Mosteiro dos Jerónimos

About the museum

The monastery arose in Restelo, beside the Tagus, on the site of a former seafarers' hermitage dedicated to Santa Maria de Belém. In 1495 D. Manuel I asked the Holy See for permission to establish there a hermitage of Jeronymite monks and, a few years later, handed the site over to the Order of Saint Jerome. The first stone was laid on Epiphany (Dia de Reis) in 1501 or 1502. The work lasted about a century and was led by several master builders, among them João de Castilho, who gave the complex its Manueline character.

The construction mainly used lioz limestone, quarried in the Lisbon region; the high chapel, erected between 1557 and 1562 at the initiative of Queen D. Catarina, was made of Estremoz marble. The two-storey cloister, with its exuberant decoration, and the hall church are among the most remarkable works of Portuguese architecture of the early 16th century. According to tradition, the fleets of Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral set sail from here.

With the extinction of the religious orders in 1834, the building ceased to serve the monks and took on other uses. The monastery has been classified as a National Monument since 1907 and, together with the Belém Tower, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1983. Since 2016 it has held the status of National Pantheon. It is today managed by Museus e Monumentos de Portugal, and the cloister is visited with a ticket, while the church has free admission.

Highlights

• Two-storey Manueline cloister
• Hall church of Santa Maria de Belém, with free admission
• High chapel in Estremoz marble
• UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983
• National Pantheon since 2016

Operated by

Museus e Monumentos de Portugal

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Residents of Portugal have free access on 52 days per year of their choice, with a document bearing their tax number (NIF) and a ticket obtained at the ticket office. Free admission on the International Day for Monuments and Sites (18 April), on International Museum Day (18 May) and during the European Heritage Days (September).

Tickets are for a set day and time and often sell out, so advance purchase through the online ticket office is recommended. There is also free admission for, among others, unemployed people resident in the European Union, researchers and museum and heritage professionals on duty, members of ICOM, ICOMOS and APOM, teachers and higher education students on study visits, and veterans. The church has free admission.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The ground floor of the cloister and the church are fully accessible; the first floor of the cloister is not accessible to wheelchairs or pushchairs. The monument has a wheelchair and portable benches for visitors with reduced mobility. Adapted toilets are on the ground floor.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Baby changing facilities

Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Pushchairs may not go up to the first floor of the cloister. The women's toilets on the ground floor have a baby-changing table.

Getting there & parking

Physical ticket office in a kiosk in the space in front of the monument, where tickets for the Belém Tower are also sold.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit