Menezes Braganza Institute

Panaji


The yellow-and-white Menezes Braganza Institute occupies part of the old buildings that were once the Portuguese army headquarters. It’s worth poking your head in at the building’s northeast entrance to examine the grand and dramatic azulejos (glazed coloured tiles) adorning the wall, which depict scenes from Os Lusíadas, a famously epic Portuguese poem by Luís Vaz de Camões that tells the tale of Portugal’s 15th- and 16th-century voyages of discovery.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Panaji attractions

1. Azad Maidan

0.07 MILES

To the west of the Municipal Gardens, the grassy Azad Maidan won’t win any prizes at a flower show. Its centrepiece is a small pavilion (whose Corinthian…

2. Mario Gallery

0.17 MILES

This gallery and shop showcases work by India’s favourite cartoonist, Loutolim local Mario de Miranda, who died in 2011 at the age of 85. Along with…

3. Municipal Gardens

0.23 MILES

Panaji’s central square is the leafy Municipal Gardens, also called Church Square (Largo da Igreja). The Ashokan Pillar is at the gardens’ centre.

4. Ashokan Pillar

0.24 MILES

This pillar at the centre of the Municipal Gardens was once topped by a bust of Vasco da Gama, the first Portuguese voyager to set foot in Goa in 1498,…

5. Public Observatory

0.25 MILES

If you’re interested in gazing at the clear winter night skies over Goa, the local branch of the Association of Friends of Astronomy has a public…

6. Jama Masjid

0.28 MILES

Tiny Jama Masjid, barely 100m south of the Municipal Gardens and built about two centuries ago, is easy to miss. The exterior of the mosque is plain, its…

7. Statue of Abbé Faria

0.29 MILES

Beside the Secretariat Building, look out for the sublime, starkly black statue of a caped man, arms, hands and fingers outstretched, towering over an…

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