Belém is a freguesia (parish) of Lisbon on the western end of the city and is a short train or Tuk Tuk or boat ride away from the heart of the city. We’ve visited several times over our years in Portugal and would suggest it as a one-day outing on a trip to visit Lisbon. After climbing the hills, listening to Fado, riding the cable cars, tracing the path of destruction of the 1755 earthquake and getting lost in Alfama, Belém is a nice, chill break from the action.
Here’s a rundown of things to do on a day out in Belém:
1. Visit the Monastery of Jerónimos. The monastery and church were built in the 16th century using funds from the taxes on the Portuguese riches collected on journeys to India. It was built on the site where Vasco da Gama, who found the sea route to India and was the first to successfully navigate the Cape of Good Hope, linking Europe to Asia by ocean, prayed with his crew before departing Portugal.
In the church itself, the pillars and columns are slightly reminiscent of those in the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. Tall, magnificent and ornately carved they blend into the ceilings where light trickles down from the few windows above. Vasco da Gama is entombed here, as is the poet Luis de Camões who wrote of da Gama and the Portuguese explorers’ adventures in the poem The Lusíads. Admission to the church is free but expect a line during peak tourist times or on weekends.
The monastery is European Gothic built in the Manueline style (“a Portuguese style of depicting sculptural details and maritime motifs”) to celebrate the “Discoveries”, which were the quests to the east made by Portuguese sailors of the day. The Hieronymites (the Order of Saint Jerome), whose spiritual purpose was to give guidance to sailors, populated the monastery. The architecture is spectacular and worth a stroll through for the €10 adult admission price (also covered if you have the Lisbon card).
2. River Walk. A quick stroll through the Jardim do Praça Império directly in front of the monastery, will bring you to a subterranean passageway which deposits you on the banks of the Tejo (Tagus in English, which is the Latin name) river. While you’re still basking in all things navigational, stop at the Monument to the Discoveries (you can climb to the top for a fee and a view). Henry the Navigator (who was not really much of a sailor nor a navigator but was influential in the Portuguese age of discoveries and in building lighter ships which could sail faster and for longer distances) is depicted on the prow of the ship. On the sides of the monument, to his east are the great explorers of Portugal and to the west are those who supported the “discoveries”.
Stroll up the river and grab a bite at one of the restaurants or food trucks and stop in at the Tower of Belém. Adorned in Manueline-style ropes and knots with Moorish battlements, the Tower once protected Lisbon and the Tagus entryway with its sister tower across the water and forts and towers up the coast. Now, it’s a popular tourist site which attracts, not repels, visitors and foreigners.
3. A River cruise. Now that we’ve boned up on Portuguese navigational history, it’s time to hit the water. Catch a sunset cruise (or a daytime one) and sail past the monuments, down towards Lisbon proper under the Ponte de 25 de Abril bridge (which looks like San Francisco’s Golden Gate) and past the watchful eye of the Christ the King statue on the Almada side of the river, which was modeled after the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro (the Portuguese sailors on your boat will likely tell you that this one is taller). We prefer a sunset cruise, which would be a nice way to end your day in Belém. When we go, which we often do when we have visitors, we use these guys.
4. National Museum of Coaches. Back on terra firma, it’s time to check out some modes of land transport. We had this museum on our list for our very first visit to Lisbon in 2018 but we didn’t make it to Belem that time. Sadly, it took us 5 years to finally get here. I’d read somewhere that it is Lisbon’s most visited museum. Despite the sparse crowd on a beautiful Friday afternoon as evidence to the contrary, if it isn’t, it should be. It’s fantastic. You can view horse drawn (and some people drawn) coaches through the years, including those of Portuguese royalty, a coach for prisoners, a coach for carrying sick people (not a lot of ventilation), a mail coach and everything in between. Be sure to read the placards with interesting little tidbits about the decorations and carriage uses.
Our favorites were the Table Coach which was used to make a trade of princesses at Elvas on the Spanish border when a Portuguese princess was carried east to marry a Spanish prince and a Spanish princess was carried west to marry a Portuguese one, the Coach of the Oceans depicting the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian oceans with two golden old men representing the oceans shaking hands, and Lisbon’s first rental car, but there’s so much to observe and love in this museum.
4. Pastéis de Belém. If you haven’t yet tried a pastel de nata (pastéis is the plural of pastel) on your visit to Lisbon, this is a good place to try one. The distinctive, delicious, creamy Portuguese pastry was invented here as a mode of survival after the monasteries and convents in Portugal were shut down during the 1820 liberal revolution.
Look for the blue awning and the long line. Not being line people, we haven’t actually had a pastel here yet (you can get them in any pastelaria, though that statement is probably some kind of sacrilege which could land me in the Portuguese penalty box), but if an Instagram post opportunity is up your alley, this is very much a Lisbon highlight.
5. Changing of the guard. If you happen to be in Lisbon on the third Sunday morning of the month, they change the guard at the National Palace here in Belém at 11am. We checked it out as one of our last acts before returning to the USA pre-COVID (had we only known…) in January of 2020. It is very cool and worth checking out.
If you want more info about planning a visit to Belem, this is a good site with lots of details on the locations referenced here, and others, including how to get to Belem and information on tickets to the sites.
Sources:
https://www.golisbon.com/sight-seeing/jeronimos.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerónimos_Monastery
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasco_da_Gama
https://lisbonlisboaportugal.com/amp/padrao-descobrimentos-amp.html
https://www.lisboa.net/mosteiro-jeronimos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Henry_the_Navigator
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