Belem Tower was built over 500 years ago by King Manuel I. It’s purpose was to serve as a gateway to the city of Lisbon, but also to defend it from enemy ships.

In later years the tower was used as a prison, a telegraph station, a lighthouse, and a customs center. Today it is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world.

Walking up the path to the tower I came across this ticket booth. I wasn’t sure if this was the actual ticket booth for the tower or not. It seemed a bit far away for that.

First I walked up to the tower line and asked someone in line if this is where they got their ticket. They said it was so I came back and bought mine here.

Tickets are 6 euros. The tower is open 9:30am-6pm. Last ticket sales are at 5pm and last entry is at 5:30pm.

The line is quite long.

It took 20 minutes to get to this point.

It looks like they allowed people who failed to get their tickets before getting in line to leave the line, get their tickets, then get back to the front of the line.

The watch towers that surround the tower have domed roofs and images of animals at their base. The one of a rhinoceros is considered the first sculpture of that animal in Western Europe.

The tower is four floors and is 115 feet tall.

The entire tower is surrounded by rope carved in stone with a knot on the north side.

In addition to this drawbridge, there was a gate inside the doorway that could be lowered and there was a hole in the roof where objects could’ve been dropped on anyone who managed to get past the drawbridge and the gate.

We are entering the lower battery. Belem Tower was the first Portuguese fort with two levels of firing positions.

This floor contained 17 cannons and was used to store ammunition and food.

The open roof in the center of this room is for the dissipation of smoke from the artillery fire.

In 1580 the Spanish navy took this tower after a four hour battle. The Spanish converted this room into a prison.

It was not a comfortable place to be imprisoned because it was susceptible to flooding at high tide and during storms.

We are now heading up to the bulwark terrace.

This is where the staircase from the lower battery comes up.

We are now above the drawbridge.

This is the pulley system for the draw bridge. This is also where the hole would’ve been to drop objects on invaders.

This is a look at the drawbridge system.

These watch towers remind me of the ones I saw at The Forts of San Juan. There are six of them on the bulwark terrace.

This is the open area above the lower battery.

The coat of arms above the balcony is that of King Manuel I.

On the platform is a sculpture of Madonna and Child.

The people you see on the left are in line to enter the tower. As a group comes out, they let a group in. I waited until the line was really short and it was just a few minutes wait.

We are about to enter the tower but looking up from here. The first floor is the Governor’s Room. It’s all stone on this side. The floor with the large balcony is the King’s Room. The floor above that with the two windows is the Audience Room. Then the floor above that is the Chapel.

This is the Governor’s Room. Nine governors worked in this room. There was a nearby palace that no longer exists where they lived. There is a hotel in that location today and some say it was once connected to this building by underground passage.

This room has a vaulted ceiling and two windows to provide natural light. The octagon shaped hole in this room goes down to a tank which was designed to collect and store rain water.

In two of the corners are small passages that lead to watch towers.

We are heading up to the next floor.

Communication between the floors of the tower occurred in this stairwell.

This is The King’s Room. It has a vaulted ceiling and checkered floor. It also has the two windows for natural light.

One unique feature about this room is the stone fireplace with a mantelpiece.

The main feature of the King’s Room is the balcony overlooking the terrace and the river where the king and his court could watch the ships arriving.

It can get quite crowded up here.

That’s the line to go up to the next floor. My strategy is to hang in the back so I can be the last one out and get pictures without all of those people in them.

The next room is the Audience Room. Like the other rooms it has a vaulted ceiling and windows for natural light.

By the windows is what they call conversation seats.

This room also has a fireplace but no mantelpiece.

We are now heading up to the last room.

This is the Chapel.

There are a lot of symbols in this room. Those include the royal crown, armillary spheres and crosses of the Order of Christ, flames, and a leaf mask.

There is a large balcony you can access from this level but they do not have it open.

There are also more stairs which I believe go up to the rooftop. They have that closed off as well.

I got in line at 1:32 and I’m walking out at exactly 2:32. The line is much shorter now.

Outside they have a model of the tower.

I enjoyed my tour of Belem Tower. I highly recommend visiting it if you are ever in Lisbon.