Braganza House

Welcome to the most popular tourist site in Chandor! Though a single building, it is run by two families which run two different tours in separate wings of the sprawling heritage property. The east wing is the Perreira-Braganza House while the Menzes Braganza House is in the west. Visitors have to pay twice (INR 100 per person for east and INR 150 per person for the west wing) to see the complete property. Photography inside the premises is prohibited. It is not mandatory to explore both the wings, and you could choose just one of them. As you enter the premises from the main road, just opposite the Church of Nossa Senhora de Belém, you would notice the thick garden and the marble furniture on the east side of the courtyard.

Relatively speaking, the level of maintenance of Menzes Braganza is strikingly high. What with its oyster shell windows, oriental crockery, life-size portraits on the walls, European furniture and polished wooden floors, you might feel being at the sets of a period movie. In fact, the caretaker of Menzes Braganza, possibly in her fifties, might inform you about how a popular Hindi film was shot here. She may also have stories about how expensive it is to maintain the interiors and hint for a generous donation above the usual! The tour inside is like clockwork. You are led from one room to another in a pre-determined sequence and the whole tour may be complete within 20 minutes unless you ask questions. The east wing or the Perreira-Braganza House, being part of the same building, is the same architecture but might come across as rustier and may offer a more relaxed tour. This site is open every day between 10 AM and 5:30 PM.