Goa

Most visitors treat Panaji as little more than a transport hub but this lovely state capital has retained its Portuguese heritage in a lived-in kind of way and exudes an aura more reminiscent of the Mediterranean than of India. It contains all the quaint Mediterranean iconography - from the cramped cobbled streets, pastel-hued terraces and flower-bedecked balconies to the terracotta-tiled roofs, whitewashed churches and those small bars and cafes that are the social hub of secular Portugal.

This area includes the Chapel of St Sebastian which contains a striking crucifix that originally stood in the Palace of the Inquisition in Old Goa. The Church of the Immaculate Conception, consecrated in 1541, is Panaji's main place of worship and it was here that recently arrived sailors from Portugal gave thanks for a safe passage. It's worth taking one of the river cruises along the Mandovi River but try to persuade your captain not to loiter under the bridge spans in order to admire Indian engineering.

Half a dozen imposing churches and cathedrals and a fragment of a gateway are all that remain of the second capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur and the Portuguese capital that was once said to rival Lisbon in magnificence.

Old Goa is still the spiritual heart of Christian Goa, and its most famous building is the Basilica of Bom Jesus which contains the tomb and mortal remains of the peripatetic St Francis Xavier, credited with introducing Christianity to much of South-East Asia. Also of interest is the Convent & Church of St Francis of Assisi which has gilded and carved woodwork, murals depicting scenes from the saint's life and a floor substantially made of carved gravestones. The largest of the churches is the Portuguese-Gothic Se Cathedral, dating from 1562, which houses the so-called `Golden Bell', whose resonant peal can be heard thrice daily. Other gems include the Church of St Cajetan which was modelled on St Peter's in Rome and the Royal Chapel of St Anthony.

Anjuna attracts a weird and wonderful collection of overlanders, monks, defiant ex-hippies, artists, artisans, seers, searchers, and sybarites. It's famous throughout Goa for its Wednesday flea market and has retained it's own charm. The main beach is worth taking a walk onto the small, protected sliver of sand at South Anjuna where the area's long-term house-renters tend to gather.

This is one of the most interesting parts of Goa's coastline and a good deal more attractive than Anjuna for either a short or a long stay. Much of the inhabited area nestles under a canopy of dense coconut palms and Chapora village is more reminiscent of a charmingly unruly farmyard than a fishing community doubling as a beach resort. The village is dominated by a rocky hill topped by the remains of a fairly well-preserved Portuguese fort and the estuary of the Chapora River. There are sandy coves, pleasant beaches and rocky cliffs at nearby Vagator.