The ancient Hindu city of Goa, of which hardly a fragment survives, was built at the southernmost point of the island, and it was famous in early Hindu legend and history. In the Puranas and certain inscriptions, the name of the place appears as Gove, Govapuri, and Gomant. It has also been known as Aprant. The medieval Arabian geographers knew it as Sindabur, or Sandabur, and the Portuguese as Goa. When the capital was transferred to "Nova Goa" or New Goa (today's Panaji), the old capital came to be known as "Velha Goa" or Old Goa.

The region still retains many features from the period of Portuguese rule, including Catholic churches. A majority of these churches were built on top of Hindu temples that were razed during the inquisition of Goa in the 16th century. Few artifacts remain from those ancient temples, the most famous being the headless "Nandi" bull of the preexisting Shiva temple, located in Chandor.

The local language is Konkani, an Indo-Aryan language related to Marathi. It is spoken by 1.5 to 2 million people in Goa and the Konkan coast. Few Goans speak Portuguese now (3 to 5%), although the language lives on in place names and some family names. English is the most widely spoken foreign language, and shops in tourist areas invariably have signs in English. Some shops also have signs in Hebrew or Finnish.[citation needed].