Page 348 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

346  THE IBERIAN PENINSULA

Belém There is also a 19th-century
Lisbon cab, painted black
At the mouth of the Tagus, where the Portuguese mariners set and green, the colors of taxis
sail on their voyages of discovery, Manuel I commissioned two right up to the 1990s and in use
grand monuments in the exuberant Manueline style of again today. The 18th-century
architecture: the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and the Torre de Eyeglass Chaise has a black
leather hood pierced with
Belém. Today, Belém is a spacious, relatively green suburb with sinister eyelike windows. It dates
museums and gardens, including the vast Praça do Império, a from the era of Pombal (see p345),
formal square with a central fountain in front of the monastery. when lavish decoration
The area enjoys an attractive riverside setting, with cafés and a was discouraged.
promenade; on sunny days, it has a distinct seaside feel.
In Rua de Belém is the Antiga Confeitaria de Belém,
a 19th-century café that sells the local specialty:
pastéis de Belém, rich flaky-pastry custard tarts.
w Museu Nacional The coaches on
dos Coches display span
three centuries
Avenida da Índia 136. Tel 210-732 319. and range from
@ 714, 727, 728, 729, 751. v 15. the practical
£ Belém. Open Tue–Sun. Closed Baroque coach in the Museu Nacional dos Coches
Jan 1, Easter Sun, May 1, Dec 25. & to the prepos-
terous. Among
(free 1st Sun in month). 7 e Monument to the
∑ museudoscoches.pt the exhibits are coaches created
for Portuguese royalty. The oldest Discoveries
The National Coach Museum is the comparatively plain 16th- Padrão dos Descobrimentos, Avda de
was established in 1905 by century red leather and wood Brasília. Tel 213-031 950. @ 727, 728,
King Carlos’s wife, Dona Amélia, coach of Philip II of Spain. The 729, 751. v 15. Open Apr–Sep:
whose pink riding cloak can coaches become increasingly 10am–7pm daily; Oct–Mar: 10am–
be seen on display. Part of the sumptuous, interiors lined with 6pm Tue–Sun. Closed Jan 1, May 1,
collection occupies the former red velvet and gold, exteriors Dec 25. & ∑ padraodos
riding school of the Palace of carved with allegorical figures. descobrimentos.pt
Belém, while most of it is housed The most extravagant of all are
in a purpose-built museum on three Baroque coaches made Standing prominently on the
the east side of the square. The in Rome for the Portuguese Belém waterfront, the Padrão
rest of the elegant pink palace is ambassador to the Vatican in dos Descobrimentos was built
now the residence the early 18th century. in 1960 to mark the 500th
of the president The neighboring gallery anniversary of the death of
of Portugal. includes pony-drawn chaises. Henry the Navigator (see p338).
The 52 m (170 ft) high
monument resembles a caravel
– the small, lateen-rigged ship

Eastern Face of the Monument
to the Discoveries

Afonso V
(1432–81)
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Henry the Navigator (1467–1520), discoverer
(1394–1460), patron of Brazil
of the first explorers
Vasco da Gama Fernão de Magalhães (Magellan), Padrão erected by Diogo
(1460–1524) who crossed the Pacific in 1520–21 Cão in the Congo in 1482
For hotels and restaurants see p362 and p363

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