A BIG DAY IN BELÉM

Here’s the key. If you spend an hour in the monastery with children, you can be the first to enter the neighboring church. Milk it. If you have some toys or other distractions, this is the time to deploy them. Everybody should go potty. Diapers can be changed. Do not leave until right at 10:30 am. 

As you depart the monastery, you will notice many more people outside than when you entered. There are now two different roped off lines: monastery to your right and church to your left. The church line is just about to open, so make sure a guard notices that you have small children in tow and would like to see the church. Be extra nice, they don’t have to let you skip ahead, but it is our experience that they will let you. Don’t leave the roped-in area or you will be John Q. Public again and have to wait in line. 

You do not want to miss the church! Santa Maria is where centuries worth of sailors began and (hopefully) ended their treacherous overseas journeys. Perhaps that is why the church is built so broadly – replicating the vastness of the seas – as the sides of the cross-like layout are as tall as the nave. As impressive as the church’s size might be, the devil beauty is in the details. Upon closer inspection, much of the ornamentation is again nautical themed. 

All that praying must have worked for Vasco da Gama. He famously prayed here before setting out on his first voyage to India. Trade routes were set up by sea, around the Cape of Africa. A portion of the fortunes that poured back into Portugal (specifically, a tax on pepper) was used to expand this monastery and church. Ultimately, it earned da Gama the right to be interred here.

Now What?

You’ve accomplished so much and it’s barely 11:00 am. You can afford to take stock of your family’s status. Do you have more walking in you? Then proceed to the Age of Discovery Monument. If you still have legs after that, head up to the Tower of Belém. You could head to any of the parks or gardens across the street and relax. There are plenty of benches and green spaces, if you had the foresight to pack a picnic. The day is your oyster. You can also call it a wrap on Belém and head back to Lisbon on the 15E. You’re on bonus time now. 

Should you want to keep exploring, this is the time to make a decision about lunch. If you walk all the way over to the Tower of Belém, your lunch options will be non-existent. We recommend grabbing a picnic lunch from either Pão Pão Queijo Queijo or A Padaria Portuguesa. The name of the restaurant, Pão Pão Queijo Queijo, translates to “bread, bread, cheese, cheese,” but it is a colloquialism for “what you see is what you get.” You can select classic sandwiches and salads from the glass case and be on your way. A Padaria Portuguesa is kind of the Panera of Portugal. They have offerings behind the case, which can be toasted or panini-pressed to your liking. Those in the know order a pão de deus misto. It’s one of those things that sounds like an odd pairing but just works. It’s a ham and cheese sandwich on a brioche roll with a coconut/sugar/milk topping. Sweet with a hint of savory. 

Age of Discovery Monument

This austere monument juts out over the river. A tunnel takes you under two major roads and train tracks and opens up on a giant compass rose. The impressive compass beneath your feet reinforces the theme of the monument. “Age of Discovery” was built to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. 

It’s a romanticized notion of exploration, with Henry on the bow of the monument facing the unknown. He holds a caravel ship in his hand. These nimble Portuguese ships made his exploration of Africa’s western coast possible. Statues flank the east and west sides of the monument and represent kings, queens, other explorers, cartographers, poets and writers who “support” Henry. What’s fascinating about those representatives is they span over two centuries. Things evolved so much slower then, even with cutting edge sailing technology. Da Gama didn’t sail around Africa until 40 years AFTER Henry’s death. Magellan made his infamous journey around the world another 20 years AFTER THAT.