Jeronimos Monastery and Belem Tower

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Monastery Of The Hieronymites And Tower Of Belem In Lisbon (1983) Manueline Monuments Of The Age Of Discovery · Lisbon, Lisbon

The Jeronimos Monastery and the Belem Tower are the two great monuments of Portugal's Age of Discovery, listed together by UNESCO in 1983. King Manuel I began the monastery in 1502 at Belem, where the fleets left the Tagus, and paid for it largely with the wealth of the spice trade that followed Vasco da Gama's voyage to India. It is the masterpiece of the Manueline style: stone carved with ropes, armillary spheres, coral, sea creatures and exotic plants, on a church and a two-storey cloister of extraordinary lace-like detail. Vasco da Gama lies in the church, as does a tomb for the poet Luis de Camoes. About a kilometre west, the small Belem Tower, finished around 1520 as a river fortress, stands at the water's edge, the emblem of the city. People come for the carving, the history and the pasteis de Belem next door. The honest caveat: Belem queues badly, the cloister ticket line can take an hour, and the tower is cramped inside, with a narrow one-way stair - its outside is the point.

Praca do Imperio, Belem, Lisbon (the monastery); the tower stands about 1 km west on the Tagus shore, Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

Both monuments close on Mondays and on some public holidays (such as 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May and 25 December - confirm). Otherwise open roughly 09:30 or 10:00 to about 17:30-18:00, shorter in winter, last entry earlier - confirm. The church of the monastery is usually free but may close for Mass and weddings. The Belem Tower may be closed for works - confirm before you go. From the Baixa, take tram 15E from Praca da Figueira or Praca do Comercio (about 20-30 minutes) or the Cascais line train from Cais do Sodre to Belem (under 10 minutes). Buy cloister and tower tickets online ahead.

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