after having the “best” natas (portugese egg tarts) at pasteis de belem, we walked over to jeronimos monastery on 27.3.2016. ^^

unfortunately it was the easter weekend, & the monastery was closed. it felt strange to us, since one should expect bigger crowds & visits on public holidays, but i guess everyone deserve to have their day off.

we knew of this of course, checking on the various websites to see if it was open, but we had to manage our itinerary & had to settle for just seeing the outside of the monastery.

the construction of the monastery & church started in 1501 & took 100 years to complete.

built to commemorate vasco da gama’s voyage, it was also his final resting place where his tomb was laid by the entrance.

it is a prominent example of late gothic maneuline architecture in lisbon, a richly ornate & complex architectural style.

the cloisters certainly looked magnificient on the e-guides.

there were sea monsters, corals, sea motifs carved onto each column… too bad we were not able to view the inside.

we crossed over to the gardens, adjoining jardim de belem.

& took a shot of the monastery from across the road.

the anchor….

& fountains….

lead to the discovery monuments, Padrão dos Descobrimentos, by the tagus river…

& celebrate the age of exploration during the 15th & 16th centuries….

there were 34 statues of explorers on the western & eastern profile. 🙂

on the eastern profile, henry the navigator carrying a model of a carrack sailing ship, stands at the front.

from the discovery monumnets, we could see the 25rh april bridge, lisbon’s “golden gate bridge”. 🙂

admission is €4 for adults. there are family, school & senior citizen concessions.

there is a small marina on the east side of the monuments.

& view of cristo rei (Christ the King) across the tagus river, lisbon’s equivalent to rio de janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer. 🙂

& a zoomed-in look at the christo rei….

on the western side is the tower of belem in the distance.

& looking back, the monastery & the gardens.

we took a short stroll to the belem tower & the jardim da torre de belem.

belem tower, alongside jeronimos monastery, is a UNESCO world heritage site.

it was built in a similar late gothic manueline architectural style with cloister & charming loggia on a small island in the tagus & connected to the shore, completed in 1519 in the early 16th century.

the park & open space in front of the tower.

after the belem tower, we took a cab back to apartment for just €8.10 though cab driver appropriated & did not return change for €10. 🙂

for 4pax it was quite convenient & more economical way to travel. the tram 15e was €2.85pax & took a long time & also we would need to change to the subway or walk back to the apartment from the ribeira at cais do sorde

c.h.e.f andy