The Age of Discoveries

Monument to the Discoveries

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Attraction | "Henry The Navigator Leads The Way..."

Standing On The Edge Of Europe Photo - Monument to the Discoveries, Lisbon, Portugal

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Belém, to the west of the city centre, is where the mouth of the Rio Tejo opens out into the Atlantic. This was were the safe waters of Portugal ended and the dangers of the ocean began. It was from here that Portugal’s explorers set out in search of wealth and glory. This wealth and glory could only come by braving the Atlantic; a frequently hostile Spain controlled access to the Mediterranean, and much of that sea’s trade was dominated by the Venetians. Portugal could only look outside Europe for opportunities.One of the prime movers in this was Prince Henry the Navigator,...Read More

Belém, to the west of the city centre, is where the mouth of the Rio Tejo opens out into the Atlantic. This was were the safe waters of Portugal ended and the dangers of the ocean began. It was from here that Portugal’s explorers set out in search of wealth and glory. This wealth and glory could only come by braving the Atlantic; a frequently hostile Spain controlled access to the Mediterranean, and much of that sea’s trade was dominated by the Venetians. Portugal could only look outside Europe for opportunities.

One of the prime movers in this was Prince Henry the Navigator, son of Dom Joao I and Philippa of Lancaster, who cultivated cartographers and sponsored expeditions. Under his instruction explorers discovered and colonised Madeira, the Azores, and the Cape Verde islands. European explorers passed Cape Bojador (now in Western Sahara) for the first time since antiquity; by Henry’s death they had reached what is now Sierra Leone, theryby bypassing Arab control of the trans-Saharan trade routes. In 1434 the Portuguese passed Cape Bojador. By 1462 they had reached Sierra Leone. In 1490 Bartolomeu Diaz passed the Cape of Good Hope, thereby proving that Africa could be circumnavigated. In 1498 Vasco da Gama reached India. In 64 years first hand knowledge of the extra-European world had more than doubled due to Portuguese explorers. This was a revelation in knowledge and exploration that really can only be compared to the twentieth century discovery of flight and rocketry, where only 59 years separates Orville Wright’s first flight and Yuri Gagarin’s trip into space.

In 1960 the Padrão dos Descobrimentos was opened by the Salazar regime in Belém to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. It is that very rarest of things – a piece of monumental public sculpture commissioned by a dictatorship that I actually quite like (dictators generally tend to have quite appalling artistic taste in my experience).

In form it is a 52m tall slab of pale grey concrete jutting out south over the waterfront. It is stylized on the sides to represent the prow of a sailship. A parade of several dozen key individuals – the descobrimentos (‘discoverers’ or explorers) stare far-sightedly ahead. Their numbers include explorers like Diaz, Vasco da Gama, Cabral (who dsicovered Brazil in 1500) and Ferdinand Magellan (the first captain to have circumnavigated the globe by 1522), royals like Philippa and Afonso V, the missionary St Francis Xavier, the poet Luis de Camões, and a plethora of cartographers and navigators. At their head stands the be-hatted Henry, a model of a ship in his hands. It is all suitably heroic but there is a lovely sense of urgency and drive to the characterful depictions.

To its north there is a vast mosaic depiction of a wind rose with a map of the world at its centre. The map is inscribed with dates signifying when they were reached by the Portuguese.

You can actually pay for access to the monument (around €2.50 if I remember correctly). This gives access to a small museum about Lisbon and a lift to the top offering views of the Belém area and the Tagus estuary. We didn’t actually go in though.

It is hard to miss this massive monument – I could glimpse it from the Castelo all the way across Lisbon, and I was able to spot it from the plane as it came in for landing. I think it makes a fine landmark, summarising the details of Portugal’s maritime explorations in 50s concrete. And Belém is the obvious place for it to stand because most of these expedidtions started out from here.

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Member Rating 3 out of 5 on May 11, 2010

Monument to the Discoveries
River Tagus
Lisbon, Portugal

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Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (Jeronimos Monastery)

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Attraction | "Monks, Monarchs and Mariners"

Mosteiro dos Jeronimos Photo - Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (Jeronimos Monastery), Lisbon, Portugal

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The Monastery of the Hieronymites (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) was where Vasco da Gama and his men spent their last night in prayer before they sailed off on their expedition to find a route to India. When they came back laden with treasure (peppercorns, since you ask – enough to cover the cost of the expedition six times over) King Manuel I ("the Fortunate") decided to completely make over the monastery in thanks.Work on the monastery and the nearby Tower of Belém was carried out in the brief efflorescence of a distinctly Portuguese architectural scheme known – after the monarch – as Manueline. This was an ornate take on late Gothic architecture with influences of Spanish...Read More

The Monastery of the Hieronymites (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) was where Vasco da Gama and his men spent their last night in prayer before they sailed off on their expedition to find a route to India. When they came back laden with treasure (peppercorns, since you ask – enough to cover the cost of the expedition six times over) King Manuel I ("the Fortunate") decided to completely make over the monastery in thanks.

