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Historic sites

Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon

Portugal Lisbon Lisbon

Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon
Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Two masterpieces of the ornate Manueline style, built when Portugal's explorers sailed the world, and together a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Jerónimos Monastery has a magnificent cloister and the tomb of Vasco da Gama. The Belém Tower, a fortress on the Tagus, guarded the entrance to Lisbon's harbour.


Book tickets online; the monastery is closed on Mondays. Nearby, the Monument to the Discoveries and the MAAT museum are worth a look. Don't miss the custard tarts at the Pastéis de Belém bakery next door, made there since 1837.

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