The most impressive of Portugal’s cloisters

In 1501 the new King of Portugal Manuel I ordered the construction of a new pantheon on the waterfront honoring the arrival of Vasco da Gama to India in 1498 using a style of architecture that cannot be found elsewhere in the world: the Manueline. The combination of religious motives, nautical symbols and tombs of historical characters such as Vasco da Gama or Fernando Pessoa transformed the Monastery into one of the most astonishing pieces of architecture in Europe. In its cloisters, considered by many the most beautiful in the world, and, where once silence was the motto, you will find now one amazing dining room where top quality service is allied with the old 16th century architecture.