Belém

We found it so nice, we went to it twice.

Along transit route 15E, heading west, is the neighbourhood of Belém. It is the area of Portugal's capital that is long regarded as the landmark for the last part of Lisbon that a sailor would see, as he sailed to lands unknown, or as the first sign that he had finally returned home.

It is a testament to the riches that were amassed from the famous Spice Route, where the massive monastery of Jerónimos was built thanks to the taxes that were levied on merchant ships. It is home to the world-famous treat, Pastéis de Belém. And, as mentioned, the Torre de Belém bid sailors a bon voyage and welcomed them home.

DW and I started our Tuesday at the Praça do Comércio, in the heart of Lisbon. Our first mission was to pick up the Lisboa Card that we had ordered, online, from the tourist information centre in the plaza. From there, we hopped on the modern tram 15E, heading west, and got off between the Pastéis de Belém café and Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. The Lisboa Card, which is good for 48 hours, lets us take the tram for free.

Our first destination in Belém was the café. DW had already had one cup of coffee, but because I now limit my caffeine intake, I was saving up for this spot.

In business and family run since 1837, this shop makes the original pastel de nata, or custard tarts, and is the only place that is allowed to call them Pastéis de Belém. We had heard that the queue for takeaway was always long, but on this day, the line to get in to sit was even longer. We had also noticed that the lineup for the monastery was also getting long, so we took our coffee and pastries to go and had them in the queue for Jerónimos.

Those tarts are the best that I have ever eaten. Not too sweet, creamy, with a velvety vanilla flavour, and the crackle in the pastry, with how flaky it is, cannot be beaten.

I ate two and two was not enough.

The cloister of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos is exquisite, with its intricate stone masonry. It took us nearly an hour, waiting in the sunshine, to get in, but it was worth the wait. We chatted with an elderly British couple and the time went quickly.

The church is also beautiful, but I sometimes feel that once you've seen a Medieval church, you've seen them all. the one difference in this church is that you can see the tombs of Portugal's greats: Luís de Camões, Portugal's greatest poet; and Vasco de Gama, the Portuguese great explorer.

The Lisboa Card allowed us to see the monastery and church for free. We also visited the Maritime Museum, at a discount, and the exhibit is also well worth the fee.

After lunch, we walked to the Coach Museum (also free with the Lisbon Card), and that too is well worth a visit. The exhibit houses royal coaches and other transportation from the 17th century to the early 20th century.

By the time we had visited these sites, we were pretty tired. I also was hoping to capture the Torre de Belém at sunset and blue hour, and that wait would be too long, so DW and I vowed to return the next day. We headed back to the downtown centre for the evening, where we had dinner and went up to the castle to watch the sunset.

On Wednesday, after spending most of the day in Lisbon, we took a train back to Belém and headed straight for the tower, hoping to be on the top in time for golden hour. Unfortunately, our travel book had the wrong hours listed and we had just missed the last admission. The ticket office closes at 5 and the last admittance is at 5:30. (Our Lisboa Cards would have admitted us for free but it was not to be.)

We took some photos but then rushed to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, or Monument to the Discoveries. We feared that we would have the same problem there, as I wanted to climb to the top as well.

Fortunately, as described in our tour book, it closes at 7. We bought our tickets (at a discount) and took an elevator up six flights, and then climbed the remaining stairs to a commanding view of Belém.

Back below, we returned to Belém Tower for sunset and blue hour. I had envisioned taking pictures at this time of day since we had first planned our vacation.

It did not disappoint.

It took two visits to see everything we wanted in Belém but this famous neighbourhood is a must-see spot for anyone who visits Lisbon.

Our next stop is a day trip to Sintra. Stay tuned.