Torre de Belém Garden
- from EUR 6
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Why go
- Its two-level gun emplacement made Belém Tower Portugal’s first fortification of this kind.
- The vaulted bastion gun room has 17 openings set into walls 3.5 metres thick.
- Towers at Belém, Torre de São Sebastião da Caparica and Cascais could trap enemy ships in crossfire.
Opening hours
Today00:00 – 23:59Show all
Don't miss
- Rhinoceros-head waterspoutA sculptural depiction of a greater one-horned rhinoceros brought from India by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1515.Northwest side of the tower
- Open cloisterIts open centre above the casemate was designed to clear cannon smoke.Above the bastion casemate
What you see
- A terrace above the tower offers views of the surrounding landscape.
- The second-floor King's Hall opens onto a loggia overlooking the river.
Photo spots
- Viewing platformThe tower’s open-air top level is 35 metres above ground.Top level of the tower On the map
History
The tower formed part of a defensive system with fortifications at São Sebastião da Caparica and Cascais, allowing enemy ships to be caught in crossfire. Bastion storerooms became prison cells, and underground cells often flooded. Later land reclamation brought the north bank to within a few metres of the tower.
- Early 16th centuryCommissioned by King Manuel I to defend Lisbon’s port, the tower replaced the Grande Nau.
- Later centuriesUsed mainly as a prison; its prison and weapons-storage use continued until the 19th century.
- 1755The tower survived the Lisbon earthquake.
- 1840sRestored under King Ferdinand II, with impetus from Almeida Garrett; Neo-Manueline decoration was added.
- 1910The tower was declared a national monument.
Show all
- 2025–2026It closed to visitors in late April 2025 for conservation and restoration, expected to last until spring 2026.
How to get there
- TramNearest tram stop: Largo da Princesa.
Sources: Belém Tower - Wikipedia · Lisbon/Belém - Wikivoyage (see) · Torre de Belém - Wikipedia · Torre de Belém - Wikipedia · Tour de Belém - Wikipedia · checked 4 Oct 2026
- Phone
- +800910211
Plan from here: Evening walk →
Questions and answers
How are the upper floors of Torre de Belém reached?
By a spiral staircase. The tower closed to visitors in late April 2025 for conservation work expected to finish in spring 2026.
What is inside Torre de Belém?
Two vaulted halls and a chapel with a rib-vaulted ceiling occupy the tower.
Which figures appear on Torre de Belém?
Saint Vincent of Saragossa and the archangel Michael occupy second-floor niches; a Virgin and Child statue stands on the cloister terrace.
Is Torre de Belém open to visitors?
It closed in late April 2025 for conservation work expected to finish in spring 2026. That expected date does not confirm reopening.
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