BELÉM
FREE TOUR

If you want to find out how the Portuguese became the first global village, our Belém Free Tour is the tour you were waiting for. This free tour is a great introduction to the Discovery Age and you’ll get to see a couple of Lisbon’s most wanted monuments, the Jerónimos Monastery and the Belém Tower. But this Take Lisboa free walking tour is much more than late gothic architecture and tales of sailors as we're going to walk near the bank of the Tagus river and enjoy the warm Lisbon sun bathing the Belém district.    The Belém Free Tour begins in the Gardens of Afonso de Albuquerque. Afonso de Albuquerque, a vice-Roy of India, was the mastermind of the Portuguese in the East and is mare clausum strategy was one of the most ingenious plans in world history.  ​ We will begin strolling into the heart of Belém district to explore one of Lisbon’s most epic monuments, the heavenly sumptuous pastel de nata. As a local tour company, we are forbidden to share with you the recipe to the pastel de nata but all else will be revealed. The pastéis de Belém (plural intended because one is simply not enough) are a true blessing and should earn a Unesco Heritage nomination. Past the pastéis, it is time to admire the intricate mythological architecture of the Jerónimos Monastery also known as the Monastery of the Hieronymites. A heartfelt homage to prince Henry the Navigator by is nephew King Manuel I, this Unesco World Heritage Site mixes Christian and pagan symbols to celebrate the Portuguese Age of Discovery.   ​ There’s so much to share before arriving at the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, like the importance of the School of Sagres founded by prince Henry the Navigator or the impact of the Portuguese caravel and the mariner’s astrolabe in the European Discoveries that all will become crystal clear when we stand over the 50 meter diameter compass rose facing the Monument to the Discoveries. There we will understand the Treaty of Tordesillas or the importance of the maritime spice route discovered by Vasco da Gama.  ​ The tour will end near the Belém Tower, and as we look at the 25 de Abril bridge on the horizon and the still waters of the Tagus river, we may grasp the unquietness that led the Portuguese navigators to explore the world.   This is definitely the city’s most panoramic walking tour and as you can see we go by many of the must see places to visit in Lisbon’s Belém district. You will also be rewarded by our guide’s top things to do in the neighborhood. Take our Belém Free Tour so you make take the explorer spirit of Lisbon back home.