Work on the monastery and the nearby Tower of Belém was carried out in the brief efflorescence of a distinctly Portuguese architectural scheme known – after the monarch – as Manueline. This was an ornate take on late Gothic architecture with influences of Spanish plateresque (sculpting the stone to make it resemble ornate silverware). Every inch was overly styled and carved, with recurrent nautical and monarchical themes.

As such it is impossible to miss. This is useful for those coming out to Belém by tram (Tram 15, €1.40 each way: you can pay onboard as long as you have coins rather than notes). While it might be possible to get off the tram too early it really is unlikely you will get off too late – the tram pulls up right alongside the massive monastery complex. It is a towering wall of white limestone blocks, with a crazily ornate portal facing you, a decorated doorway dripping with statuettes, niches and pinnacles. From a distance it looks the door is encrusted with coral. The roofline is marked by a doily-like strip of spikes. I can only assume that the stonemasons were paid by the day. Why else would they have gone to quite so much trouble to encrust pillars with quite so much vegetal decoration, so many saints, heroes, angelic choirs and fantastical creatures. Moving around to the main western entrance, that two-storey-tall doorway too is equally ornate.

Inside the themes continue. Much like the Sé the interior is lofty and seemingly plain. The high columns soaring to the ceiling however were twisted spirals. Rich stained glass windows paraded down the southern wall. Two fine (19th century) tombs lay either side of the aisle. To the left that of Vasco da Gama, the daring (and ruthless) sea captain who opened up India to Portuguese trade. To the right Luis de Camões, the poet whose epic Lusiad charted the Discoveries and glorified the kingdom. A suitably inspirational air was provided by a string quartet and soprano. I think they were only there to prepare foir a wedding later, but the touch of magic they provided to our visit really was the icing on the cake. The Monastery authorities should think about employing them full-time.

Entry to the grand church is free. Entry to the cloisters is €6 and really should be considered (a combined ticket for both cloisters and Torre de Belem is €8 and can be bought here). The cloisters are similarly decorated, all twisting ropes, depictions of ships, lions, dragons and serpents, armillary spheres, royal orbs and coats of arms. These are gorgeously light, progressing on two levels around four sides of a grassy courtyard centred on a pleasantly tinkling fountain. Possibly the best fun is to check out the gutter gargoyles, each distinctly carved to represent a different creature, including a pig, a crocodile and even a grasshopper. It is this playful sense of whimsy that makes a trip most memorable. With its soft light stone glowing warmly in the sun it is about as far away from my preconceptions of monastic cloisters as really it is possible to get. Quite frankly it looks like white chocolate, fresh from the mould. There is a small museum in an upstairs room, with a helpful and very detailed timeline comparing what was going on in the life of the monastery to wider developments in Portugal and the world. While I did find this interesting, and while you do get a good view down the aisle of the church from a raised gallery, I think the main fun is just strolling about the sun-dappled cloisters. We certainly spent longer here than I originally anticipated!
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on May 11, 2010

Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (Jeronimos Monastery)
Praca do Imperio
Lisbon, Portugal 1400-206
+351 (21) 3620034

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Belem Tower/Torre de Belem

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Attraction | "The Cutest Landmark In Lisbon"

Balcony View Photo - Belem Tower/Torre de Belem, Lisbon, Portugal

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The Torre de Belém is a twee little fort, a sweet dinky castle about 5m off shore. It is so beautifully ornamented, even after five centuires of exposure to the elements that I found it hard to think of it as a serious piece of fotification with a proper miltary purpose. But this is why it was created in the early 16th century, to plug a hole in the defence of the estuary – although admittedly after a century it was no longer used for that purpose (later usages include as a customes house and as a political prison).Although the Tower is now only about 5m off the harbourside it was originally 250m offshore, right out in the channel. This shows how much the Tejo estuary has silt...Read More

The Torre de Belém is a twee little fort, a sweet dinky castle about 5m off shore. It is so beautifully ornamented, even after five centuires of exposure to the elements that I found it hard to think of it as a serious piece of fotification with a proper miltary purpose. But this is why it was created in the early 16th century, to plug a hole in the defence of the estuary – although admittedly after a century it was no longer used for that purpose (later usages include as a customes house and as a political prison).

