Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery)

For a cruise passenger, the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos is usually the first stop in Belém and the one that needs the most planning. The complex has two parts with separate entrances. The church (Igreja de Santa Maria de Belém) is free and holds the tombs of Vasco da Gama and the poet Luís de Camões; it opens to visitors Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30, but only from 14:00 on Sundays because of services. The two-storey cloister is the paid part (€18) and is what most people remember: the carved Manueline arcades are best seen from the upper gallery. Cloister tickets are sold in hourly timed slots from 09:30, the ticket offices close at 16:30, and the monastery caps visits at 3,500 people a day. Crowds build from mid-morning, so book a slot online before you leave the ship or aim for an early one. Between 09:30 and 10:30 a separate lane is reserved for guided groups. The whole complex is closed on Mondays, which catches out many Monday port calls; the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, MAAT and Pastéis de Belém stay open that day. If time is short, see the church (20–30 minutes) and the carved south portal from the pavement, then decide whether the cloister justifies €18 on your schedule. With 45 minutes more, do the cloister. The rest of Belém chains together on foot: Pastéis de Belém is about 230 m east along Rua de Belém (3 minutes), the Padrão dos Descobrimentos is roughly 600 m away through the underpass by the Praça do Império garden (about 9 minutes), and the Torre de Belém is about 1.2 km west (around 17 minutes). Belém railway station is roughly 12 minutes' walk. Begun around 1501 under King Manuel I, the monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the tower. Large bags and backpacks are refused at the entrance, and food and drink are not allowed inside.