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Belem Monastery

Posted by esimonson18 on 12/25/25 10:33 PM

Hi!
I am planning on visiting Portugal in mid July which I know it is high season. I am planning my section on going to Belem and really want to to go to the monastery. I was reading Rick's guidebook and he recommends going after 4pm due to crowds but when I looked online the monastery is only open until 5:30 and I don't think that would be enough time. Does anyone have any suggestions about when to visit for least amount of crowds (obviously I know there will be many people due to when I am going) but just trying to avoid the worse of it.

Thanks!

Posted by GeoffB

State of Washington, USA

12/25/25 11:25 PM

349 posts

We visited the monastery in Aug 2023, choosing to go in the morning. That worked well for us in terms of crowds and heat. Excerpt from our trip report:

Aug 30 (Wed): Day trip to Belém. Visited Jerónimos Monastery.... Arrived at opening time and queued for 30 min before entering. By noon the line was three times longer and the sun was hot.

Posted by Allan

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

12/26/25 03:25 AM

5528 posts

We were there in late September 2024 on a rainy day and arrived at 10am to a sign that said the wait time to get in was 2 hours. We also counted 28 tour buses in the parking lot. We came back at 4:00 and waited in line for 15 minutes. I think we spent about an hour and had seen enough, but if it's of interest to you then even around 3 would be better than during prime tour bus hours.

Posted by Carrie

Chicago

12/26/25 12:08 PM

3920 posts

My advice for popular sights is arrive BEFORE they open.

Looking at my trip report from last year, I arrived at the Monastery 35 minutes before it opened and was first in line.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-in-lisbon-portugal-my-trip-report

It’s great to be one of the first inside to get some nice pictures without crowds of people in them.

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