Time Travel Turtle

A travel blog with stories beyond the brochure

The tower rising from the river

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WORLD HERITAGE SITE

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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.

Belem Tower, Lisbon, Portugal

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!

Belem Tower, Lisbon, Portugal

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.

Belem Tower, Lisbon, Portugal

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.

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  1. Reply

    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.

    • Reply

      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!

  2. Reply

    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.

  3. Reply

    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.

    • Reply

      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.

  4. Reply

    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?

    • Reply

      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.

  6. Reply

    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.

  8. Reply

    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.

    • Reply

      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.

  12. Reply

    Too bad you were only in Portugal for a short time. We were blessed to live their for 5 months (close to Portalegre in Reguengo). We LOVED it. But, we were ready for some down time for sure. Once the people trust you, they will do anything for you. I miss the friends we made, even though we do stay in touch by phone. We were only in Lisbon for one night, but had fun. It is a beautiful country. I would have liked to seen more of it and Europe, but we stuck close to home (other than a trip to the Algarve). Have fun on your adventures!! Thank you for sharing your travels.

  13. Reply

    I wonder what history you have read about the tower….

    This is not being about honest, if the tower is photogenic or not, of if is big or small.

    The tower is one of main symbols of the dawn of modern times, for all the good and bad things about it.

    That is, a period of new interest towards nature and scientific knowledge, a cultural, religious, military, global new age.

    All that aspects are represented in a unique way in the tower. That is the reason it belongs in the Unesco’s heritage list.

    I guess you didn’t “discover” them.

    • Reply

      Very good points – thanks for the comment. The tower, as you say, is supposed to represent the Portuguese Age of Discovery which was extremely important to the way we see the world today. It’s important, I guess, to look beyond just bricks and mortar.

  14. Reply

    The problem about just checking boxes on a list is that you don’t see other amazing things a city has to offer! Next time you come by with more time I will gladly make you a tour by other, 3 days is enough for Lisbon and surroundings.

    • Reply

      Thank you for the offer! I agree that I need to give the city a bit more time. I actually really loved the vibe of the place and vowed to go back and check it out properly when I get a chance!