Padrão dos Descobrimentos

Standing at the water’s edge in Belém, the Monument to the Discoveries is shaped like the prow of a caravel putting out to sea: on it, stone figures scan the horizon — Prince Henry the Navigator at the front, behind him the navigators, cartographers, poets and kings who made the Portuguese voyages. It is the country’s monument to its own age of exploration, built in full view of the river from which the ships once sailed.

From exhibition to marble caravel

A first version of the Padrão, in fragile materials, was created for the 1940 Portuguese World Exhibition; the nation liked it so much that a permanent monument in concrete and stone rose between 1958 and 1960, inaugurated on 9 August 1960, on the fifth centenary of Prince Henry’s death. Some 33 figures climb the two slopes of the prow; on the ground lies a huge wind rose of 50 metres, a gift of South Africa, centred on a map of the world marking the routes and dates of the discoveries. A lift and stairs climb to a rooftop viewpoint over Belém, the river and the Monastery of the Jerónimos and the museums along the shore.

What to see

• The figures of the caravel prow
• The wind rose and world map on the ground
• The rooftop terrace and its views
• The riverside esplanade and the marina
• Sunset light over the Tagus

Practical information

The monument stands on the Belém waterfront, between the Jerónimos and the Tower of Belém; the tram, train and buses all stop nearby. It is open daily, with a modest ticket for the viewpoint; the ground level and wind rose are free. Come early or at sunset to avoid the midday crowds.

Image credit: Padrão dos Descobrimentos by Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.