Mapusa: 13 kms from Panaji, it is famous for its Friday market. If you like to shop, make sure you have a Friday to spare in Mapusa. It is a small town in north Goa. Margao (Madgaon): It is the second largest city in Goa and is very much a commercial metropolis with a city circle where all roads meet. Margao has a lovely 18 km stretch of silvery sand: Palolean, Betul and Colva. For the religiously inclined, a trip to Chandreshwar Bhutnath temple and the Rachol Seminary here are a must. Vasco-Da-Gama: Earlier Sambahji, this town is now called Vasco by the locals. This well planned city, is the railway terminus for passenger service coming from the south. Goa's only airport, Dabolim is also 4 km from Vasco, at the other end. The Marmagoa port is very close to here, you can catch cruise liners docking here occasionally. The town has developed because of the navy ships that bank here. Old Goa: No visit to Goa is complete without a visit to Old Goa, the Golden Goa of the 16th century when it was the 'Rome of the Orient'. Magnificent churches sumptuous buildings, stately mansions and narrow streets once characterized the 3sq miles of old Goa. Today it's a small village surrounded by the huge churches and convents built during its heyday, and which attract visitors from many parts of the world. Old Goa is only nine kilometers east of Panaji and was founded by Alfonso de Albuquerque.

The administrative headquarters of the taluka, this place boasts of the Safa Masjid, one of Goa's best preserved Muslim monuments. It is about 17 kms north east of Margao and about 28 kms south east of Panaji on the National Highway number 4.

Slightly away, on the border with the State of Karnataka is the Dudhsagar Falls. One of the tallest falls in the country; it is also one of the most impressive. But reaching here is bit too tough as the roads become inaccessible soon after the monsoons.