Although the Tower is now only about 5m off the harbourside it was originally 250m offshore, right out in the channel. This shows how much the Tejo estuary has silted up and been reclaimed – the Heironymites Monastery was originally right on the water’s edge. Now you can cross a walkway to reach its drawbridge without getting your feet wet.

Once across there is a main bastion with bobbly circular corner towers. Looking down into the inner court you can see the Manueline fascination with whimsical gargoyles again – look out for the monkey with the violin! There is also a four-storey tower with a delicate lacy balcony on each floor and elegant arches. The first floor has a narrow passage leading through the thick outer brickwork to a small balcony. If you crouch down here you can see the tower’s famous rhinoceros. This stubby beast is believed to be the first depiction of such a creature in European art, just slightly earlier than Dürer’s famous woodcut. In fact the model was the same one – a rhino shipped from India to Lisbon in 1515 and then sent to Rome as a gift for Pope Leo X. This was the first rhinoceros seen in Europe since the Roman era. Quite frankly, it caused a sensation. And it surprisingly charming to see a sculpture of this solitary creature, far from home, represented fondly in stone out in the mouth of the Rio Tejo.

The decoration of the fort is generally pretty noteworthy. Completed entirely within the reign of Dom Manuel II (1515-1520) it is a fine example of Manueline architecture, the pale limestone sculpted and moulded into fanciful traceries and shapes. Like at the nearby monastery regal and nautical symbols (such as the armillary sphere) recur. Perhaps most noticeable is the ‘rope’ that runs around the fortress at the first storey level – this is a braided bit of decoration finished off with a knot on its eastern flank. All-in-all it is a pretty little place, with a nice waterborne breeze, giving you a chance to get out (just about) into the rivermouth from where the great explorers set out for adventure and fame.

€8.00 buys you a combined ticket to both the Torre de Belem and the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. The Tower is closed on Mondays. Also, please note that contrary to first impressions you cannot walk straight down the dockside from the Padrão dos Descobrimentos to the Torre – you will be interrupted by the mouth of the Doca do Bom Sucesso which you will have to circumnavigate.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on May 11, 2010

Belem Tower/Torre de Belem
Avenida Da Brasilia
Lisbon, Portugal

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Antiga Confeitaria de Belem

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Restaurant | "The Famous Pasteis de Belem"

Pasteis de Belem Photo - Antiga Confeitaria de Belem, Lisbon, Portugal

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I sometimes think it mustn’t be a bad life being a monk. If you’re not busy brewing beer you get to live in some of the most beautiful buildings around – the Mosteiro de Jeronimos in Belém being a case in point. Not only did monks live and worship in this gorgeously over-the-top complex, but they also got well fed doing it. For this monastery was the home of the Pasteis de Belém. The pasteis de nata that you will see in confeitarias across Lisbon are all base upon these famous custard tarts. These were prepared solely for the delectation of the Hieronymite monks out here in Belém. Following the 1830 liberal revoluation and the dissolution of the monasteries the cooks moved to...Read More

I sometimes think it mustn’t be a bad life being a monk. If you’re not busy brewing beer you get to live in some of the most beautiful buildings around – the Mosteiro de Jeronimos in Belém being a case in point. Not only did monks live and worship in this gorgeously over-the-top complex, but they also got well fed doing it. For this monastery was the home of the Pasteis de Belém.

The pasteis de nata that you will see in confeitarias across Lisbon are all base upon these famous custard tarts. These were prepared solely for the delectation of the Hieronymite monks out here in Belém. Following the 1830 liberal revoluation and the dissolution of the monasteries the cooks moved to this location just down the street to sell pastries made to their own secret recipe. Now no visit out to Belém is complete without a trip to the Antiga Confeitaria de Belém.

You will not be able to miss the place (or the fact that it has been in operation since 1837!). If you do not see the blue awnings, the numerous signs, or even the inset brickwork in the pavement all advertising its location in its inimitable typeface you will certainly see the queue of people. (The logo is repeating across the packaging carrier bags, doormats and souvenirs on sale in the café – I did want one of their chef’s hats!) The trick is to go in via the right-most door, pay at the till, and then present the chitty the cashier gives you to the servers behind the counter. For €5.40 you will get a hexagonal cardboard tube containing six individual pasteis and also two sachets, one of icing sugar, one of cinnamon.

