Private Tour Lisboa Half Day 5 Hours

Mosteiro dos Jerónimos Monuments On the banks of the Tagus is an apogee of Manueline architecture. In the spot where the Jerónimos Monastery stands today, next to the old Belém beach, was originally a small hermitage dedicated to Santa Maria that had been built by the Infante D. Henrique, in 1452. At the start of the 16th century King Manuel I’s intention to have a large monastery erected there was acknowledged by the Holy See, and which was donated to the Order of the Friars of St. Jerome. The epitome of Manueline architecture and intrinsically linked to the Discoveries, this monastery is the most remarkable Portuguese monastic ensemble of its time and one of the main European churches.

At the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, in Belém, next to Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (the Heironymite Monastery) there was a sugar cane refinery attached to a small general store. As a result of the 1820 liberal revolution, all convents and monasteries in Portugal were shut down in 1834, the clergy and labourers expelled. In an attempt at survival, someone from the monastery offered sweet pastries for sale in the shop; pastries that rapidly became known as ‘Pastéis de Belém’. At that period the area of Belém was considered far from the city of Lisbon and mainly accessed by steam-boats. At the same time, the grandeur of the monastery and the Torre de Belém (the Belém Tower) attracted visitors who soon grew used to savouring the delicious pastries originated in the monastery. In 1837, the baking of the “Pastéis de Belém”began in the buildings attached to the refinery, following the ancient ‘secret recipe` from the monastery. Passed on and known exclusively to the master confectioners who hand-crafted the pastries in the ‘secret room’, this recipe remained unchanged to the present day. In fact, the only true ‘Pasteis de Belém’ contrive, by means of a scrupulous selection of ingredients, to offer even today the flavour of the time-honoured Portuguese sweetmaking.

Torre de Belém Monuments The harmony and delicate ornamentation of the Tower of Belém suggests a finely cut jewel to all laying eyes on her. a formidable and imposing bastion defending the entrance to the Tagus and capable of combining firepower with the St Sebastian tower on the other bank of the river. Its construction was ordered by king Manuel I (1495-1521) and it was built by Francisco de Arruda between 1514 and 1521. The tower was built on a basalt island that was close to the right bank of the Tagus in front of Restelo beach. However, with the gradual change in the course of the river, the tower has ended practically swallowed up by the bank. In 1983, the Tower of Belém was classified World Heritage by UNESCO.

Padrão dos Descobrimentos Monuments The imposing Monument to the Discoveries stamps its mark on the riverside at Belém. It was designed in 1940 to commemorate the "Exposition of the Portuguese World", promoted by the Salazar government to celebrate the eighth and third centenaries of the founding and restoration of the Portuguese nation (1140 and 1640 respectively). However, it was only built in 1960 for commemorations marking 500 years since the death of Prince Henry the Navigator. Designed by architect Cottinelli Telmo, it features the work of sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida. 52 metres in height, the monument symbolises a caravel, headed by the figure of Prince Henry the Navigator followed by a cortege of 32 leading figures from the Era of the Discoveries including, for example, king Afonso V (1432-81), the driving force behind the first discoveries, Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) who discovered the maritime route to India, Pedro Álvares Cabral (1467-1520), who discovered Brazil and Fernando Magellan, who completed the circumnavigation of the globe in 1522, among others. The façade facing down to the ground takes on the form of a cross decorated by the Sword of the Order of Aviz, the main financial sponsor of the voyages.

Parque Eduardo VII Gardens, Parks and Forests The Eduardo VII Park lies in the north from Avenida da Liberdade, and offers panoramic views over the city. Originally known as Parque da Liberdade, the gardens were rechristened with the name of the British King Edward VII on his visit to Lisbon in 1903.

Rossio Square Reborn out of the wreckage of the 1755 earthquake, this lovely Lisbon square marks the northern reach of the Pombaline Downtown. It stretches out in a quadrilateral form dominated by the neo-classical harmony of the D. Maria II Theatre, built on the site of the former House of the Inquisition.

Praça do Comércio This is one of the most beautiful squares in all Europe, opening southwards onto the huge Tagus estuary. Until the era of mass aviation, this was Lisbon´s great reception hall for visitors arriving by sea even better able to enjoy its beauty from their vantage points on slowly docking vessels. It was at the dock here that the Kings and Heads of State would disembark when visiting Portugal.

Sé Catedral de Lisboa Monuments Dedicated to the Mother of God since 1147. Dedicated to the Mother of God, Lisbon Cathedral is one of the city's gems and one of the most significant monuments in the country, due to its historical, religious and artistic value. Its construction began in 1147, when the first king of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques, reconquered the city from the Moors. It was built on a Muslim mosque - which in turn, as the archaeological excavations confirmed, had been built on a previous Visigothic Christian temple.

Mirador de Senhora do Monte is located in the parish of São Vicente (Graça), in Lisbon. The belvedere develops in front of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Mount. From it you can see, to the south, the sea of ​​the Straw, the Castle of São Jorge, part of the Baixa of Lisbon and the estuary of the Tagus river, to the west, from the Bairro Alto to the Forestry Park of Monsanto and to the north , the valley of Avenida Almirante Reis. Next to this belvedere is the small old Hermitage of Our Lady of Monte (classified as Property of Public Interest), founded in 1147 and consecrated to St. Gens, bishop who second the tradition here was martyred. It was in this ancient Monte de São Gens that D. Afonso Henriques installed the camp to conquer the city. The belvedere is in the churchyard of the small hermitage and was twice refurbished in the twentieth century. Being located in the highest point of the Graça Quarter, it is one of the places with the best panoramic view of the city, especially on the Mouraria and the Castle of São Jorge

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