LISBON ONE DAY ITINERARY incl. the UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES OF PORTUGAL
I had a very conflicting feeling when I was here. One, is the joy of travelling, being in a new country and a new UNESCO Site. Two, the not-so-positive feeling of being in the land of Vasco-da-Gama! This very site, Jerenimos Monastry is the last resting place of Vasco-da-Gama.
Why the not-so-positive feeling? Well, being an Indian, our history of being a colony began with Vasco-da-Gama! While the Indian civilization dates back to as old as 7000 BCE and proof for Indian products in Egypt, dating back to 3000 BCE, international commercial connections had always been there and done fair! But it was in 1498, when Vasco-da-Gama landed in Kerala, things changed! Who was Vasco da Gama? He was an explorer and the first European to reach India by sea route. But he tried to pose as an ambassador and tried to not pay the custom duties or pay the value for pepper and things were not smooth. The situation changed with the new sea route, and then began the rough history of India being invaded & colonized by one country after another till 1947 when we were finally independent!
The feeling of Indians towards Vasco-da-Gama is similar to that of Native Americans towards Columbus - for us, the explorers did not discover a new route, they just exploited us!!! Columbus & Vasco-da-Gama are celebrated heroes in their countries, not so much at their destinations!!!!! Contributions of Vasco da Gama are celebrated in the west, not really so, in the east! ONE DAY IN LISBON
Anyways, that aside, today Belem Tower and Jeronimos Monastery are protected as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and our primary places to see in Lisboa. Whether you have one day in Portugal or one week in Portugal, Lisbon definitely has to be on the itinerary, esp., Belem Tower and Jeronimos Monastery.
Modern technology has been put to good use here with timed ascending and descending slots making less awkward halfway encounters! There are 4 floors before reaching the top of the tower. The view from atop the tower is awesome with a stunning view of the 25 Abril Bridge and the huge sculpture of Jesus Christ! This is called the National Sanctuary of Christ the King, the looks very similar to Rio's Christ, the Redeemer and it is also one of the major Lisbon attractions.
Even if you don't want to / cannot climb it, it is still one of the top places to see in Lisbon. Often there are some musicians playing here the whole atmosphere is splendid. Well, to see it from the outside, you don't even have to buy a ticket and it's one of the free things to do in Lisbon.
The 2nd floor has a unique thing that shouldn't be missed - a sculpture of a Rhinoceros. In 1514 CE, King D Manuel I was gifted a Rhino by Sultar Muzafar of the Kingdom of Cambay, India (region of Gujarat & Goa etc). It came all the way to India to here, after 4 months on the ship and reached here in 1515 when the Torre de Belum was being built. Inspired by the new, unusual, exotic creature, it has been immortalized here as sculptures under architect Francisco Arruda! Sadly when King D Manual I wanted to send it to the Pope as a gift, the ship drowned and it died. However, it was recovered and the body was stuffed with hay for preservation!
One of the rooms on this floor is the refectory (dining room for the monks), a very large room (37m long) filled with exquisite hand-painted tiles of 17th C, of scenes from new & old testament. Another room here is the chapter room where the daily meeting of the monks happened. Somehow the room was never used for the actual purpose because it was never completed in its hay time, but only in 19th C CE. This has 3 arches on one side with the image of Jesus in crucifix (this belongs to 19th C) at the centre and the 4 evangelists in the 4 pillars.
After this, we entered the main church where the tomb of Vasco-da-Gama is located. Since the main church is free of cost, there is always a long queue here and it isn't possible to skip-the-line!!! The first things that fascinated me were its pillars and the ceiling. The pillars were tall and detailed - I mean, really tall till the ceiling of 2nd floor and the octagonal pillars were filled with such intricate relief sculptures in Renaissance theme. For this mind-blowing height, and the magnificent size of the room (30m wide x 25m tall), there are only 6 pillars! This is one of the largest rooms made in medieval times with the least number of pillars.
Also, we had a look at the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument of the Discoveries), a monument built in 1940, to celebrate the voyages done by various people like Vasco da Gama. There is a huge world map in front of it on the floor with years marked on it at various places indicating when a voyager from Portugal reached there. Of course, the earliest is Calicut (Calecute), India in 1498!
Is Lisbon Card worth it? Even though we had only 1 day in Lisbon, Lisboa card was good for us because, it not only included the tickets of these 2 sites, local public transport, but also the train to Sintra. Since we stayed in Sintra, we had to travel the same day, so it worked out cheaper for us (price details below).
