Visiting the Belém Tower – Lisbon, Portugal
The Belem Tower, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built in the 16th century and is now considered a monument to Portugal’s Age of Discovery of land and sea. The Belem Tower is one of Lisbon Portugal’s most iconic spots – but should it be included on your Lisbon itinerary? How do you get to the Belem Tower? And is visiting the Belem Tower worth it? I’ll answer those questions and more in this guide to visiting the Belem Tower in Lisbon, Portugal. Let’s go!
Belem Tower – Location and Details
Location:
Although the Belem Tower (Torre de Belem) is located in Lisbon, it’s outside of the main touristy spots, like the Almafa district. You will need to – you can walk, but it’ll take you a while! We took Tram 15 to Belem, but you can also reach Belem by bus, train or Uber. Uber might be cheaper if you have 3 or more people in your group. Additionally, like many cities nowdays, Lisbon has a shared scooter rental program, so you could travel here on an electrical scooter, which is always a blast.
Cost: The Belem Tower is free to view from the outside. If you want to go inside the tower, you’ll need to purchase ticket for 6 euros. My husband and I weren’t interested in going inside, so we just admired it from the outside. Judging from the photos I’ve seen, there are a lot of cramped stairways inside; the outside architecture is its best feature.
Hours: 10am – 5pm. The Belem Tower is closed on Mondays.
Crowds: The Belem Tower is one of Lisbon’s most famous attractions and thus, there will be crowds. We visited in January, which is the off-season, and there were still lines of people waiting to go inside. I can only imagine how busy this must be during the summer!
Visiting the Belem Tower
The Belem Tower is located on the banks of Tagus River. It was constructed in 1514, at the entrance of the Tagus River to protect the Lisbon area and its nearby forts. In 1580, Spain overtook the Belem Tower and turned the basement area into a prison. It has also served as a lighthouse and a customs building. The Belem Tower has since been reconstructed a few times; it even survived a major earthquake in 1755.
The promenade around the Belem Tower is a wonderful spot for a stroll. You’ll find street vendors, street performers, and tourists and locals alike enjoying the area. This would also be an amazing spot for sunset. There’s also a Wine with a View cart that’s parked right outside the tower, and serves wine by the glass.
Other nearby attractions
If you made it out to Belem, you’ll definitely want to check out the other area attractions. All of the attractions below are located within easy walking distance of the Belem Tower:
Monument to the Discoveries
Jerónimos Monastery
Pasteis de Belém – the original maker of the famous Portuguese custard tart dessert – you absolutely must try them!
Shopping: You’ll find gift shops selling all kinds of wonderfully tacky Portugal merch in Belem – you gotta check ’em out!
Belem Tower in Lisbon Portugal – Final Thoughts
All in all, Belem Tower is beautiful site to see in Lisbon, but it might not be worth the trek out to Belem if you only have one day in Lisbon. It’ll depend on whether or not you want to go inside – going inside the tower can eat up much more of your time, rather than just viewing it from the outside. Even though we visited during the winter and the crowds were lighter, there still was quite a line to go in. I didn’t feel the need to go inside – most places like this, I feel, are best viewed from outside. For our Lisbon itinerary, we stayed in Lisbon for two days; one day to visit Lisbon and another to take a day trip to Sintra. On our one full day in Lisbon, we had plenty of time to explore Lisbon and Belem on the same day, but we started early and ended our day well after sunset.
So, if you’re like me and just seeing it from the outside, you won’t need to devote too much time to see the Belem Tower; you’ll still have plenty of time to explore the other attractions in this area of Lisbon.
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