In love with a neighborhood in Lisbon: Belem

Nice to greet you,

Have you ever felt love for a place and can't explain why?

This is the second time I am in Lisbon in my life, but this time the stay has been only for 48 hours, so after work I decided to visit one of the neighborhoods that captivated me in my first stay in Lisbon in July, which is the Lisbon neighborhood of Belem.

Unlike the previous time I was in Lisbon, this time I was accompanied by a colleague of mine who is mentoring me in the profession of giving training courses in analytical laboratories, so that I also acted as a tour guide for this neighborhood of Lisbon.

After leaving work and knowing that we would not have time to visit the city, the next day I convinced my colleague to go to the district of Belém to visit the places that I had liked the most on my previous visit.

Belem Tower

After parking our car in the vicinity of the garden of the tower of Bethlehem as it could not be otherwise, we went to the vicinity of the famous tower, which is located on the banks of the Tagus River and in which, as is traditional, crowds of tourists were concentrated taking pictures.

The beauty of this tower was once an important point of defense of the city and later served as a lighthouse and also as a tax collection center and even as a prison. It is not surprising that it has had so many uses being a building that was built in the sixteenth century.

Unlike the previous visit I made in July, this time I had much more time to visit the place, I realized that in the vicinity there is a miniature replica that gives an idea of the interior of the esplanade at one end of the tower.

On the other hand, as happened to me in July, I arrived at the tower when it was no longer possible to get tickets to visit its interior, so it remains on my agenda of things to do before I die to visit the interior of this emblematic place.

Combatants' Museum

When I was photographing the Bethlehem tower, in the surrounding gardens, I came across an artillery cannon.

This cannon reminded me that nearby there is a military museum that honors those fighters who once defended the Portuguese nation.

In turn, near the entrance to the museum, which to my regret was closed, there is a large monument that honors all those Portuguese fighters who defended the Portuguese nation overseas.

Inside this enclosure I was very struck by a kind of sanctuary where there was a constant fire watching over the monument.

And unfortunately also called my attention the multitude of names on the walls of the enclosure of the various combatants (Descansens in peace).

Sacadura Cabral and Gago Coutinho Monument

When I intended to walk to the vicinity of the monument of the discoveries that is located about 300 meters from the tower of Bethlehem, I came across a full-scale replica of a seaplane. Specifically, it is a full-scale replica of the seaplane that allowed Sacadura Cabral and Gago Coutinho in 1922 to make the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic.

Monument of the Discoveries and Belen Lighthouse.

After a brief stop at one of the bars in the area to refresh our thirsty throats with a Portuguese beer, my co-worker and I continued our visit to the area by walking along the promenade next to the Tagus River that took us to the vicinity of the monument of the discoveries and the old lighthouse of Belem.

This monument, last year, fascinated me very much to see that in a sculpture of such large dimensions were collected all the historical figures involved in the overseas discoveries.

On this occasion, unlike last year I had my new camera with a wider angle, I was able to take a picture where you can see the infant Don Enrique with his caravel in hand looking at the horizon towards the 25th of April bridge and the shrine of Christ the King at the other end of the Tagus River.

Afterwards, we went to the square that gives access to the monument of the discoveries, where a large world map details the various Portuguese expeditions to the new world.

And from this place, with the help of other Spanish tourists, we took a photo immortalizing our presence in such a beautiful place.

We go to dinner

After this visit to the part of the Belén neighborhood, near the river, we decided to go to the Belén area, near the Jerónimos monastery.

There, we looked for a restaurant that had some typical Portuguese cuisine and we were able to enjoy a delicious cod with cream like the one I show below accompanied by a typical Portuguese Super Bock beer.

Belen Cakes

After dinner we went for a walk around the area before heading back to the hotel and stopped for a moment at the traditional pastry shop of the Belen cakes.

These cream cakes are exquisite. However, because the dinner was really copious, we did not try to eat one of these delicious cakes that I love so much.

Jerónimos Monastery

The end of our visit before going to the hotel was to visit the outer area of the monastery complex of the Jeronimos.

This complex at first glance is divided into a first part that forms the church of Santa Maria de Belen, which is the building whose stone has a whiter color and has a large dome.

On the other hand, you can see that illuminated with a yellowish light is another part of the building that is dedicated to the monastery itself.

However, part of the building is in turn, as you can see in the central part, the national museum of archeology.

And at the opposite end of the building to the church of Santa Maria is the museum of the navy.

In short, this night visit to the entire complex is a real treat for the eyes and only reaffirms my love for this district of the city of Lisbon.

I hope you like this visit to such a beautiful neighborhood.

Best regards