Booking choice: The Belém Tower ticket tour, from $34 per person. Check dates Tour details
The Padrão dos Descobrimentos, the Monument to the Discoveries, and Belém Tower are the two climbs in Belém. The tower is 16th-century and a UNESCO World Heritage site; the Padrão is from 1960. They suit different people, and since Belém Tower reopened in late May 2026 with timed slots, they also need different planning.
Prices and hours are from the Padrão's ticket page and, for the tower, from Time Out Lisboa and the official museums ticket desk, checked in October 2026.
The quick answer
For the view, climb the Padrão: EUR 10, a lift most of the way, open every day, no slot needed. For history and the building itself, Belém Tower: EUR 15, about 93 steps up one spiral stair, closed Mondays, and you need a timed slot. With two hours to spare, do the tower first and the Padrão after, as the Padrão stays open later.
Should you climb the Padrão dos Descobrimentos or Belém Tower?
The Padrão for the view and an easy climb; Belém Tower for a 500-year-old building you walk through. If you can only do one, most people get more out of the Padrão's view.
Side by side, in 2026:
| Padrão dos Descobrimentos | Belém Tower | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult ticket | EUR 10 | EUR 15 |
| Under 12 | Free | Free |
| Lisboa Card | Free | Free, slot still needed |
| Getting up | Lift to floor 6, then 42 steps | About 93 steps, one spiral stair |
| Timed entry | No | Yes, half-hour slots |
| Hours | 10:00 to 18:00 (19:00 Mar to Sep), daily | 9:30 to 17:30, Tue to Sun |
| Mondays | Open | Closed |
| Time needed | 45 to 60 min | 30 to 60 min |
| Built | 1960 (first version 1940) | Early 16th century |
Tower hours and step count are from Art Visit Guide's 2026 summary; the Padrão's from its official site.
Which has the better view, the Padrão or Belém Tower?
The Padrão. Its terrace is higher and looks straight down on the wind rose, Jerónimos and the river, with Belém Tower in the frame.
From the top of the Padrão you get the whole of Belém laid out: the marble map below, the Praça do Império garden, the long front of Jerónimos, the 25 de Abril Bridge upriver and the tower downriver. That last one is the point. Belém Tower is the thing you want in your photo, and you cannot photograph it while standing on it.
The tower's terrace is lower and smaller. Its view is the river mouth and the sea traffic, and its charm is the stone balconies, the rhino gargoyle and the rooms you pass on the way up.
How does Belém Tower timed entry work in 2026?
Since it reopened in late May 2026 after a year of restoration, the tower admits about 60 people per half-hour slot. Book a slot in advance; Lisboa Card holders need one too.
Tickets cost EUR 15 and are sold on the official museums ticket desk for Portugal's national monuments. On the first busy weekends after the reopening, people without a slot were turned away at the door, according to Art Visit Guide. Book a day or two ahead in summer and on weekends.
The Padrão has no slot system at all, which makes it the easy half of the pair. The full story of the reopening is in our Belém Tower reopening post.
A timed Belém Tower ticket held for you, with a host who walks you to the door and a short history before you go in. No guide inside, and the sale is final: non-refundable.
Explore the Belém Tower ticket tour Tour detailsHow many stairs are there, and is there a lift?
The Padrão has a lift to the sixth floor and then 42 steps. Belém Tower has no lift: about 93 steps up a single spiral stair used in both directions.
The tower's stair is narrow and two-way, so people going up wait for people coming down. It is fine for most visitors, hard with a bad knee, impossible with a pushchair. The Padrão is the kinder climb, though its last 42 steps are also narrow and the terrace is not wheelchair accessible. The monument has periscopes at reception for seeing over the 1.30 m wall.
How long do you need at the Padrão and at Belém Tower?
About 45 to 60 minutes at the Padrão and 30 to 60 at Belém Tower, plus 15 minutes to walk between them.
The Padrão's time goes on the lift, the terrace and the exhibition. At the tower, the stair sets the pace: on a full slot you will move floor by floor with everyone else. Allow two and a half hours for both, with the walk and a coffee.
Belém on foot in two hours with pastéis, before your tower slot and the Padrão terrace.
Check dates for the Belém walk with pastéisIs Belém Tower open on Mondays?
No. Belém Tower and Jerónimos both close on Mondays. The Padrão dos Descobrimentos opens every day, Mondays included.
On a Monday the Padrão is the only big climb in Belém, so it is busier than usual. Pair it with the wind rose, Pastéis de Belém and a walk along the river to the MAAT, which opens on Mondays and closes on Tuesdays. Belém Tower also closes on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 13 June and 25 December.
Can you do the Padrão and Belém Tower on the same day?
Yes, easily. They are about 1 km apart along the river, a 12 to 15 minute walk. Book the tower slot first and do the Padrão after.
The order matters. The tower's last entry is 17:00 all year, while the Padrão lets you in until 17:30 in winter and 18:30 in summer. Take a mid-afternoon slot at the tower, walk east along the river, and go up the Padrão as the light turns gold. The path runs along the water the whole way.
Mornings belong to Jerónimos, which is across the road from the Padrão. Our one-day Belém itinerary puts all three in order.
The Jerónimos ticket, a pastel tasting and a guide through Belém in the morning, both towers free for the afternoon.
Check dates for the Belém half-day with JerónimosIs the Lisboa Card worth it for the Padrão and Belém Tower?
If you add Jerónimos and the tram, yes. The three tickets cost EUR 43 together, and a 24-hour Lisboa Card is EUR 31 in 2026.
The arithmetic: EUR 10 for the Padrão, EUR 15 for the tower and EUR 18 for the Jerónimos cloister, plus about EUR 6.60 for the tram there and back. The card covers all of it, though you still have to book the tower slot. For the Padrão and the tower alone, it is a closer call. Our post on Lisboa Card prices in 2026 has the 48 and 72-hour versions.
Frequently asked questions
Is Belém Tower or the Padrão dos Descobrimentos better?
For the view, the Padrão: it is higher, has a lift and looks down on Belém with the tower in the frame. For the history and the building itself, Belém Tower.
Do you need to book Belém Tower in advance in 2026?
Yes. Since it reopened in late May 2026, entry runs on half-hour slots of about 60 people, and slots sell out on busy days. The Padrão needs no booking.
How far is the Padrão dos Descobrimentos from Belém Tower?
About 1 km along the river, a 12 to 15 minute walk on a flat path.
Which is cheaper, Belém Tower or the Padrão?
The Padrão: EUR 10 against EUR 15 for an adult in 2026. Both are free for children under 12 and with a Lisboa Card.
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Choose your tour
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every option. Prices are from-prices in USD and move with the season.
Belém Half-Day: Jerónimos Ticket & Pastel Tasting
- Entry ticket to the Jerónimos Monastery cloister
- Church of Santa Maria and the tomb of Vasco da Gama
- Original pastel de Belém tasting
Belém & Jerónimos Small-Group Walk
- Professional guide, group of 8 at most
- Pastéis de Belém, the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower
- 30-minute stop at the Padrão (monument entry not included)
Belém Walking Tour with Monastery Tickets
An hour inside Jerónimos, 20 minutes at the Padrão
