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Lisbon
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Most
museums are closed on Monday and some on Sunday and Monday. General
hours are 10:00 to 17:00 but check locally, as many of the less
popular museums are open on limited schedules. |
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Most of the attractions in Belém are
closed on Mondays, some public holidays and operate on a 10:00 to 17:00
schedule for the rest of the week, although they usually remain open later in
summer. Check locally to ensure the schedule of any attraction on your
list.
Belém
This is the area of Lisbon that is associated with the Age of
Discoveries and the Portuguese navigators. Although the major
attractions are among the best in Lisbon, you should take some time to
examine the neighborhood, as it has a different flavor than other parts of
Lisbon.
The Discoveries
Monument (Descobrimentos) marks the location of the embarkation point for
many of the voyages undertaken by the Portuguese navigators. The monument is
stunning and highly detailed. It includes sculptures of Vasco da Gama,
Magellan, Cabal and others, but it is Henry the Navigator who stands at the
prow of the ship (the monument is a 170 foot high slab sculpted to resemble
a tri-masted sailing ship). The monument was dedicated in 1960 for the 500th
anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator.
To the west of the Discoveries Monument is the Belém Tower (Torre de Belém),
built in the early 16th century to guard Lisbon’s harbor. During
the past few decades, the Tower has become known as an international symbol representing
Lisbon. The Torre was constructed on an island in the
harbor. Due to silting in the river’s channel, The Belém Tower now abuts the
shore. The building is beautiful, small and unlikely to
have provided any real protection from invading brigands with heavily armed
ships. The Belém tower is ornately decorated and considered a monument to the Manueline style of architecture. (Manueline is an ornate style of
architecture is named after the Portuguese King Manuel 1st and combines
Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Flemish and Islamic design concepts.)
It is hard to imagine the first two monuments in Belém being topped by
another related to the Age of Discoveries, but the Jerónimos Monastery (Mosteiro
dos Jerónimos) trumps them. The monastery and church were constructed during
the 16th and 17th centuries to commemorate the voyages of Vasco da Gama
(whose tomb is to the left when one enters the church, although there is
some debate about whose bones are in the tomb). Priest and brothers from the
Order of St. Jerome were responsible for the church and monastery, as well
as tending to the religious needs of the many seafarers who arrived at and
departed from Lisbon at the docks of Belém.
Jerónimos is stunning from the outside and is noted for surviving the
earthquake of 1755. The exterior of Jerónimos is richly decorated and
another impressive example of the Manueline style of architecture. One
interesting aspect of the interior of the church (Santa Maria de Belém) is
its vaulted roof, which crosses approximately 100’ in a single span.
Do not miss a chance to tour the Cloisters of the Jerónimos Monastery. This
is a large cloister that incorporates two stories and is has numerous unusual details.
The decorative aspects of the Cloisters, especially around the pillars and
arches are both whimsical and informative. The design variations are
pleasing and intriguing.
Be sure to visit the Refectory, which features an
impressive vaulted ceiling. In addition, in this room, the tiled panels
depicting stories from the New and Old Testament are striking. Although many
critics claim that the Cloisters were overly decorated, they are what they
are and serve to preserve a remarkable and heady period in Portugal’s
history.
The Cloisters are currently undergoing renovation and all areas may not be
available to visitors. The surface cleaning project has returned much of the stone to its
original condition and the walls of the Cloister facing the garden now look even
more beautiful.
See
this
site for
detailed information on the Jerónimos Monastery and details on visiting.
The western section of the
Monastery now houses a Maritime Museum (Museu de Marinha) featuring a large collection of model
boats, particularly ships from the Age of Discoveries. In addition, the museum has a fine astrolabe collection and
numerous, gaudy ceremonial barges. Unless you have a lot of time, a love of
boats and a keen interest about the Age of Discoveries, you may want to
consider skipping this museum. The museum is open Tuesday through
Friday. For more information, visit this
site.
To the east of the Monastery, the Museu Nacional dos Coches
(open Tuesday through Sunday) is located at the Praça Afonso de Albuquerque. The National Coach Museum features horse-drawn carriages
used throughout history by various European royal families, though focused on those from
Portugal. Interestingly, this is one of the most popular museums in Lisbon
and the whole of Portugal. In addition, it is reputed to be the largest
collection of coaches in the world.
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If you will be traveling to
Portugal,
read the information you need to know about public safety, visas, crime,
driving, health care, and more in our section
Portugal:
Travel
Information |
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If you are interested in finding out more about
Portugal, its people, history, economy and geography, visit our section
Portugal
Country Facts
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Further west of Belém, the Rio Tejo merges with the Atlantic Ocean. Up the coast,
several beach areas are attractive locations for a day out of Lisbon.
Estoril is a
very nice resort area with horseracing, casinos and fine beaches. Cascais is
also an interesting town and it has retained much of its fishing village
ambiance. Cascais has many wonderful outdoor restaurants (try the sardines for a
real treat) and good shopping. Many artisans have opened shops in Cascais and we have
found it a good place to pick-up beautiful but inexpensive pottery.
One easy was to travel to Estoril and
Cascais is to take the train from the Cais do Sodré to the west of Praça do Comércio.
Pickpockets and thieves frequent this line, so keep an eye on your belongings.
A final thought - although the beaches in
this section of Portugal are inviting, if you are looking for a place to plop and watch the
water, the beaches and climate are better in the Algarve and you should head
there to catch your “sun-time”.
If you need information about another travel destination, try Googling our site or the Web
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Best Places to Visit in Portugal |
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