GOA
A genuinely distinct Portuguese-era streetscape. Don't drive in - lanes are too narrow to park. Arrive before 3pm to beat the crowd crush, and many houses are private residences, so ask before photographing.
The quarter was founded in the late 18th century by Antonio Joao de Sequeira, a wealthy Portuguese landowner who initially used the site for coconut cultivation at the foot of Altinho hill. Its name, Portuguese for 'little fountain,' refers to a spring-fed fountain (Fonte Phoenix) in the area. Following outbreaks of disease in Old Goa in the early 1800s, the Portuguese colonial administration relocated its headquarters to nearby Panjim, and Fontainhas developed into the residential quarter for Portuguese officials, filling with the pastel-colored, tile-roofed houses that survive today. UNESCO designated it a Heritage Zone in 1984, and it remains one of the few neighborhoods in India where Portuguese is still spoken by older residents.