Only for travel, the Lisbon transport card is called the Lisboa Viva Card or Viva Viagem Card which can be bought with or without CP (trains to Sintra/Cascais).
On Google Maps: Belem Tower, Jeronimos Monastery
The best way to get here from Lisboa city centre is by train. The nearest railway station to Belem Tower is Alges, however, it falls under Zone 2. Belem station is a short walk from the sites, but under Zone 1. If you buy a zonal ticket, you will have to get down at Belem and not Alges. However the Lisboa Card and Viva Viagem card with CP include the next zone.
It is possible to walk between the 2 sites. Auto rickshaws (tuk tuks) are also available!
Jeronimos Church only: Free
Jeronimos Monastery Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00AM to 5:00/6:00PM (in winter/summer respectively)
Jeronimos Monastery Tickets: €10
Belem Tower Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00AM to 5:00/6:00PM (in winter/summer respectively)
Belem Tower Tickets: €6
Belem Tower & Jeronimos Monastery combined ticket: €12
Viva Viagem Public Transport card (excl. CP train to Sintra/Cascais) - 24hrs: €6.00
Viva Viagem Public Transport card (incl. CP train to Sintra/Cascais) - 24hrs: €10.55
Lisboa Card 24hrs - €20
IDEAS FOR DAYTRIPS & WEEKEND TRIPS FROM LISBON
Sintra, Mafra, Porto, Evora, Costa Vicentina, Madeira
Lisbon Belem Tower & Jeronimos Monastery, Sintra - Pena Palace, Castelo dos Mouros, Quinta da Regaleira, Monserrate Palace.
Thanks for taking me back to Lisbon. One of our favourite cities ever. I can understand your mixed feelings about Portugal as an Indian. We liked the Belem Tower and Padrão dos Descobrimentos for the panoramic views. But on our day in Belem, we ran out of time to get inside the Jeronimos Monstery. So great to see your pictures. The stone carvings inside are quite intricate.
ReplyDeleteI love Portugal and am looking forward to visiting again. Enjoyed looking at all your photos and learning more about the history behind the sites. I hadn't really thought about the situation with Vasco da Gama so it was good to be enlightened about it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!! Is it a shame that I haven't been to Portugal yet?? But it has been on my list for a long time. UNESCO or not but Portugal has some of the best heritage sites in the world. Your mix feeling for the site of Vasco da gama is understandable as no one wants to be reminded of the days when the land and the natives people were exploited for their natural resources.
ReplyDeleteI echo your sentiments about Vasco Da Gama. I might have felt the same. At the same time, I would have been comparing those lovely monuments and carvings to the various ones in India -specially in Kerala and Goa. All said and done, I loved these ones too. Jeronimo monastery definitely seems a place I would have loved
ReplyDeleteThank you for such an informative post. I appreciate you sharing your conflicting thoughts and feelings about the sight. I wasn't aware of this history and am thankful and appreciative that you shared it. I am in awe of how gorgeous the architecture and carvings are. I cannot imagine how love it took to create such a beautiful place. And the skill and attention to detail that went into making it. So very impressive!
ReplyDeleteI have not been to Europe. If I get the chance to travel to Europe, I'll definitely visit Lisbon. Lisbon sounds like a great place to visit
ReplyDeleteThis post reminds me of my Lisbon trip 2 years ago. I visited Belem Tower but didn't go inside. I didn't know about Jeronimos Monastery when I was there, so now adding it to my travel list. Also, thank you for sharing your thoughts about the sights, as I didn't know about the conflicts before.
ReplyDeleteBy the name, I was expecting some tall structure. However, reading your blog, I can understand the Belem Tower structure didn't match the mark of a tower. As an architecture and history lover, the fact that fascinated me much is that the statue of Rhinoceros that's gifted by the Indian King. Nice one from Lisbon!
ReplyDeleteFinally a place on your site that I've been to! I loved it in Lisbon, so it's great to see that you also found a lot of enjoyment in what you saw there!
ReplyDeleteWow, I've never had an experience while traveling that I felt personally affected myself and my heritage. Good for you visiting anyways and soaking in the experience and all it had to offer!
ReplyDeleteYour post made me miss Portugal so much. I hope I get to visit once again soon.. :)
ReplyDeleteI am visiting Lisbon in 3 months so its the perfect time for me to land on your post. I did not know that Belem Tower is the last resting place of Vasco da Gama and I understand the mixed emotion being an Indian myself, because you're right, it was when he 'discovered' India that it became open to colonization and came in the interest of the colonizers. Nevertheless, Belem Tower looks like an interesting place to visit so I'm definitely including it in my list.
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