Goa, as the history tells us, has been the object of desire of many. Having seen rulers as different as the Muslims, Hindus and Portuguese, there’s no doubt that Goa has a rich past. The best thing to discover the history of this state is to visit the Museums, which are full of interesting facts and magnificent artefacts, to take you on a journey back in time. So, get into these museums, where the past patiently awaits you.

Housed in the abandoned convent of St. Francis of Assisi, the archaeological museum in Goa   is your guide to the era gone by. The museum has been functioning since 1964 and houses some of the most interesting artefacts concerning Goa’s History.

The museum takes you on an awe inspiring journey in a sequential order, from the pre historic period, to recent history.

Entering the museum you’ll be greeted by none other than General Alfonso de Albuquerque’s bronze statue, the Portuguese general who discovered Goa as the important commercial port for Portugal, and hence conquered it.

The museum takes you on a journey which starts with the pre historic period, in which you’ll see different stone weapons used by people of that time. Moving a little forward in time, Brahmanical statues, sati stones and hero stones, introduce to the medieval era. Of special interest are the various statues of Hindu deities like Siva and Parvati (Uma Mahesh).

The other things of interest in the Museum are: the large coin collection from hindu, muslim as well as Portuguese era, wooden statue of John, the Baptist, Paintings of various Portuguese governors including, Pedro de Castro, Fernando Martings Mascarenhas, clad in imposing European attires.

The museum is situated in old Goa and can easily be reached by a taxi.
The timings of the museum are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It remains closed on Fridays and other Government holidays.

The Naval Aviation Museum

Depicting the Naval force of the country, the Naval Aviation Museum, was one of the first aviation museums in Asia. This is also the second largest aviation museum in the country. Designed as an aircraft, this place is very popular and attracts tourists in great numbers.

Dedicated to the country’s naval force, this museum has as exhibits, 12 mighty aircrafts, weapons, safety equipments, sensors and rare photographs of Goa’s liberation and artefacts. The visitors are thoroughly informed about the history of the Indian navy through photographs and footnotes provided with them. The museum also has a weapon and armaments gallery which displays torpedoes, bombs, cannons and sensors, which were used by the navy in the past.

One of the great attraction of this museum is, the newly added multimedia games section, which is very popular among children as well as grownups.

The museum is situated on the Bogmalo road, Dabolim and is easily accessible.
It is open every day from 10 am to 4 pm.

Archives Museum Goa

Housed in the imposing new building, at the Patio Plaze near the Ourem creek is the Archives museum, also known as the State Museum. Archives Museum is one of the two most important museums of Goa, the other being, the Archaeological Music in old Goa.

There are many ancient artefacts on display here, the chief exhibits being, an array of temple sculptures, ancient epigraphs, stone sculptures, bronze panels, wooden panels, miniature paintings, old manuscripts etc. The various sections here, namely, Ancient History and Sculptures; Geology, Coins and manuscripts; Anthropology and Western Art are enough to thrill any history lover. The articles of chief interest here are the beautiful bronzes of Jains, recaptured from smugglers, and photographs of pre historic rock carvings of Usgalimal.

The museum is situated in Panaji and is easily accessible.
The timings for visitors are: 9.30 am to 1.00 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm.
The museum is closed on Saturday, Sunday and all government holidays.

Museum of Chrisitan Art - Rachol

Being one of its kinds in South Asia, the museum of Christian art, was set up by the Indian national trust for structural design and cultural heritage and the Gulbenkian, Portugal. This fabulous museum was opened in 1994 at the Rachol academy, situated at a distance of 7 kms from Maragao.

The exhibits in the museum include a wide range of artefacts collected from Goa’s churches, chapels, private collections as well as donations. The main attraction of the museum is the sacred objects of Christian tradition, created by Hindu artists.

The timing of the museum is from 9.30 am to 6.00 pm.
The place remains closed on Mondays.