LISBON TO DISCOVER · 08 / 24

Belém

Belém is Lisbon’s westernmost civil parish, shaped in layers: prehistoric and Roman traces, former beaches and river activity, fields, estates, residential neighbourhoods and a waterfront extensively remade over time. The present parish was created in 2012 through the merger of Santa Maria de Belém and São Francisco Xavier. Beyond the Torre, the Jerónimos and Praça do Império, it pays to look up and take a different street: Restelo, Pedrouços and Caselas reveal a less ceremonial Belém, shaped by the hillside, tree-lined avenues and neighbourhood life. Here, the Tagus is not simply a backdrop; it is why the area developed as it did — and why it kept changing.

History

There is evidence of human presence in Belém from prehistory onwards. Excavations have also uncovered Roman remains, including tanks used to prepare and salt fish. From at least the 13th century, Praia do Rastelo, or Restelo, was an inlet offering shelter to boats. Around it grew a small settlement of farmers, sailors and people working on the river, within a landscape of fields, orchards, leisure estates and noble properties.

Portuguese maritime expeditions departed from Restelo harbour, including Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India and Pedro Álvares Cabral’s expedition, which reached the coast of what is now Brazil. Beside the former chapel of Santa Maria de Belém, Manuel I initiated the foundation of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos in 1496; construction began in 1501 or 1502. Torre de Belém, built between 1514 and 1520 under Francisco de Arruda, formed part of a defensive plan for the Tagus estuary. It stood on a basalt outcrop in the water, combining a medieval-style tower with an artillery bastion.

Less affected by the 1755 earthquake than central Lisbon, the area received many displaced people, including the royal family. During the 18th and 19th centuries, industry, docks, railways and urban transport drew Belém closer to Lisbon. In 1940, the Exposição do Mundo Português radically reshaped the waterfront. Organised by the Estado Novo, it promoted a nationalist and imperial narrative through demolition, construction and new public spaces, with Praça do Império at its centre. Today’s landscape still carries those layers, across cultural venues, reclaimed land, gardens and neighbourhoods including Restelo, Pedrouços and Caselas.

Did you know?

THERE IS A RHINO ON TORRE DE BELÉM

At the base of one of Torre de Belém’s watchtowers, there is a small rhinoceros carved in stone. It is not a detail designed to test the attention of passers-by: the figure was probably inspired by the Indian rhinoceros that arrived in Lisbon from India in 1515. In a Europe where almost nobody had seen a living rhino, the animal caused considerable curiosity in Lisbon and other European cities.

The Torre was under construction at the time, and this remarkable arrival found its way into the building’s decoration, alongside ropes, knots, armillary spheres, crosses of the Order of Christ and other motifs. It is something like a stone snapshot of one of 16th-century Lisbon’s most talked-about animals — lower resolution, admittedly, but remarkably durable.

At speed, you notice battlements, ropework and stone. Slow down, and you may spot a rhino that has been there for around five centuries.

Reference points

01Torre de Belém — A defensive structure built on a basalt outcrop in the water, with Manueline decoration and a discreet rhinoceros.
02Mosteiro dos Jerónimos — Founded at the initiative of Manuel I, it is a major example of Manueline architecture, with later alterations.
03Praia e porto histórico do Restelo — A former inlet associated with sheltered boats, sailors, farmers and river activity.
04Praça do Império — The organising centre of the 1940 Exposição do Mundo Português, created within the Estado Novo’s urban and political project.
05Padrão dos Descobrimentos — The provisional 1940 structure was replaced by the permanent monument inaugurated in 1960.
06Palácio de Belém — The official residence of the President of the Republic since 1910.
07Picadeiro Real — The venue where the Museu dos Coches Reais opened in 1905, later becoming the Museu Nacional dos Coches.
08Centro Cultural de Belém — A cultural venue opened to the public in 1993.
09Bairro do Restelo — A planned residential area of avenues, tree-lined streets, visual axes and hillside adaptation.

Suggestions for exploring

Look for the carved rhinoceros at the base of one of Torre de Belém’s watchtowers.
Notice today’s distance between the Torre, the riverbank and the Tagus, remembering that the structure was built on an outcrop in the water.
Picture the former Restelo beach in front of Mosteiro dos Jerónimos.
Compare the Manueline scale of the Jerónimos with 20th-century architecture and public spaces.
Identify surviving traces of the Exposição do Mundo Português, including Praça do Império, the Padrão and buildings linked to the former exhibition site.
Follow Avenida da Torre de Belém and notice the visual axis towards Capela de São Jerónimo.
Head uphill through Restelo and compare the monumental waterfront with the streets, slope and residential areas of Pedrouços and Caselas.

Editorial sources

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