I spent a weekend in Lisbon in March 2015, during which we took the opportunity to visit the suburb of Belém. On the way to the monastery our tram stopped and the driver ordered everybody off, suggesting we wait for a bus to take us the rest of the way. We chose to walk it, and a couple of kilometres later we met the reason for the diverted tram: a military parade going on and a marching band.

Portugal’s most famous pastry product is surely the Pastel de nata, which is a kind of custard tart. The best ones are apparently sold in cafes near the monastery, because the monks used to get through so much egg white starching their habits that they became proficient at turning the unwanted yolk into custard tarts. Having had a few pastels de nata in the city centre we were able to discern the increase in quality at the pastelaria 'A Chique de Belem'.

You don’t really get to visit much more than the central cloister at this monastery, along with a couple of side rooms. There are two stories, upstairs and downstairs, with walkways surrounding a central grass square. The monastery is notable for the ornateness of the walls and columns, as you can see in the photos.

The monastery was started in 1502 by Prince Henry’s grandson, King Manuel I, and took nearly a hundred years to complete. It is after Manuel that the Manueline style in named, and it is synonymous with the Portuguese Age of Discovery. The interior of the Church of Santa Maria, located within the monastery building, is a good example of that style.

A fifteen minute walk from the monastery (and across a busy highway) stands the Tower of Belém (Belém is a corruption of the Portuguese word for Bethlehem). The tower was commissioned as a part of Lisbon’s defence system, and is again in the Manueline style. It is built in the water, a couple of metres out from the shoreline, and has been used in anger a number of times over the years.