Spain and Portugal for Visitors

Lisbon's most important sights are actually found in the Belém suburb, west of the city centre. The 16th-century Hieronymites or Jerónimos Monastery is a riot of the extravegant Manueline style of architecture, and Lisbon's favourite place for upper-class couples to get married. The Tower of Belém, though erected to commemorate Vasco da Gama's epic voyage to India, is a real, defensive structure designed to close off the mouth of the Tagus to unwanted visitors - it have stood on a small island, but land has encroached to surround it.

One of Lisbon's most important sights, with information about the Belém Tower thrown in.