Visiting Old Goa's churches: opening times, dress code, relics

Old Goa was the capital of Portuguese India, and its surviving churches and convents, about 9 km east of Panjim (Panaji), were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. They are still places of worship, and the main group stands close enough together to see on foot in a morning.

Three things can spoil a visit: arriving on a Sunday morning, when the Basilica of Bom Jesus does not open to visitors until 10:30 AM; arriving on a Friday, when the Archaeological Museum is shut; or arriving in beachwear. Below are the hours, the dress code, where St Francis Xavier's relics rest and how to fit it all into a morning from Calangute.

Opening times at a glance

These are the visiting hours listed on Incredible India, the Ministry of Tourism's official site. They are not Mass times, and worship comes first: a feast or a special service can close a church to sightseers at short notice. Treat them as a guide and check on the day if your plans are tight.

• Basilica of Bom Jesus: 9 AM to 6:30 PM; on Sundays, 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM
• Sé Cathedral: 7:30 AM to 6 PM
• Church of St Francis of Assisi: 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM
• Archaeological Museum: 9 AM to 5 PM, closed on Fridays

The Sunday, Friday and Holy Week catches

On Sundays the Basilica opens to sightseers only at 10:30 AM. If Sunday is your only free day, start at the Archaeological Museum, which opens at 9 AM, and cross to the Basilica afterwards. On Fridays the churches keep their listed hours, but the museum, with its formal portraits of Portuguese viceroys, is closed all day.

Easter brings its own closure. In 2026 the Basilica was closed to tourists from the morning of Maundy Thursday, 2 April, until 11 AM on Easter Sunday, 5 April, for the Holy Week services. Expect something similar in other years, and check the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman's notices before you plan a visit in Holy Week.

Late November and early December bring large crowds. The novena begins on 24 November, and the Feast of St Francis Xavier on 3 December is a Goa public holiday; in 2025 the road from the Old Goa Church junction to Gandhi Circle was closed to vehicles, with special buses from Panaji. Our guide to the feast in Old Goa covers those days in detail.

What to wear, and how to behave inside

Goa's Department of Tourism asks visitors to respect local customs at religious places, especially the dress code, and to observe decency and decorum in dress at temples, churches and mosques. In practice, cover your shoulders and knees: trousers, a long skirt or a dress below the knee, and a top with sleeves. Swimwear, crop tops, strappy tops and short shorts belong on the beach, for men as well as women.

Carry your own scarf or stole rather than counting on one at the door. Inside, keep your voice low, silence your phone and stay out of the way during Mass: these are working churches, not museums. For the rest of the day, from markets to temples, see what to wear in Goa away from the beach.

• A light scarf or stole for your shoulders
• Trousers, a long skirt or a dress that covers the knee
• Comfortable walking shoes for the distances between churches
• Water and a hat for the open walks in the sun

Where are St Francis Xavier's relics?

The body of St Francis Xavier, the missionary who co-founded the Jesuits, lies in the Basilica of Bom Jesus. It rests in a chapel off the transept, beside the main altar, in a silver casket set high on a marble tomb carved in Florence, a gift from Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, in the late 1690s. From the floor you see the casket, not the saint.

The body is lowered for public veneration only during the Exposition, held about once a decade. The 18th Exposition ran from 21 November 2024 to 5 January 2025, with veneration at the Sé Cathedral, and on the final day a procession carried the relics back to the Basilica. The next one has not been announced, and the yearly feast on 3 December is not an Exposition.

The seven UNESCO monuments, in a sensible order

The core group sits on either side of the main road, a few minutes' walk apart: the Basilica on one side, and the Sé Cathedral, St Francis of Assisi and the museum on the other. Arrive around 9 AM, see the Basilica as it opens, then cross to the Sé and St Francis of Assisi, followed by the museum and the Chapel of St Catherine. St Cajetan, Our Lady of the Rosary and the St Augustine tower on the Holy Hill repay the extra walk if the heat allows. Allow half a day for the main group at an easy pace, and start before the sun is high.

• Basilica of Bom Jesus: the Jesuit church consecrated in 1605, with a gilded main altar and St Francis Xavier's tomb
• Sé Cathedral: dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria; its Golden Bell is said to be the biggest in Goa
• Church of St Francis of Assisi: the Franciscan church beside the Sé, with the Archaeological Museum close by
• Chapel of St Catherine: first built by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1510 to mark his entry into the city on St Catherine's Day
• Church of St Cajetan: built by the Theatine order, with a façade modelled on a design for St Peter's in Rome
• Church of Our Lady of the Rosary: built in 1543, the oldest of Old Goa's churches still standing
• Ruins of St Augustine: part of one tall tower on the Holy Hill, all that still stands of a great Augustinian church

Getting there from Calangute

Panjim is 13 km from Ocean Palms Goa, and Old Goa lies about 9 km beyond it to the east. The easiest way is a car with a driver for the morning, which our Front Desk can arrange. Agree the route and waiting time before you set off, so you are not watching the clock in the Basilica.

By bus, take a Kadamba bus from Calangute to Panjim, then a bus from Panjim towards Ponda, since that road runs through Old Goa. Our guide to Kadamba buses from Calangute sets out the routes and how to check timings.

Pairing Old Goa with Divar island or Panjim

Old Goa sits on the southern bank of the Mandovi, and a government ferry crosses from Old Goa to Piedade on Divar island, a quiet place of villages that suits an unhurried hour or two. Our Divar island ferry guide covers the crossings and what to see on the other side.

Or return to Panjim for lunch and spend the afternoon in Fontainhas, the old Latin Quarter, as the light softens. Our Old Goa and Panjim day itinerary puts the two together, hour by hour.