Lisbon is famous for its maritime heritage. We all recognise names like Ferdinand Magellan (who rounded South America through the strait that now bears his name and reached the Philippines), Bartholomeu Dias (the first European to sail around the Cape of Good Hope) and Vasco da Gama (led the first European expedition around the Cape of Good Hope before crossing the Indian Ocean arriving in India - subsequently used for the spice trade) as famous explorers/navigators. All of these were either born or set out from Portugal on voyages of discovery instigated by Henry the Navigator (he stands on the prow of the Monument to the Discoveries).


The Monument to the Discoveries

Admittedly we're not great museum lovers but for us boatie types this museum really appealed so we entered the western wing of the impressive "Mosterio dos Jeronimos" (main photo) with some reservation - would this be €6 well spent?

The exquisite detail of every scale model ship was just incredible and the explanations (in Portuguese and English) were kept suitably brief. The level of detail and accuracy that the Portuguese pioneers plotted onto charts using various instruments was unbelievable. It was also apparent how the instrumentation improved significantly in a relatively short period of time - it made me wonder what these intrepid explorers would think if they were around today to see a modern day chart plotter, GPS technology and fibreglass material. I'm sure it would blow their minds!

The final hall of the museum was amazing, containing some 20 or so yachts, barges, royal barges and sea planes from different periods - all in excellent condition and beautifully presented. One of the royal barges looked absolutely stunning (unfortunately the picture doesn't do it any justice)!


Royal Barge


We spent so long in there that we should have taken a packed lunch because we were beyond ourselves when we finally tore ourselves away. To get to the museum we had walked through the gardens directly in front of the monastery and we didn't recall seeing any cafes so took the decision to grab a light snack from the on-site cafe. Never again!! We felt truly ripped-off paying €28 for a quiche and empanada both with a limp salad and two beers. In true British form we stupidly paid up but should this happen again we'll be saying "NO" and refuse to pay! This was a shame as it was otherwise an extremely enjoyable day. This is the first time since arriving in Portugal that we've come across this type of tourist inflation. We've sat and had coffees and cakes in numerous squares (some famous) and never been ripped off like this. If anyone is following in our footsteps... learn from our mistake and take note as you have been warned!

Putting aside the cafe experience, the museum was absolutely fantastic and will be remembered as one of the highlights from Lisbon and it's the best €6 we've spent in a while! Whilst we only spent the day here we could have easily spent more time in order to understand more about Portugal's maritime heritage.

By the way, entrance is free on a Sunday.