Visiting Belem Tower & Jeronimos monastery (UNESCO’s sites portrayed as Europe’s Age of Discoveries)& enjoying a unique experience of ‘Pillar 7 Bridge’ & ‘Hippo Trip’ in the Lisbon City

On the second day(2/9/22) of our Lisbon trip we made visits to Belem Tower,Padrao dos,Jeronimos Monastery ,Rossio Square, Pillar 7Bridge Experience & the Hippo Trip.

BELEM TOWER :
Belém Tower, officially the Tower of Saint Vincent is a 16th-century fortification located in Lisbon that served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. It was built during the height of the Portuguese Renaissance, and is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style, but it also incorporates hints of other architectural styles. The structure was built from lioz limestone and is composed of a bastion and a 30-metre, four-storey tower. Since 1983, the tower has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Jerónimos Monastery. It is often portrayed as a symbol of Europe’s Age of Discoveries and as a metonym for Portugal or Lisbon, given its landmark status. It has incorrectly been stated that the tower was built in the middle of the Tagus and now sits near the shore because the river was redirected after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In fact, the tower was built on a small island in the Tagus river near the Lisbon shore.

PADRAO DOS DESCOBRIMENTOS :
Padrão dos Descobrimentos is a monument on the northern bank of the Tagus river estuary, in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém, Lisbon. Located along the river where ships departed to explore and trade with India and the Orient, the monument celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery during the 15th and 16th centuries. The monument was conceived in 1939 by Portuguese architect José Ângelo Cottinelli Telmo, and sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida, as a temporary beacon during the Portuguese World Exhibition opening in June 1940.

JERONIMOS MONASTERY :

The Jerónimos Monastery or Hieronymites Monastery is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus river in the parish of Belém, in the Lisbon Municipality, Portugal. It became the necropolis of the Portuguese royal dynasty of Aviz in the 16th century but was secularized on 28 December 1833 by state decree and its ownership transferred to the charitable institution, Real Casa Pia de Lisboa.
The Jerónimos Monastery is one of the most prominent examples of the late Portuguese Gothic Manueline style of architecture in Lisbon. It was erected in the early 1500s near the launch point of Vasco da Gama’s first journey, and its construction funded by a tax on the profits of the yearly Portuguese India Armadas. In 1880, da Gama’s remains and those of the poet Luís de Camões (who celebrated da Gama’s first voyage in his 1572 epic poem, The Lusiad), were moved to new carved tombs in the nave of the monastery’s church, only a few meters away from the tombs of the kings Manuel I and John III, whom da Gama had served. In 1983, the Jerónimos Monastery was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the nearby Tower of Belém

ROSIO SQUARE :

The Rossio is the popular name of the King Pedro IV Square  in the city of Lisbon, in Portugal. It is located in the Pombaline Downtown of Lisbon and has been one of its main squares since the Middle Ages. It has been the setting of popular revolts and celebrations, bullfights and executions, and is now a preferred meeting place of Lisbon natives and tourists alike.
The current name of the Rossio pays homage to Pedro IV, King of Portugal. The Column of Pedro IV is in the middle of the square.The Rossio has been a meeting place for people of Lisbon for centuries. Some of the cafés and shops of the square date from the 18th century, like the Café Nicola, where poet Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage used to meet friends. Other traditional shops include the Pastelaria Suíça (1922–2018) and the Ginjinha, where the typical Lisbon spirit (Ginjinha) can be tasted. The building of the Maria II Theatre and the Public Gardens to the north of the square only made the area more attended by Lisbon high society in the 19th century. Nowadays it is constantly populated by Lisboners and tourists.

PILLAR 7 BRIDGE EXPERIENCE :
A new cultural attraction in Lisbon! Located in Alcântara (Avenida da Índia), this interactive centre allows all visitors to have an unique experience of the bridge – considered one of the prettiest in the world – via a tour that takes in the exterior areas of this key pillar and the sensory experience of visiting its interior. It is a trip through the history of its construction and ends with an elevator ride up to a panoramic viewing point that provides an unrivalled view of the city and the river.

HIPPO TRIP IN LISBON :AMPHIBIOUS TOURIST CIRCUIT!90 MINUTES OF FUN!!

Aboard one of the amphibious vehicles, lets explore the heart of the Portuguese capital, by land and water, always in the comfort of your seat. Is it a bus? Is it a boat? It’s both… so lets get ready to “dive” into the Tagus River with a huge smile. Lets have fun with the entertainers who will share myths, legends and curiosities, in a 90 min circuit full of positive energy and interaction. Fun reigns, so don’t expect a “traditional” panoramic tour with a “traditional” guide. The entertainers provide a memorable experience and we’ll be screaming —Hippo, Hippo, Hurrah!!!

LETS TRY A HIPPOTRIP… LISBON WITH A SPLASH!

TRAM 28 :

Riding tram 28 has become one of Lisbon’s most popular activities. It’s a journey back in time, over hills and medieval streets, in vintage trams from the 1930s that are still part of the city’s public transportation network. These charming vehicles go past some major attractions, and guidebooks never fail to recommend the experience. Here’s what we should know: Line 28 of Lisbon’s iconic trams was inaugurated in 1914, and today it has a 7km-(4.5 miles) route between Martim Moniz Square and Prazeres, by the neighborhood of Campo de Ourique (at night, after 9:30pm, it terminates a few stops before, by the basilica of Estrela). It survived the rise of the automobile and of the bus by being the best way to squeeze through the narrow streets and corners of the older districts, for being an attractive tourist route, and for its clean energy. It’s now an essential part of Lisbon’s life, and the city would lose part of its soul without the constant rattling of these singular yellow “boxes.”