Pieces of Portugal – Part 3 – Belem and Beyond

Our next set of Portuguese adventures took us to Belem, another district of Lisboa. Belém is a historic, riverside district in western Lisbon, Portugal, renowned for its UNESCO World Heritage sites, Manueline architecture, and maritime history. It is home to iconic landmarks like the Jerónimos Monastery, Belém Tower, and Padrão dos Descobrimentos. Located about 6km from downtown Lisbon, it’s famous for the Pastéis de Belém custard tarts. We hit all these hot spots and more too.

The first thing we did after getting off the bus was to try the world famous Pasteis de Belem. They are very similar to pasteis de nata, but they are made with a “secret” recipe from the monks at the Jerónimos Monastery that has been trademarked by the restaurant. If they are NOT made here, they can not be called pasteis de Belem, therefore the name they are most commonly known as, pasteis de nata. They are all very good, and the differences are very subtle. But as our guide Bruno said, you have to try them many times before you discover which ones are the best. 🙂 Pasteis de Belem have been made with the same secret recipe since 1837.

This was our breakfast. Larry also tried one of the famous grilled ham & cheese sandwiches that was recommended from some of the videos we watched.

This is the famous restaurant for the Pasteis de Belem. It looks small from the front, but it is actually a very large restaurant with a nice courtyard in the back.

It was decorated with a lot of the azuljelos inside.

After finishing breakfast, we had a little time to stroll around before meeting up with our tour guide Luigi. Luigi took us all around the Belem area and gave us the history. Like Bruno, Luigi was very knowledgeable and informative. We learned so much.

One of the things we wanted to do was go into the cathedral, but it was closed to the public for repairs. It’s HUGE. It covered the whole block.

Here are some of the exterior details. This style is called Manueline. It is a combination of different styles of architecture. It is very prevalent all over Belem and Lisboa.

Before meeting up with Luigi, we strolled through the palace gardens. They were beautifully manicured and well cared for.

All around the gardens were the crests of all the Portuguese kingdoms before they were joined together to make one country. They were beautiful. Here are just a few.

From the park, we could see the Prime Minister or President’s Palace. Portugal has both a Prime Minister and a President. I don’t know which one resides there, but he is obviously a very important Head of State. We knew he was there because of the heavily armed security who were also present. When the President/Prime Minister is not there, there is still security, but not the heavily armed security.

After leaving the gardens, we went to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos or the Monument to the Discoveries. This map of the world shows all the routes to places under Portuguese influence.

And the Padrão dos Descobrimentos. It is the story of everyone who supported the Portuguese explorations. Portugal and the Portuguese navigators are responsible for the discoveries of many parts of the world as we know it today.

We had a semi private tour with Luigi and just one other person.

Do these remind you of famous pieces from other parts of the world? They should. This is a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge, in San Francisco, made by the same people and the same materials.

This big statue of Christ looking over the city is very similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro.

Being right by the sea, of course there are going to be boats and marinas all around too.

Our tour with Luigi ended at the Belem Tower. We couldn’t go in, because once again, it was being repaired and restored.

Our tour with Luigi may have ended here, but Larry and I still had a very full day and went off to explore many other areas on our own. I will go into more details of those other places and things later, but I will end this “tour” with Jerónimos Monastery, which we did on our own, but it was still in the area.

The monks and religious leaders were surrounded by luxury just as much as the kings were.

This is one of the ceilings.

We bought the Lisbon Cards that got us into a lot of the museums, tours and sites for free. If you are going to Portugal, I highly recommend worth the price you pay for them.

We did a lot more this day, but it will be information overload if I give it to you all in one blog. Trust me, I have a plethora of good stuff to share. I want to keep you interested, and not overwhelm you, so I am giving it to you in smaller increments. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. It’s not about the destination, but the journey. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.