Four Continents 2012

Belém day trip

On Tuesday, we took a tram to Belém, about 4 km west of central Lisbon.
		The main sight at Belém (or at least the largest) is the enormous Mosteiro dos Jerónimos or Hieronymites Monastery. *
		The monastery church is magnificent. †
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		The tomb of Vasco da Gama. The monastery was built to celebrate his discovery of a sea route to India. *
		The monastery also has a beautiful and unusual two-level cloister. *
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		The waterfront at Belém looking east with Ponte 25 de Abril in the background. *
		On the waterfront is the Monument of the Discoveries, with King Henry the Navigator at the prow. *
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		The Belém Tower is UNESCO-listed and was designed in 1515. *
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		We are not quite sure why this biplane was next to a street in Belém. *
		We rounded off the day with a visit to the National Museum of Coaches, where Cinderella would indeed have had a ball. *
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You can go back to Lisbon or on to our day trip to Sintra.