The Monument to the Discoveries was originally built as a temporary structure for the 1940 Portuguese World Exhibition. It was destroyed in 1943.

The permanent structure we see today was completed in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator who discovered the Azores, Madeira, and Cape Verde.

The 170 foot tall monument is made from cement and rose-tinted stone.

The inscriptions in each side of the stairs translate to “To Prince Henry and the Portuguese that discovered the roads of the sea” and “On the fifth centenary of Prince Henry 1460-1960.”

The statues are carved in limestone.

The figures appear to be standing on the bow of a ship.

There are a total of 33 statues on this monument. They include monarchs, explorers, cartographers, artists, scientists, and missionaries from the Portuguese Age of Discovery.

On both sides at the very front Prince Henry the Navigator is holding a small ship. The only female on the monument is on the western side. It’s Prince Henry’s mother, Queen Philippa of Lancaster (next to last wearing the crown). The Prince Henry statues are 26 feet tall while the others are 23 feet tall.

On the western side, the statues front to back are Henry the Navigator, Ferdinand the Saint, Jao Goncalves Zarco, Pero de Alenquer, Gil Eanes, Pedro Nunes, Pero Escobar, Jacome of Majorca, Pero da Covilha, Gomes Eanes de Zurara, Nuno Goncalves, Luis Vaz de Camoes, Frei Henrique Carvalho, Frei Goncalo Carvalho, Fernao Mendes Pinto, Queen Philippa of Lancaster, and Peter Duke of Coimbra.

On the eastern side, the statues front to back are Henry the Navigator, King Afonso V, Vasco da Gama, Afonso Baldaia, Pedro Alvares Cabral, Fernao de Magalhaes, Nicolau Coelho, Gaspar Corte-Real, Martim Afonso de Sousa, Joao de Barros, Estevao de Gama, Bartolomeu Dias, Diogo Cao, Antonio Abreu, Afonso de Albuquerque, St. Francis Xavier, and Cristovao de Gama.

The inside of the monument is open 7 days a week from 10am-7pm March-September and 10am-6pm Tuesday-Sunday from October-February.

The monuments’ website says entry is only 6 euros for adults. It was actually 10. I don’t know if the website is out of date or if it was due to the exhibition the ticket also included. Either way I think it was a good price for an observation deck. I would expect this to cost at least $25 in the United States.

There is a security guard by the elevator who pushes the buttons for you. He sent me to a political exhibit in the basement. I don’t really have time for that but I took a quick look around while I was down there.

I got back in the elevator and headed to the top floor. There are a couple sets of stairs after you get off of the elevator.

There really isn’t room for a lot of people up here. Fortunately it isn’t very crowded.

Directly in front of the monument is what is known as Mappa Mundi. That is a marble mosaic of the world inside of a wind rose. It is 165 feet in diameter and was donated by the Republic of South Africa.

Looking across the road is Praca do Imperio Garden. Beyond that is Jeronimos Monastery.

Behind the monastery is a multi-purpose stadium that is used for secondary soccer leagues and concerts. It’s not their main stadium.

The large facility to the northeast is Belem Cultural Center where they have concerts, opera, ballet, and various exhibitions.

If we look west we have a straight shot to Belem Tower which is where many of the explorers on this monument began their journeys.

The brown tower between here and Belem Tower is the Belem Lighthouse.

On the eastern side of the monument is the Belem marina.

We also have a great view of the 25th of April Bridge.

On the other side of the bridge is the Sanctuary of Christ the King Monument which looks over Lisbon.

It’s also a straight shot back to the ship from here.

I’m heading back down.

I found windows in the stairwell.

I enjoyed my stop at this monument. The observation deck isn’t expensive and it wasn’t very crowded. Even if you don’t want to go to the top, I recommend stopping by for a close look at these statues. It’s a convenient stop if you’re going to the tower or the monastery.