|
Lisbon
|
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. |
|
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 of
Belém, 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) is the crown jewel of
Belém.
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 associated with the
Monastery (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, we found them to be
beautiful and feel that they serve to preserve a remarkable and heady period in Portugal’s
history.
The Cloisters have been renovated recently and the
the surface cleaning project has returned much of the stone to its
original condition. The walls of the Cloister facing the garden now look
more beautiful than ever.
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, representing many boats, but 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. On the other hand, the museum has
a 17th century terrestrial globe by Blaeu that is extraordinary. The museum is open Tuesday through
Friday. For more information, visit this
site.
(Use Google Translator as the site is in Portuguese.)
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.
|
 |
|
|
|
Further west of Belém, the Rio Tejo merges with the Atlantic Ocean. To the
north, there are several attractive locations for a daytrip from Lisbon.
Estoril is a
splendid resort area that adds horseracing, and a casino to its fine beaches.
Cascais, a little further north, has retained much of its fishing village
ambiance, although modernization is slowly turning the town into a tourism
center. Cascais has several wonderful outdoor restaurants that serve authentic
Portuguese meals (try the sardines for a
real treat) and good shopping. Numerous artisans have opened shops in Cascais and we have
found it a good place to pick-up beautiful but relatively 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 in Lisbon. Pickpockets and
petty-theft are said to be common on this line, so keep an
eye on your belongings if you choose to ride the rails.
Two other exciting attractions not
too far from Lisbon are Sintra and Queluz, hallmarks of the royal life in
Portugal's past. For more details on the attractions see
this
section our recommendations for the best places to visit in Portugal.
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 Portugal's
Algarve and
we recommend a stop here if you are serious about your “sun-time”.
If you need information about another travel destination, try
our
Destination Guide Index
or Googling ThereArePlaces.
|
Best Places to Visit in Portugal |
