Belém Tower: Manueline Stone, Rhino Heads, and the Best Custard Tarts in the World

The Torre de Belém stands in the Tagus estuary and has a detail on its northwest bastion that almost nobody expects: stone-carved rhinoceros heads below the turret. They are there because in 1515, King Manuel I sent a live Indian rhinoceros as a diplomatic gift to Pope Leo X. The animal was held briefly at the Belém waterfront before the voyage to Rome; it died at sea in a shipwreck. The carving immortalises what was probably a genuine local spectacle. When Dürer heard about the rhinoceros, he drew it from a description without seeing it – his woodcut inaccurate but famous. The Belém tower’s rhinoceros heads, carved by someone who actually saw the animal, are less famous but more accurate.

The tower was built between 1516 and 1521 in the Manueline style: late Portuguese Gothic decorated with armillary spheres (the symbol of Manuel I), twisted rope stonework, and maritime motifs that reference the Age of Discovery it was built to celebrate. It served as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon from the sea and as a defensive watchtower.

Entry costs 6 euros for adults. The interior is compact, with narrow stairs and low doorways through successive levels to battlement terraces. Queues build quickly in summer; arriving before 10am or booking online avoids most of the wait. A UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos.

The Jerónimos Monastery

500 metres east on the same waterfront, the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos is the definitive example of Manueline architecture. The south portal is a dense mass of sculptural decoration around the doorway arch; the two-storey cloister continues this density in stone tracery throughout its galleries. Vasco da Gama is buried in the church; his tomb and the tomb of the poet Luís de Camões are in the lower church. Entry is 10 euros; free on Monday mornings. More impressive in person than in photographs, which is the correct direction of surprise.

Pasteis de Belém

Pasteis de Belém at Rua de Belém 84 has been making the original pasteis de nata since 1837 using a recipe that has been secret since the monastery closed. The custard tarts, eaten warm with cinnamon and icing sugar, cost about 1.20 euros each. The queue extends outside most of the day but moves quickly. This is an obligation rather than an option when visiting Belém.

Getting There

Tram 15E runs along the waterfront from Praça da Figueira in the city centre to Belém (25 to 30 minutes, standard transit fare). The Belém train station is on the Cascais line from Cais do Sodré (about 12 minutes). By bike, the riverside cyclepath from the city centre to Belém is flat, direct, and scenic at about 7 kilometres.

The Wider Belém Area

The Padrao dos Descobrimentos, the concrete prow-shaped monument from 1960 with 33 historical figures including Henry the Navigator, has an elevator to the top for river views. The Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT) in a new building beside the power station opened in 2016 and has good contemporary exhibitions. The old Electricity Museum inside the restored 1908 power station building is one of the more genuinely interesting industrial heritage sites in Lisbon.