• Travelsignposts Home
  • Country Guides
  • City Guides
  • River Cruises
  • Europe Photos
  • About Us

Portugal Travel

  • Home
  • Photos
  • Map
  • Weather
  • Site Map
  • Destinations
  • Sightseeing
  • Shopping
  • Food
  • Getting around
  • Useful facts
  • News & Events
You are here: Home / Sightseeing / Belem Tower – an iconic monument on Lisbon’s waterfront

Belem Tower – an iconic monument on Lisbon’s waterfront

By Helen Page Leave a Comment

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

A symbol of Portugal’s great era of expansion:

Belem Tower, Lisbon

Belem Tower, Lisbon

Torre de Belem or Belem Tower sits at the mouth of the Tagus and guards the entrance to the city. It’s another of Lisbon’s iconic attractions on the Lisbon waterfront.

Belem Tower was built as a fortress in the middle of the Tagus in 1515-21 and it was from here that the caravels set out to discover the trade routes.

When Manuel I came to power in 1495, he prospered from the expansionary period and commissioned grandiose monuments to reflect the spirit of the time. Belem Tower became a symbol of Portugal’s great era of discoveries.

The tower was built along the Manueline style of architecture which is a Portuguese adaptation of late Gothic. Torre de Belem and Mosteiro dos Jeronimos are believed to be the best examples of this architectural style still in existence. The building now serves as home to a Museum that has many relics of the discoveries on display.

Ornate features of the Exterior

The exterior of the Tower is adorned with stone-carved rope.  Moorish watchtowers and battlements decorated with the cross of the Order of Christ are on the various layers of the monument.  A statue of Our Lady of Safe Homecoming faces the sea,  a symbol of protection for the sailors on their discover voyages.

There are many museums, parks and gardens in the Belem area. Along the attractive riverside setting can be found cafes and a promenade.

Lisbon Sightseeing Tours
Lisbon Hop-on Hop-Off

See Travel Signposts Belem Photo Gallery HERE.

Click here to get a free PDF of this post

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Sightseeing Tagged With: belem tower, lisbon attractions, lisbon sightseeing, lisbon sightseeing tours, lisbon tours, lisbon vacation

avatar

About Helen Page

Helen Page is a prolific blogger and ardent traveller; she runs Travelsignposts with her professional writer and photographer husband Tony.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You can also find us on

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Latest Additions

  • Castelo Arraiolos – The Arraiolos Castle on the Hill
  • Arraiolos – Famous for its Embroidery and Arraiolos Carpets
  • Wine and Cheese Tasting in Arraiolos
  • Elevador de Santa Justa – An Eccentric Lisbon Elevator
  • Caldo Verde – A Portuguese Kale Soup

Plan and Book Your Trip


eNews and Updates

feedburner Sign up now to get emailed news as well as other site updates!

Get the Guerrilla Travel Photography ebook here now!
City Guides
Country Guides
River Cruises

Who is behind Travelsignposts?

Helen and Tony Page at Singapore Changi Airport

We're Helen and Tony Page, and we love travelling - lucky as we've been doing it for the last few decades!

Tony has long been a professional photographer and writer, but Helen now writes most of the posts and takes a lot of photos herself!

Travelsignposts is our main travel planning site, but we've just launched Travelsignposts China and Tony also runs the Travelsignposts Photo and Guerrilla Travel Photography web sites, as well as publishing the Take Better Digital Photos and Guerrilla Travel Photography eBooks.

Read more about Helen and Tony or contact them.

Other Countries

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Devon & Cornwall
  • England
  • Estonia
  • Europe (General)
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Scotland
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine

Resources

  • Take Better Digital Photos eBook Take Better Digital Photos eBook
  • Take Better Digital Photos Free eCourse
  • Travel Signposts Photo – our main travel photography site
  • Guerrilla Travel Photography eBook Guerrilla Travel Photography eBook

Copyright © 2022 ·Lifestyle Pro Theme · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in

Get a free PDF of this post!
Just enter your email address below and we'll send it to you immediately.

Please enter your Email Address