The churches of Old Goa: a visitor's guide

UNESCO inscribed the Churches and Convents of Goa on the World Heritage List in 1986. The listing recognises the group as an outstanding example of the spread of European religious architecture in Asia, in Manueline, Mannerist and Baroque forms adapted to local materials and craftsmen, and their influence on churches across the region. It also recognises the Basilica of Bom Jesus, with the tomb of St Francis Xavier, as a place of significance to the history of Christianity in Asia.

The site is protected and conserved by the Archaeological Survey of India alongside the Church authorities. Most of the buildings are still consecrated churches with regular services, which is part of what makes them feel alive rather than museum pieces.

The core of Old Goa can be seen in a morning. The table below lists the buildings we include on our guided visits, with the time we usually allow for each.

The Jesuits built the Basilica between 1594 and 1605 and dedicated it to the Good Jesus, the Infant Christ. Its laterite façade, carved with Ionic, Doric and Corinthian orders, was once plastered; the plaster was removed in the mid-20th century, leaving the warm red stone visible. Inside, the plain nave leads to a gilded main altar with a large statue of St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits.

The body of St Francis Xavier, the Jesuit missionary who died off the coast of China in 1552, lies in a side chapel in a silver casket, above a marble tomb given by Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and carved in Florence. A gallery upstairs shows paintings on the saint's life. The body is brought down for a public exposition roughly once a decade; the most recent ran from November 2024 to January 2025.

The Se Cathedral, dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria, on whose feast day Albuquerque took Goa, was built over most of the 16th and early 17th centuries and is among the largest churches in Asia. The façade is in a restrained Tuscan style; one of its two towers collapsed in the 18th century, and the surviving tower holds the Golden Bell, famous for its sound. Inside, the main reredos, a wall of gilded carving showing scenes from the life of St Catherine, is one of the finest pieces of its kind in India.

Next door, the Church of St Francis of Assisi has a quieter exterior and a remarkable interior: walls and ceilings covered with paintings, a carved and gilded altar, and a floor of tombstones carved with coats of arms. The former Franciscan convent beside it houses the Archaeological Museum, with portraits of the viceroys and governors and sculpture from the pre-Portuguese period; it has been closed on Fridays, so check current status before you travel.

Behind the main churches rises the Holy Hill. At its top, the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, built in the 1540s, is one of the oldest surviving churches in Goa, with decoration that blends Manueline forms with motifs from Indian stone carving. Nearby is the Convent of St Monica, once one of the largest nunneries in Asia, now a centre for religious studies.

A short walk away stand the ruins of the Church of St Augustine. The Augustinians built a vast church and monastery here in the early 17th century; after the religious orders were suppressed in 1835, the buildings were abandoned and the vault collapsed. A single tower about 46 m high survives, with the outlines of chapels and the nave around it. It is the most atmospheric place in Old Goa, best in the late afternoon light.

Walk or drive five minutes toward the Mandovi to see the Church of St Cajetan, built in the mid-17th century by Italian priests of the Theatine order. Loosely modelled on St Peter's in Rome, it is one of the few churches in Goa with a dome, and its interior has a carved gilt altar and side altars of fine workmanship. A well beneath the main altar is traditionally said to mark the site of an earlier temple.

Close by stands the Viceroy's Arch, the ceremonial gateway through which new viceroys entered the city after landing from the river, receiving the keys of the city as they passed. Built in the late 16th century and later rebuilt, it carries a statue of Vasco da Gama on one side. Standing under the arch, with the river in front and the lawns behind, is the best way to imagine the vanished city, its quays crowded with ships from Lisbon, Malacca and Macau.

From the river landing, the government ferry crosses to Divar island in five minutes, an easy way to end a morning among the churches with an afternoon among paddy fields and village chapels.

Arrive at opening time, around 9 am, before the day-trip coaches; the Basilica and Se can be crowded from mid-morning, especially at weekends and in December. A specialist guide makes a real difference, explaining the altars, the paintings, the politics of the religious orders and the story of the saint. Allow three hours for the main churches and the museum, and come back for the Holy Hill at about 4 pm if you can.

These are working churches. Cover shoulders and knees, remove hats, keep phones silent and do not walk around during mass. Photography without flash is usually allowed outside services but not in the museum. The days around 3 December, the Feast of St Francis Xavier, bring very large crowds and road closures.

• Start at 9 am with the Basilica, then the Se and St Francis of Assisi
• Return at 4 pm for the Holy Hill and St Augustine's tower
• Dress modestly; avoid service times
• Combine with the Divar ferry, Fontainhas or the Ponda temples