Perched as it is at the mouth of the Tagus river, where the caravels launched their voyages, Belém is inextricably linked with Portugal’s golden Age of Discovery. When Manuel I came to power in 1495 he reaped the profits of colonial expansion, using it to build grandiose monuments and churches that mirrored the spirit of the time. Two of the finest examples of this exuberant and exotic Manueline style of architecture are the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and the Torre de Belém.

Following the earthquake of 1775, José I installed his court in a series of tents in Belém’s hills, the site of the Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, where it would remain for nearly three decades. This move attracted commerce to the area and Belém continued to thrive. The 19th-century main street has largely resisted modernization, and the Antiga Confeiteria de Belém, celebrated as the birthplace of Lisbon’s iconic custard tart, can still be visited at its original site.