Belem Tower, Lisbon
During a recent trip to Portugal, I passed through Lisbon. Unfortunately I was only there for a few waking hours and only slightly more sleeping hours. In many ways, it was disappointing. I had never been to Lisbon before and didn’t know much about the city but in the short time I was there, transiting as it was, the city inspired me. It teased me with its beauty and its bonhomie.
The only ‘sight’ I really had time to see was Belem Tower, the fortress that rises up from the Tagus River.
The first iteration of the tower was built in the early 1500′s. It was designed as a fortress to stop any attack on Lisbon. Enemy boats which tried to make their way up the river would be met by a canon barrage from Belem Tower. Not always successfully, as it was to turn out… but at least it looked and sounded threatening!
I had decided to walk there, along the side of the river, from the centre of Lisbon. Past the shipyards, under bridges, and between bikes that weaved around me. Until suddenly Belem Tower appeared, seemingly in the middle of the river. It was actually built on an island even further out in the water but changes in the river’s course of the centuries have brought it closer to the bank.
Despite my time constraints, I had headed to this spot in particular because of its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As regular readers will know, I am trying to cross as many off the list as possible as I meander my way through the world (only 900 or so more to go! Until they add some new ones this year, that is… sigh).
If I’m being honest (which is the whole point of this blog), it was a little underwhelming. It’s certainly very pretty and photogenic but I wasn’t overly impressed by its history or its grandeur… at least not in comparison to many of the other sites I’ve visited. Still, it’s another box ticked. Onwards.
This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For more info click here.
You can see all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites I’ve visited here.
To get an update on the next Time Travel Turtle story, click on the LIKE button below:
loading...
Turtle, like the name suggests, likes to take things slowly. Luckily that's one of the best ways to see the world - and that's exactly what he's doing at the moment.
This is the website of travel writer, Michael Turtle. After working in broadcast journalism for a decade in Australia, Michael left Sydney to travel the world indefinitely and write about the places, people and experiences he discovers. This isn't a diary - these are real stories from the world.
20 Responses
Looks pretty cool, though – can you go in? Maybe you were just in a grumpy in-between-flights mood to find it underwhelming. You gotta do it right, man! Let me tell you how I had a hilarious few hours in the night/the wee hours during flights in Lisbon with my godmother. 1) I was 11. Someone else carries all responsibility and you don’t even know what to worry about. Highly recommended. 2) Food. Coffee. Found a café, had breakfast.Sat down, enjoyed the sunrise. Well, my godmother did. I didn’t drink coffee and I most certainly would not care about any adult exclamations about beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Adults were mainly crazy fools back then. 3) A passing dove pooped on my godmothers hair. Which is admittedly said to bring good luck, but it doesn’t really feel like that, when you have smelly poo right next to your face, and can’t wash it for the next 12+ hours or so.
All in all, I had an awesome time in Lisbon, and always wanted to come back to explore. True story.
Vera recently posted..The Black Temple of Chiang Rai
Ha ha. Not just a true story, but a fantastic story!
All I’m taking away from this is that, next time I’m in Lisbon, I should walk under lots of trees until I get bird poop on me. Then the day will feel like a glorious sunrise!
I can understand why you might have been disappointed because it looks like it would be super interesting! I haven’t been to Lisbon, but I’ve had those experiences where I only a few hours to spend in a place that teases me with its charm — makes me want to come back.
Cathy Sweeney recently posted..Surfing in Munich
I’m looking forward to going back sometime and spending a bit more time there. It certainly had a good feel to the place.
Thanks for your refreshing honesty. I saw this tower in Lisbon & spent 3 days in the city. I was also underwhelmed by Lisbon. I didn’t warm to its tired chic. I preferred visiting nearby Cascais & Sintra rather than the capital itself.
There are so many gems in Portugal, from what I hear. Lisbon would be a nice city for a base. I felt like you could feel at home there – but you might not want to spend too much time.
We’re both sitting in Melaka in Malaysia at the moment which is a UNESCO site. There’s actually a large Portuguese influence here from the colonnial days, but I don’t think we’ve seen a building we like here as much as the Belem Tower. Shame you didn’t find it too interesting, but you can’t like everything, right?
ANGLO/Dale recently posted..Artful Adoption for Abandoned Houses in Naoshima
I guess it’s not that I didn’t find it interesting, just that I wasn’t sure of its worth on the heritage list. Maybe I’m becoming a bit cynical when I see so many amazing things in the world that aren’t on the list.
Have always thought Belem was pretty cool. Hope to see it in person one day..
D.J. – The World of Deej recently posted..Top of the Rock – A Billion Dollar View – Picture of the Week
It won’t take long to see.
The last few months I’ve felt underwhelmed by quite a few things in Europe. I think it is not so much the sights as that I’m really just needing more variety in my travels than mostly 3 years of traveling in Europe.
Jennifer recently posted..Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Reykjavik
It’s funny you say that because I feel the same if I spend too long in Europe. It’s an amazing place but it does lack some of the variety that other areas have.
picturesque backdrop….. very well articulated….
Be On the Road recently posted..Rock Climbing at Dhauj, Haryana
Thanks – it is definitely a good spot for a photo!
We only got a few hours in Lisbon too, but we loved the city. We liked the vibe and the feel to the center. Unfortunately our trip out to Belem ended up being harried. We got lost getting out there and it ended up taking longer than we thought, so we didn’t have much time. I would have liked to have gone in and up it. I think that would have been neat. In the end, we just walked around it and got some sandwiches nearby. Then a hurried trip back to the train station to just barely make our train.
I definitely want to go back to Lisbon. And the tower, but inside this time.
Andrew recently posted..What can’t you get in Germany, than you can in the US?
Yeah, I’m thinking I need to give Lisbon a lot more time when I get a chance again. I certainly liked the feel of the place – just didn’t have long enough to really appreciate it.
Awesome shots! What a beautiful place to build a tower! Portugal is on my destination wishlist and you can bet I will be checking this out when I get there!
Escaping Abroad recently posted..Photo of the Week – California Sunset & Surfers
Yeah, it’s actually pretty cool (despite my grumbling in this post). Definitely worth seeing when you’re in Lisbon.
I missed this beautiful sight in Lisbon. . . I guess I was too busy eating pasteis de nata at Belem :p
Larissa recently posted..Jerusalem, it’s complicated
Ha – I would head for the food first too!