The must-have scrumptious "Pasteis de Belém" at Antiga Confeitaria de Belem (customers line up down the street!)
Jeronimos Monastery & its beautiful gardens
Padrão dos Descobrimentos, Monument to the Discoveries, at the banks of Tagus River
The Symbolic Fortress; Belém Tower
Sunset over beautiful Belém
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The Experience
His Perspective
Belém is an important part of Lisbon. This area of discovery that sits by the river, houses two UNESCO World Heritage Listings, the Jeronimos Monastery and the Belém Tower (also called Tower of St Vincent, or Torre de Belém). You must explore the inside of this Belém Tower, with many nooks and crannies to walk through and explore this fortress built specifically to guard the entrance to Lisbon’s harbour. Emerging to the top of this tower you see sweeping views of the harbour, the Belém area and the other monument of Belém – the Monument to the Discoveries (or Padrão dos Descobrimentos). This modern architecture amazes with giant statues of 33 people who were pivotal to Portugal’s Age of Discovery. These monuments are significant in the history of Portugal, and all are in their own right, worthy of a visit.
But despite the monuments, the fantastic gardens complete with a huge fountain, and the views of the gleaming red bridge over the Tagus River, there is one thing that Belém is even more famous for. That is, the pasteis de Belém.
You see, all Portuguese custard tarts are not created equal. And the pasteis de Belém are the best of the best – the king of pastries. The institution that is the pasteis de Belém bakery, sits down the road from the historic area of Belém, and it is busy whatever time you visit. I cannot describe how spectacular the pasteis are, they are something that needs to be experienced.
This area of Portugal/Europe/The World, is a must visit for all. Take some time to stroll around the area and soak in the history, culture and the magnificence of Belém, and then reward yourself with a visit to pasteis de Belém. I will leave you with one piece of advice: however many pasteis you think you want to order, make sure you get one more. You won’t regret it.
Don't just take our perspectives on it. Check out these blogs that share their thoughts on the delightful pasteis de Belém:
We also met some travellers from Amsterdam, who disagreed with us! We were shocked! If you've visited Belém and have tried pasteis de Belém, please leave a comment below, we'd love to hear your thoughts on the area, and if you agree or disagree that these are the most delightful pasteis!?
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Her Perspective
Our last trip to Lisbon, 4 years ago, we were picked up at the train station and taken straight to Belém by Tiago’s auntie. It was 6am, and I don’t know if it was the fact we had just endured a 10 hour overnight train from Madrid, but when I took a bite of my first ever pasteis de Belém it was like biting into heaven. If heaven is a scrumptious egg custard cloud, with just the perfect amount of crunch!
I mean, I’ve had some good Portuguese tarts, or even custard tarts, but I have no idea what it is about these ones in particular but they are a pastry in its own category. The café ‘Antiga Confeitaria de Belém’ has 4 huge rooms, that constantly rotate eager customers, and a take-away line out the front, that wraps around the street, filled with tourists waiting to buy a box of these delights to enjoy during their sight-seeing. The kitchen that produces these delightful tarts are on premise (even with windows where prying eyes can watch and try to figure out their secret recipe) so you can be guaranteed that every time you visit, you will be getting ‘fresh out the oven’ tarts. And literally every time we go (which is a lot!) these tarts never disappoint, the taste and quality is consistent and we are always greeted by waiters who seem like they have been working at this café all their lives and are just super proud of what they have on offer. I really hope I haven’t built this up too much for people that are going to try – I’m going as far as saying it should be on everyone’s ‘must try’ list.
This café and their famous ‘pasteis de Belém’ are not the only reason to visit this riverside precinct in Lisbon. The amount of history in this area with the Belém Tower and the Jeronimos Monastery and its lush gardens and magnificent fountain, leaves you breathless. Secretly, I love seeing how proud Tiago is of this area, and Portugal’s history, all whilst stuffing his face on pasteis like a kid eating ice-cream on a hot summer’s day (he’s given himself a challenge of eating 10 in one go before we leave Lisbon, we’ll let you know how he goes!!)
You can sit along the Tagus River here with picturesque views of sail boats, the ‘other’ side of Lisbon, and get a closer look of Henry the Navigator who leads the 33 giant figures on Portugal’s Age of Discovery monument. Beyond Henry the Navigator you see great views of the ‘San Fran like’ red bridge, and the Christ the King, Cristo Rei (inspired by Christ the Redeemer in Rio, Brazil) with outstretched arms projected towards the City of Lisbon.
Belém showcases Lisbon’s history, whilst highlighting Portugal’s gorgeous weather in the Summer. This riverside area is a delight for the senses, especially taste. Now, pass me a tart!
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The Brand
His Blue & White Checkered Zara Shirt
Her Red Wide Palazzo Trafaluc Trousers
His Perspective
Farah’s pants are quite red. Red and flowy and silky. I wasn’t a huge fan when she first showed me the style, but after seeing them on, I must admit that they do look good. She was keen on red pants, I don’t know why. It took a very long time to find the right pair though. She went through many stores, but in the end, she saw these in Zara and bought them immediately. At the end I agreed it had the best shade, style and price. This is usually the case with Zara. It’s such a great label, its unstoppable really.
Even I can’t fight it. I’ve got tons of stuff from Zara’s all over the world, including this shirt. To be honest, I can’t remember where I bought it, possibly Singapore, or maybe even Tokyo or Sydney. Either way, it’s a great shirt that can be dressed up or down. That’s almost a pre-requisite for all my items, as are subtle details that aren’t too over the top (like the collar and square buttons on this one). I don’t think you can go wrong with Zara – even when the item in question is so crazy and red.
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Her Perspective
Anyone that knows us, knows a majority of both our wardrobes is Zara. We used to do shopping trips to Singapore, or Portugal to stock up on clothes for the season. And the thing that I loved about that was that no one in Australia would have it, as there were no stores. This has now changed with Zara opening up in Sydney and Melbourne in the last 3 years, and in our hometown Perth this year.
But it’s all good, I love that Zara’s stock gets rotated so frequently, with good quality items at an affordable price, it means we can shop there every week for new items here in Europe.
These red pants are from Zara’s sister line Trafaluc, or TRF, the way I see it is my much loved Zara obsession is due to their classic, tailored styles. But every now and then I will go into Zara’s TRF section to pick up a trend, a loud one. In this case, these red wide Palazzo trousers. Trafaluc is said to be slang for ‘I have to buy this now!’ and that’s exactly what I did despite Tiago’s horrified face. I love the relaxed look of these pants, and they are so damn comfy!
I’m also loving that Red and Blue are in this Summer, and these red pants clashed perfectly with Tiago’s blue & white checkered shirt, the blue skies and river of Belém, and the blue tiled interiors of Antiga Confeitaria de Belém.
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