Jeronimos Monastery
The Jeronimos Monastery in the Belem district of Lisbon is the supreme monument of the Manueline style, the exuberant Portuguese late-Gothic ornament that wove maritime motifs, ropes, armillary spheres and exotic forms into stone. Commissioned by King Manuel I and begun in 1501, it was built near the shore from which Vasco da Gama set sail for India, and it commemorates that voyage and the wealth of the Age of Discoveries that funded it through a tax on the spice trade.
The monastery's church of Santa Maria houses the tombs of Vasco da Gama and the national poet Luis de Camoes, while its cloister, with two storeys of intricately carved arcades, is among the most beautiful in Europe. The building survived the catastrophic Lisbon earthquake of 1755 largely intact, a fact that only deepened its symbolic stature.
Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 together with the nearby Belem Tower, the monastery remains an active church and a centre of national memory. It anchors a riverside quarter of monuments, gardens and the famous pastry shops selling the original Pasteis de Belem, making it one of Lisbon's most visited landmarks.
- Annual visitors
- ≈ 1,000,000
- Location
- 38.6978, -9.2061
- Local time
- 23:33 (Europe/Lisbon)
🕘 Visiting hours
| Mon | Closed |
| Tue–Sun | 10:00–18:00 |
Closed Mondays and some public holidays. Summer (May-Sep) closes 18:00; winter (Oct-Apr) closes 17:30; last entry 30 min before closing.
✨ Saints & blessed venerated here
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Saint Jerome Saint
Patron of the monastery and its Hieronymite order; depicted in sculpture, painting and stained glass, and in the south portal tympanum.
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St Mary of Bethlehem (Our Lady of Belem) Saint
The church's dedication (Santa Maria de Belem); her statue with the Christ Child crowns the south portal.
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Saint John the Baptist Saint
Depicted on the west portal as patron saint of Queen Maria of Aragon, kneeling beside her.
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Saint Michael the Archangel Saint
Surmounts the Madonna figure atop the west portal archivolt.
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Saint Peter the Apostle Saint
Among the roughly forty statues of prophets, apostles and saints flanking Our Lady of Belem on the south portal.
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Saint Paul the Apostle Saint
Among the apostle and saint statues of the south portal sculptural program.
Care & donations
Direcao-Geral do Patrimonio Cultural
Admission fees support heritage conservation
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