The guide books will tell you that the best way to get to Belém is by tram. Ignore that advice, the best way is by bike! Lisbon is generally not a biking city due to its hills but along the river there is a nice wide biking path that stretches between the city center and the heart of Belem. It takes you right by most of the sights and its easy enough to get to the rest.

We rented bikes for the day from Bikeiberia. The staff was very friendly and their location was perfect, just a couple blocks from the bike path.

25 de Abril Bridge

The bike ride takes you under Lisbon’s 25th of April Bridge, originally named the Salazar Bridge and then renamed after the date in 1974 when his authoritarian government was peacefully overthrown. The bridge looks exactly like the Golden Gate Bridge. This one is 300 feet longer than the Golden Gate and the longest suspension bridge in Europe. There is a viewing platform that opened last year called Pilar 7 Experience which I didn’t know about at the time – it might be worth checking out.

Monument to the Discoveries

The Padrao dos Desobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) was originally built for the 1940 World’s fair in Lisbon. It was destroyed after the fair but a larger permanent version was commissioned 18 years later and completed in 1960, the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. The monument is built to resemble the bow of a ship with Henry the Navigator at the lead and 32 other historical figures from the Age of Discovery flanking him from either side.

Belém Tower

Belém Tower was built in the 16th century as a fortress to guard the entrance to Lisbon’s harbor. It was the starting point of many of the voyages of discovery. After reading many reviews it sounded like the tower was one of those sites thats more beautiful on the outside than it is on the inside. The best view is just to the east looking towards the tower. Park your bike, sit, and take pictures while you watch all those poor people waiting in line.

Pastéis de Belém

Lisbon is famous for its egg tart pastry, pastéis de nata, which originates from the 16th century when it was made by Catholic monks at the Jeronimos Monastery. When the monastery was closed the recipe was sold to Pasteis de Belem right next door. Its owned by the same family to this day.

We had read that the line would be long but for some reason we lucked out and only waited a few minutes before picking up our pastries at the counter. They are best eaten hot so we gobbled them down right in front of the store before hopping back on our bikes.

Biking Tip: To get to the Jeronimos Monastery and Pasties de Belém from Belem Tower you must use a tunnel under a busy roadway. Even though there was a bike ramp to get down the stairs, it was pretty difficult with the heavy rental bikes. We had wished we locked them up at the tower and picked them back up once we explored the town of Belém.