown cruise, hop aboard the overloaded ferry across the Mandovi to Betim, shoulder to shoulder with scores of bustling locals. Though there’s nothing much to do when you get there except to turn around and head back again, it’s worth it for the riverine view of Panaji and the workaday atmosphere.
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Secretariat Building
Dating from the 16th century, this handsome colonial-era building was originally the palace of Muslim ruler Adil Shah, before becoming the viceroy’s official residence in 1759. Nowadays it houses rather less exciting government offices, but remains worth a gaze as the oldest building in town. It is currently under renovation and will be for quite some time.
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Saturday Curry Morning
Delicious cooking courses are run from a purpose-built kitchen just across the river at Betim, and the Saturday Curry Morning, which runs from 9.30am to 2pm, is just the thing for those not wanting to spend a whole week chopping and grinding. Courses must be booked in advance, after which you’ll receive details of how to get to the aromatic Indian kitchen.
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Institute Menenez Braganza
Step into the west entrance of the town’s public library, to examine the grand and dramatic azulejos (traditional painted ceramic tiles) adorning the wall, which depict scenes from Os Lusiadas, a famously epic and glorious Portuguese poem that tells the tale of Portugal’s 15th- and 16th-century voyages of discovery.
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Public Observatory
For anyone interested in checking out the incredibly clear night skies over Goa, the local branch of the Association of Friends of Astronomy has a public observatory. The local enthusiasts are only too happy to welcome visitors and explain what you’re looking at. The view of Panaji by night is lovely, especially around dusk.
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Veg Baba
This spanking new place down a side street off 18th June Rd dishes up delicious Indian vegetarian delights of all descriptions, and is friendly, cheerful and efficient. A self-declared ‘meat-free zone’, it’s clean, cool and blessed with a good line in proverbs: ‘An elephant is 50 times stronger,’ it reminds us sagely, ‘It is vegetarian.’
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Simply Fish
Simply Fish, of all the restaurants on offer, is the one to plump for, offering up such exotic fishy delights as lobster cappuccino and mud-crab xacuti (a spicy chicken or meat dish with coconut milk). Otherwise, lunch or even just a drink at the all-day Waterfront Terrace and Bar is a more simple, similarly soothing pleasure.
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Viva Panjim
Though it might be more than a touch touristy these days, this little side-street eatery, with a couple of tables out on the street itself, nevertheless still delivers tasty Goan staples, as well as the standard range of Indian fare. Keep an eye out in the dim interior for Mrs Linda de Souza, restaurant founder and doughty matriarch.
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Santa Monica Cruises
GTDC operates entertaining hour-long cruises along the Mandovi River aboard the Santa Monica. They include a live band performing Goan folk songs and dances. On full-moon nights there is a two-hour cruise at 20:30. Cruises depart from the Santa Monica jetty next to the huge Mandovi bridge and tickets can be purchased here.
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Zen Restaurant
The welcoming statement that the Chinese will eat anything with four legs but a table and anything with two wings but a plane does make you ponder what 'delicacy' might emerge from the kitchens next, but rest assured that this stylish new joint avoids anything dodgy and just sticks to praise-winning Chinese and Thai staples.
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Quarterdeck
Watch crammed passenger ferries and hulking casino boats chug by from a waterside table at this open-air ‘multicuisine’ restaurant perched on the Mandovi banks. There’s a small playground for children and the multicuisine is tasty enough, though the location is without doubt the restaurant’s biggest drawcard.
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Royal Cruises
Royal Cruises, have virtually identical trips to GTDC, from Santa Monica jetty starting around 18:15, as well as open-sea 'dolphin cruises' (from mid-October to the end of April only 300) from 10:00 to 13:00. Their boats are bigger and rowdier (for the boozy Indian party crowd) than the Santa Monica.
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