EXPLORED_ Mosteiro dos Jerónimos

EXPLORED_ Mosteiro dos Jeronimos in Belém, Lisbon - Hannelore Veelaert for aupaysdesmerveillesblog

When I visited Lisbon for the first time, with my parents in 2011, we wanted to visit the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos but ended up finding ourselves in front of closed doors.  Despite my regular visits to Lisbon and Belém in particular, it somehow never occured to me to give it another try.  Until now that is, and it was definitely worth the wait!  Built in the beginning of the 16th century by King Manuel I to celebrate the Portuguese discoveries, the monastery was afterwards donated to the Jerónimos monks.   With its national and religious Portuguese symbols, nautical motifs, exotic plants and animals carved in limestone, it’s a striking example of the Manueline style.  No wonder it has been classified as Unesco World heritage!  Despite it being winter, we were lucky to visit the monastery on a sunny day.  The light pouring through the cloisters casted mesmerizing shadows on the walls and floors, while it turned the columns of the church into colorful works of art, thanks to the stained glass windows.

Mosteiro dos Jerónimos - Praça do Império, Lisbon - website

Curious for more must-visits in Lisbon?  Then have a look at my city guide, where I’ve collected no less than 90(!) tips for you, during the 5 months I lived in Lisbon and my many visits afterwards.  I promise you won’t be bored when visiting the Portuguese capital!

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FRAGMENTS_ MAAT

If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you have without a doubt noticed I spent the end of the year in my beloved Portugal.  Before meeting up with my family for the holidays, I spent 5 days on my own in Lisbon, doing what I love to do most.  I revisited my favorite places from when I used to live here, discovered new places and wandered the streets of my favorite city with my camera in hand.  I’ll soon blog about my favorite discoveries, but first I wanted to share a few images of the MAAT, Lisbon’s museum for Architecture, Art and Technology.  Last year, the majority of the museum was closed to the public, but this year I had better luck.  While the expositions I visited were interesting, the museum building itself that was the true highlight of my visit.  I couldn’t resist snapping a few new pictures of all the different textures on the billowing facade and the extraordinary view over the Tejo.

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FRAGMENTS_ CCB in Lisbon

During my last visit to Lisbon, I made a quick stop at the CCB in Lisbon’s parish Belém.  I visited this cultural center once before, during my Erasmus in 2012, and absolutely loved it, so I couldn’t resist paying it a second visit after I discovered the MAAT.  Unfortunately I didn’t have time to go inside and check out the current exhibition (I had a plain to catch), but I did take a closer look at the architecture and was pleasantly surprised.  Due to the winter light, the building seemed to be dressed in soft pink tones, which worked beautifully with the CCB’s surrounding greenery and the building’s composition.  Just in case you have plans to visit Portugal’s capital, don’t forget to check out my city guide for more tips on what to do in (and around) Lisbon.

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FRAGMENTS_ MAAT

FRAGMENTS-maat lisboa-hannelore veelaert for au pays des merveilles-0012

Ever since I read about the new museum for architecture, art and technology in Lisbon, or the MAAT, I couldn’t wait to visit this impressive piece of architecture on the bank of the river Tagus in Lisbon’s district of Belém.  Unfortunately, I was only able to visit the foyer of the museum, as the new exhibitions were still a work in progress.  However, the architecture itself did not disappoint.  The tiled facade, curving towards the river, beautifully reflected both the sound of the waves and the play of light on the water surface.  On the undulating rooftop, the balustrades and stairs collided into a playful composition of lines.  I hope these images give you an impression of Amanda Levete’s design and encourage you to leave Lisbon’s city center for its Belém district.  For more must-visits in the wonderful city of Lisbon, have a look at my city guide here.

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CCB

One of the things I was really looking forward to when my best friend came to see me in Lisbon, was paying a visit to the CCB, or the Centro Cultural de Belém.  We both love visiting museums of modern art (the fact that we spent all our money on museums when we were in Vienna says enough) so this was a must-do during her stay.  The CCB was one of the most fun museums we’ve visited together: one of the artworks included a sandpit, parrots, a tent and required bare feet, while another one existed out of a room with mattresses on the floor, rock’n’roll music and projections all over.  I’ll warn you right now for the photo overload, but I just couldn’t resist showing you all the wonderful art this museum has on display!  Oh – and they get two thumbs up for their creative use of signage!

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BELÉM

One day of our stay in Lisbon, was spent in Belém (which is a part of Lisbon).  Unfortunately everything was closed for visitors (including the Belém tower in the upper photo), so we just made a walk along the course of the Tague and enjoyed the view.   This is also where I took this photo!

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