A guide to visiting the Jerónimos Monastery – in Lisbon Portugal

The Jerónimos Monastery is one of Lisbon’s most popular attractions. This UNESCO World Heritage site is set facing the River Tagus in the attractive neighborhood of Belém.

I’d recommend spending half a day in Lisbon visiting the Jerónimos Monastery. Then take in the other things of interest in the neighborhood of Belém such as the Monument to the Discoveries and Tower of Belém.

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How to get to the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon

To get to the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, we made our way by Metro to Cais do Sodré and then outside the station. Then we found the tram stop for the No 15E tram, which will take you in 15-20 minutes right opposite the Monastery of Jerónimos.

The journey’s a pleasant one, as you run parallel with the waterfront. You’ll get glimpses of the River Tagus between the warehouses, many now converted into shops, restaurants and museums.

There were quite a few tourists on the tram. I expect in high season it would be packed, so keep an eye on your valuables.

What to see in the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon

It’s pretty difficult to miss the Jerónimos Monastery when you arrive, with its ornately carved stone frontage. Just follow the crowds to the entrance as this is one of Lisbon’s premier tourist attractions. To enter the church (more like a cathedral), you turn right at the entrance and into the enormous, vaulted nave.

On left and right you’ll find the tombs of Vasco da Gama, the famous Portuguese Explorer. de Gama established a trade route to India in the 15th century. His contemporary, the writer Luís Vaz de Camões, chronicled his voyages.

The monastery was founded by Henry the Navigator in 1450 and was developed in thanks for these successful explorations from Lisbon. These expeditions established trade routes to the East and brought back wealth to Portugal and Lisbon.

The monastery is known as a fine example of the Manueline style after King Manuel I. It’s characterized by the richly detailed stone carving and Gothic, Italian and Spanish influences.

There are plenty of interesting and beautiful altars and niches to admire, and intricately carved columns that soar up to the ceiling.

Visit the cloisters of the Jerónimos Monastery

Once you’ve seen the main church, you can decide if you want to buy a ticket for the monastery cloisters. This enables you to see the upper level choir of the church and see an interesting exhibition about the development of the monastery over the centuries.

There’s also a large open refectory on the ground floor. The double level cloisters were beautiful, with a central grassy area. The rain made it all a bit cold and damp for us, although on a hot summer’s day it would be wonderfully cool and shaded.

Other things to visit in Belem

Once you’ve completed your visit to the monastery, you can explore some of the other attractions of Belem that are close to the monastery. If you head from the monastery directly towards the river, you’ll find the Padrão dos Descobrimentos or Monument to the Discoveries. This may be one of the most famous and photographed sculptures in all of Portugal.

You’ll recognize it instantly when you see it. The group of figures, lead by Henry the Navigator, as if on the prow of a boat, gaze out from the shore towards the River Tagus and the oceans beyond.

The Monument was erected in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. Behind him are the figures of other explorers, artists and missionaries.

Take a look at the open paved area in front of the monument, where you can see on the map of the world. See the destinations reached by these explorers from Lisbon and the dates they arrived there.

Not far along the shore, and within sight of the monument, you’ll find the Tower of Belem. Unfortunately, as it was a wet and windy day, we weren’t feeling inclined to get even more soaked by going along the waterfront to see the tower.

Taste the pastries in Pasteis de Belem

Instead we walked back along the road that the tram had brought us. We made the obligatory visit to buy some of those delicious, vanilla and cinnamon custard tarts, known as Pasteis de Nata.

But, here they are known as Pasteis de Belem, after the famous bakery. You’ll spot the place by the dark blue blinds and the crowds of people in the doorway, queuing to buy some of the famous Pasteis.

We noticed a sign saying that there was seating available, and so we made our way into the warren of rooms, leading one from another. We reached the largest room, where we found some free tables. I thought it was very pleasant and not overpriced for such a tourist spot – I think our coffees and Pasteis were around €5.

However, I suspect that on a weekend in summer it could be a nightmare – on the busiest days they sell up to 50,000 of those little tarts. In summer I’d buy mine and sit in the shaded park that’s between the monastery and the river to eat them.

If you have more time and better weather than we did, you can also explore the tropical gardens and the Palacio de Belem in the same neighborhood. It’s an area that I’d have loved to have explored more fully, especially when the sun’s shining.

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Pasteis de Belem in Lisbon – the delicious taste of Portugal
Review of Hotel Heritage Av. Liberdade in Lisbon Portugal
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Plan your trip to Lisbon

Jerónimos Monastery website | Open 10.30am – 5pm | Tickets €10

Visit Lisboa – Official Tourism Website

Go Lisbon Blog – I found lots of useful articles on things to do in Lisbon

On this trip I used the DK Eyewitness Top 10 Lisbon Pocket Travel Guide which is a pocket sized guide that’s ideal for sightseeing if you’re there for a short time.

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