Monument to the Discoveries
On the Tagus, the stone prow with Prince Henry and 32 figures of the Age of Discovery, the Compass Rose and a viewpoint more than 50 metres up.
Monument to the Discoveries
The Monument to the Discoveries rises on the banks of the Tagus in Belém like a huge caravel prow pointing towards the river. It was first put up in 1940, as a temporary structure, for the Portuguese World Exhibition, designed by the architect Cottinelli Telmo and the sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida; in 1960, for the commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator, it was rebuilt in concrete and stone. Standing 56 metres high, it shows Prince Henry at the prow, holding a caravel, followed by 32 figures from the Age of Discovery – navigators, cartographers, missionaries, chroniclers and poets. At its foot, the Compass Rose, fifty metres across with a world map set into the pavement, was designed by Luís Cristino da Silva and offered by South Africa in 1960. Since 1985 the monument has also been a cultural centre, with exhibition rooms, an auditorium and a viewpoint more than fifty metres up, with a unique view over the river, the 25 de Abril Bridge and the Jerónimos Monastery.
Located at: Padrão dos Descobrimentos
Address: Av. Brasília, 1400-038 Lisboa
Opening hours: 10:00-18:00 October to February, 10:00-19:00 March to September (open every day)
Phone: +351 213 031 950
Coordinates: 38.6936054, -9.2057002
Buses: 728, 729, 714, 727, 751
Tram: 15E
Train: Cascais Line, Belém Station
Boat: Belém River Station
Opened: 1940 (86 years)
