There are many neighborhoods in Lisbon that have sites of particular interest and Belém is certainly one of them. Lisbon is a port city and during the height of Portugal’s history when many explorers left Portugal from the ports of Belém to discover routes throughout the world. During that time, often referred to as the Age of Discoveries, ships would depart from the Tagus River and out to the Atlantic Ocean to either go south towards Africa or west to the Americas. Of the many sites to see in Belém, the Tower of Belém and the Monument of the Discoveries on the shore of the Tagus River are certainly among them.
The Tower of Belém was actually originally built on an island in the middle of the Tagus River, but after the earthquake of 1755, the river was diverted, and the tower now sits on the shoreline of the river. Depending on the tide, the tower is either surrounded by water or sand and during our visit the tide was out and people were able to walk around the base of the tower. It was built as a fortification and is the ceremonial gateway to Lisbon and is considered a symbol of Portugal’s prominence and power during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Not far from the tower is the Monument of the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos), which is a popular spot for tourists to take photographs on the shore of the river. Built in 1939 and opening in 1940, the monument also celebrates the Age of Discovery when Portuguese ships and explorers left to trade with Asia. The monument depicts a ship with all of the various explorers looking forward towards the bow of the ship as it sails forward to explore the world.
There are several places to visit when spending time in Belém and these two are literally the tip of the iceberg, but they are definitely worthwhile even if just to enjoy a nice walk along the river. We had just landed in Lisbon about three hours before taking a car from our hotel to visit Belém, which was a perfect way to start our time in Lisbon. There was a long queue to enter the tower, so we decided just to walk around the outside, although it was definitely impressive even just from the outside. We spent about four hours in Belém on our first day, but we did return for a second day later during our stay.
