Landmarks
The heart of the city is the Church Square or Municipal Garden with the Portuguese Baroque Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church, originally built in 1541. Other tourist attractions include the old and rebuilt Adilshahi Palace (or Idalçao palace), dating from the sixteenth century, the Menezes Braganza Institute, the Mahalaxmi Temple, the Jama Masjid mosque, the Chapel of St. Sebastian and the Fontainhas area—which is considered to be the old Latin Quarter—as well as the nearby beach of Miramar. Hanuman Mandir at Malā on hill top (altinho) and its annual zatrā in February are a major attraction of Panaji. Panaji hosted the relics of Saint John Bosco (also known as Don Bosco), till August 21, 2011, at the Don Bosco Oratory.
The Carnival celebrations in February include a colorful parade on the streets. This is followed by the Shigmo/xigmo, or Holi. The Narkāsūr parade on the night before Diwali in the city is very colorful.
Well-known places in Panaji are the 18th June Road (a busy thoroughfare in the heart of the town and a shopping area for tourists and locals), Mala area, Miramar beach and the Kala Academy (a cultural center known for its structure built by architect Charles Correa). Kala Academy is a place where Goa showcases its art and culture.
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Famous quotes containing the word landmarks:
“The lives of happy people are dense with their own doings—crowded, active, thick.... But the sorrowing are nomads, on a plain with few landmarks and no boundaries; sorrow’s horizons are vague and its demands are few.”
—Larry McMurtry (b. 1936)
“Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)