When you have your pastries you can cross the street and find a shaded bench or sunny patch of grass in the Praça do Império gardens and consume your lip-smacking Pasteis de Belém. Maybe it was the history or the atmosphere but I have to say that I did enjoy these more than the city-centre pasteis de nata. If anything they were sweeter (even without adding icing sugar and cinnamon). I really must recommend a visit! Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on May 11, 2010

Antiga Confeitaria de Belem
Rua De Belem 84-92
Lisbon, Portugal
351-21-3638077

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Museu do Oriente

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Attraction | "Encounters With "The Other""

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If Belém is symbolic of the great days of Portuguese exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Alcântara to its east is symbolic of the later years when Portuguese merchants and businessmen consolidated their foothold in the East. The docks here, in the shadow of the sky-high stanchions of the great Golden-Gate-esque Ponte 25 de Abril, are lined with warehouses and cranes. This was the great commercial entrepôt of Lisbon at the height of its wealth and influence. The warehouses are now trendy clubs and bars and flat conversions.One warehouse is rather more than this however. It houses the brand spanking new Museo do Oriente, the Museum of the Orient. This is an academic but be...Read More

If Belém is symbolic of the great days of Portuguese exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Alcântara to its east is symbolic of the later years when Portuguese merchants and businessmen consolidated their foothold in the East. The docks here, in the shadow of the sky-high stanchions of the great Golden-Gate-esque Ponte 25 de Abril, are lined with warehouses and cranes. This was the great commercial entrepôt of Lisbon at the height of its wealth and influence. The warehouses are now trendy clubs and bars and flat conversions.

One warehouse is rather more than this however. It houses the brand spanking new Museo do Oriente, the Museum of the Orient. This is an academic but beautifully laid out museum dedicated to exploring the relationship between the expanding Portuguese commercial empire and the peoples they met as they voyaged east. The Portuguese challenge influenced Asia; Asia in turn influenced the Portuguese. Neither were left exactly as they were prior to the encounter.

The first floor explores this in depth in the permanent exhibition. This was wonderfully engaging charting the encounters between West and East and the reactions of each side. The Portuguese set up their trade posts in India (Goa and Diu), China (Macau), the Spice Islands (East Timor) and Japan. These were the locations for the serious business of commerce for the benefit (at least at first) of both communities – even if it is clear that neither side knew exactly what to make of the other. A stand out is a Japanese lacquer screen depicting the arrival of the yearly black freighter; the Portuguese are shown with pointy noses, round eyes and curling moustaches, their breeches and ruffs contrasting with the elegant local robes. The locals and the ‘namban’ (lit. ‘Southern Barbarians’) met as equals and influenced each other, as shown by the cross-cultural clothing styles exemplified by the ‘namban hats’ (a conical peaked-cap-affair with a wavy brim) their go-betweens wore. In China the tastes of each informed the other. You can see fine 17th century porcelain (‘china’) decorated with portuguese coats of arms. Moreover the Portuguese queen was so taken with Chinese fans, that she organised the mass import of these fancies for her ladies in waiting in the 16th century. So whenever you see a film set at the court of Louis XIV or in the country houses of Jane Austen and the ladies coyly / flirtatiously retreat behind their fans remember that this trend was sparked first by the Portuguese-Chinese trade relationship. (Another aspect, not mentioned here, is that thje British love of afternoon tea was a custom imported there by the Portuguese-born Catherine of Braganza, wife of King Charles II of England). Other displays show ships’ cargo lists, a wonderful wooden doll’s-house style pagoda, and atmospheric watercoulours of Macau by the English artsist george Chinnery dating from the turn of the 19th century.

The exhibits continue on the second floor with the Gods of Asia. This is devoted to the religions and gods of the Orient and is pretty exhaustive (as you might expect with over 13,000 pieces). India, China, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam etc – all are represented here through mostly modern exhibits such as models, masks, puppets, altars and pictures. There were gods I had heard of, and gods I had not. It would have been easy to get lost in here for hours (everything is well-labelled in both Portuguese and English). Perhaps the most interesting cases were where we could once again see the interaction of West and East, to whit, the importation of Christianity to Goa, Diu, Macau or East Timor.

There are temporary thematic exhibitions as well, but we did not have time to investigate those. If you are at all scholarly (or just curious) it would be easy to lose yourself in here for a couple of hours easily. We did not have quite that luxury however – the place shuts at 18:00 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. On Fridays it stays open until 22:00 (with entrance after 18:00 being free). It is closed all day on Mondays. Entry costs €4.00 (€2.00 for students or children). It is on the route of Tram 15 between Belem and the city centre, and also Tram 18 which connects the city centre and Ajuda.

