Wanderings in Belém

Just 7km from Lisbon, Belém is usually visited as a side trip to see the Jerónimos monastery and the monument to the Discoveries - with perhaps lunch and a walk along its attractive waterfront promenade. Most certainly there'll be a visit to the most famous of all Portugal's cafés to taste a Pastéis de Belém. Our research clearly favoured a stay in Belém due to its close proximity to Lisbon and a preference to be somewhere that was quieter at night. Like most cities, Portugal's capital is a busy and noisy place.

Our rental apartment is in a neighbourhood less than 10 mins walk from the centre of Belém's tourist area. Right outside our door is where "regular" life goes on. Together with locals we shopped at their supermarkets plus some local bakeries and fruit stores, dotted along the streets. Small cafés and local restaurants were plentiful….the kind of place we love. Although we visited Lisbon frequently, here are some of the places we visited in Belém.

On a very windy day we walked through some back streets that run parallel to the waterfront. There was plenty of street art to keep it interesting plus we passed a lovely hotel in an old refurbished building. Shortly afterwards we crossed an overpass to enter the park and the entrance to the Belém Tower. On this day waves were lapping up the steps of the surrounding "beach area" and the walkway over the river to its entrance was fully exposed to the elements, causing it to be closed for safety reasons. This UNESCO world heritage site is a stark and impressive defence tower that was built in 1514 to protect Lisbon from enemy ships. The tower sat on an island in the river but after the 1755 earthquake the flow of the river changed. The tower is now accessible by a ramp from the river bank.

On another drizzly day we visited the **Royal Coach Museum, which houses one of the most important collections of carriages in the world. It's a beautiful place, with rarely a line up to get in. The oldest part of the collection of coaches date from 1581-1598 and they belonged to King Philip II. There's also 3 that belonged to pope Clement XI, dated 1715, that were built in Rome. The main hall is huge. Along the walls, encased in glass are some examples of the various traditional clothing of the coachmen.
The hall where these exhibits are displayed is in itself worth the visit. It's vast at 50 metres long and 17 metres wide and has an upper balcony with lovely columns and Azulejo tiles. The Royal Riding school began in 1787 and this hall was used for equestrian games, which the Royal Family and their court would watch from the balcony. The domed ceiling is covered in paintings and the whole room is stunning and - as we were to find out, the acoustics are incredible! After paying the small entrance fee - which for us as seniors was just €5 total, we entered the hall which was filled with orchestral music….it was a magical moment. By pure "dumb luck" the best youth orchestra from Dublin was in final rehearsal for that evening's concert - and they were magnificent! We dallied for quite a while to enjoy this unexpected treat.

**A final note on this museum - it shouldn't be confused with the National Coach Museum which has far more "inventory" and is housed in a huge modern building across the road. I can't comment on any other differences as we never visited.

The "basket" museum interested us - actually me, but credit to Trevor who went with an open mind and really enjoyed it. Housed in an old building, most of the interior is modern but some the older, interesting parts remain. Ceilings are high and the exhibition rooms are large, which makes it a great place for exhibitions. The skill of basketry and its traditional past are honoured along with a view to the future. It's part of an ongoing research undertaken by the Popular Art Museum & the National Ethnology Museum in Lisbon. The focus is on the skill of growing, harvesting and preparation of wood and fibres - plus some of the various techniques and skills used to weave them. More than 30 older members of this craft, from various regions of Portugal, have been consulted. Educational programs have been set up to continue these sustainable skills into the future. One such project is a 3-week long educational summer camp that pairs 10 design, art and architectural students from throughout Europe with 5 of these master artisans. A few pieces of their work are also on display - they're modern and innovative.
We were delighted that informative boards were also in English and grateful for one of the ladies on site who was happy leaving us alone to wander, but also on hand to answer any of our questions and fill in a few details. Exhibits are grouped into regional products together with their materials and purpose. We saw huge baskets made for transpiration of goods on pack animals to tiny purses and handbags. Ranging from the practical to more decorative items, there were also place mats, rugs and carpets - some of them made on a simple but very cleverly made hand loom.
Photos of the consulting artisans + their diagrams are dotted around the large rooms. Amongst the contribution from the student's camp was a chair, a lamp shade plus a small "side table" which resembled an old drink trolley that we have. It was made with "digital nomads" in mind - it can be taken apart and reassembled as needed - apparently faster than an IKEA product + it fits in a backpack!
A "basket" museum may sound dull to many people, but it's actually a fascinating place to visit and learn…and maybe commit to a more sustainable future when buying or replacing some of our items. It's not at the top of the list in the "must see" places in Belém, but if anyone has time, it's certainly worth it.