Torre de Belém (Belém Tower)

The Torre de Belém reopened on 27 May 2026 after about a year of conservation work, the first major intervention since 1998. Entry now works on timed slots: up to 60 people every half hour, about 900 a day, from 09:30 to the last entry at 17:00. It is closed on Mondays. Tickets (€15) are sold online and at the ticket kiosk in front of the Jerónimos Monastery, about 1.2 km away, which matters if you arrive without a booking: buy there before walking to the tower. Whether to go inside on a short call is the key decision. The interior is small: a bastion with gun ports at water level, then a tower of stacked rooms linked by a narrow spiral staircase, ending in a rooftop terrace with river views. Most visits take 30–45 minutes. The carving that makes the tower famous, with rope mouldings, armillary spheres and a stone rhinoceros head beneath one of the turrets, is on the outside and costs nothing to see from the riverside lawn and promenade. If you have less than four hours ashore, or if stairs and tight spaces are a problem, photographing the exterior and spending the money on the Jerónimos cloister is the better trade. The tower is the westernmost of the Belém sights. From the Jerónimos Monastery it is about 17 minutes on foot; from the Padrão dos Descobrimentos about 12 minutes along the river. A practical loop is Jerónimos first, then Pastéis de Belém and the Padrão, with the tower last before a taxi or app car back to the ship. Built in 1514–1519 on a rock in the Tagus to guard the harbour entrance, it is listed by UNESCO together with the monastery. Large bags, food and drink are not allowed inside.