If you are a fan of the fantastical and grotesque, the Gods of Asia on the top floor is for you. If you are interested in the parallel development of Western and Eastern societies and their influence upon each other, the Portuguese Presence in Asia on the first floor is where you should be heading initially. For myself I found the historic artifacts of the first floor more engaging and intriguing, allowing me to see the first meetings between these very different peoples anew.

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Member Rating 3 out of 5 on May 11, 2010

Museu do Oriente
Avenida Brasalia, Doca De Alcantara (Norte)
Lisbon, Portugal
(351) 213 585 244

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Lisbon Oceanario

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Attraction | "Exploring The Seas With Vasco"

Under The Sea Photo - Lisbon Oceanario, Lisbon, Portugal

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Much of Portugal’s greatness stemmed from its exploration of the seas. It is appropriate then that Lisbon’s latest star attraction is devoted to just such an exploration. Except that instead of just sailing along over their surface, at the Oceanarium you can explore beneath the waves.The Oceanarium itself, often compared to an aircraft carrier or a James Bond set, is sited in a unique watery environment, out in the middle of the Doca dos Olivais. It is literally surrounded by water and has to be accessed by a sloping bridge where speakers get you fully into the mood by playing the sounds of waves and gulls. Once ‘aboard’ you have access to two levels of circular walkway. Thes...Read More

Much of Portugal’s greatness stemmed from its exploration of the seas. It is appropriate then that Lisbon’s latest star attraction is devoted to just such an exploration. Except that instead of just sailing along over their surface, at the Oceanarium you can explore beneath the waves.

The Oceanarium itself, often compared to an aircraft carrier or a James Bond set, is sited in a unique watery environment, out in the middle of the Doca dos Olivais. It is literally surrounded by water and has to be accessed by a sloping bridge where speakers get you fully into the mood by playing the sounds of waves and gulls. Once ‘aboard’ you have access to two levels of circular walkway. These surround the giant central tank. This tank has a volume of 5000 cubic metres and is some seven metres deep. Vast windows allow you to look out at the inhabitants, which include shoaling fish, barracudas, moray eels, sharks and a swooping manta ray. Prize exhibit is a huge millstone-sized sunfish. These ugly and somewhat prehistoric-looking fish are very rare in captivity. This one balefully completes slow circuits of the tank. Quite frankly, with all these different species occupying this one large tank I am really not sure how they prevent them preying on each other.

Around the exterior of the walkway are four climate-controlled marine ‘environments’ the vistior can walk out into. These comprise a rocky North Atlantic coast with puffins, a cold Antarctic zone with different species of penguins playing on the ice, a Pacific kelp forest with two lazy sea otters (Eusebio and Amalia by name), and a balmy Indian Ocean beach with ground pigeons and brightly coloured tropical reef fish in the water. As with the central tank., all four of these zones can be viewed from two different levels.

The lower level has more smaller tanks to view as well, containing more denizens of the deep – bioluminescent deep water fish, a giant octopus, sea dragons, jellyfish etc. There are also plenty of informative boards in both Portuguese and English explaining what the creatures are you are viewing, and explaining what the greatest threats to their survival are. The Oceanarium has a strong conservation remit, targeted at both adults and children (through the person of their cheeky wetsuit-clad mascot Vasco).

Before arriving I had thought that the Oceanarium might be good for an hour; in actual fact I think we spent nearer three. The first exhibits on the upper floor are engaging, and then the lower level actually has more to see and do. This makes the (otherwise fairly high) ticket prices more worthwhile. A ticket is €12 for a teenager or adult, €6 for a child btween 4 and 12, and free for those of 3 or younger. Pensioners pay €6.50. But it is a fascinating world to explore, and children in particular should be fascinated by the chance to get a close-up view of the sharks, penguins, otters and other inhabitants.

The area surrounding the Oceanarium is known as the Parque das Nações. This riverside area was redeveloped and spruced up for the 1998 Lisbon Expo, and it is all really rather pleasant. While the shopping malls and international office buildings may not be for everyone I found they were a pleasant contrast to the crowds in the heart of town. Here there is space - space between the buildings which are not so closely set, and space to gaze across the Rio Tejo and breathe in the breeze (even though this area is upriver of the city centre the river here is at is widest). There is a good choice in upmarket international eateries (Rebecca and I had pizza and steak at the Brazilian Orizon). There are some rather fun volcano-shaped fountains. And there is even a cable car to sweep you out over the water's edge. Getting here is easiest by Metro. From Rossio take the Caravela (green) line to Alameda, and there change to the Oriente (red) line. This terminates at the new Oriente station. From here you can wander out along the river side. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on May 11, 2010

Lisbon Oceanario
Parque Das Nacoas
Lisbon

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