The Belém Tower just reopened after a year behind scaffolding. It looks better than it has in decades. It's Monday, 1 June. Twenty-four degrees. Here's what you need to know.
🌬️ AIR QUALITY: 22 (Good).
🗞️ TOP STORY
THE BELÉM TOWER JUST REOPENED. AFTER A YEAR OF RESTORATION, IT'S "SHINING."
On May 27, the Torre de Belém reopened to the public after more than a year of restoration works. The scaffolding that had covered one of Portugal's most recognised monuments since April 2025 is gone, and the limestone is clean for the first time in years.
The restoration was comprehensive: structural reinforcement, cleaning of the Manueline stonework, waterproofing, and conservation of the carved details that have been exposed to Atlantic salt air since the tower was completed in 1520. The project was promoted by the Associação de Turismo de Lisboa and coordinated by Património Cultural, I.P., with an investment of approximately €1 million funded through the government's Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). The result, according to visitors who have already been back, is a tower that looks closer to its original state than at any point in living memory.
For anyone who has lived in Lisbon for the past year, the tower has been a construction site. The scaffolding became part of the skyline. Visitors who came specifically to see it left disappointed. Cruise ship passengers photographed a wrapped monument. That chapter is over.
The Torre de Belém is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most visited monuments in Portugal, drawing over 400,000 visitors per year before the pandemic. It was built between 1514 and 1520 as a ceremonial gateway and defensive fortification on the Tagus, commissioned by King Manuel I during the Age of Discoveries. The Manueline stonework, rope carvings, turrets, and the famous rhinoceros sculpture on the western facade are among the finest examples of the style anywhere in the country.
One practical note: to protect the newly restored limestone and eliminate the notorious queues, the tower now operates a strict new access system. Only 60 visitors are allowed in every 30 minutes, with a daily cap of 900. If you're planning a visit, book your time slot in advance. Turning up without one and hoping to walk in is no longer an option.
Bottom line: The Belém Tower is open, clean, and looking as good as it has in 500 years. Book ahead. Go early. And if you've lived here long enough that you stopped noticing the tower on your commute along the waterfront, go back. It looks different now.
⚡ QUICK HITS
The AIMA strike and the general strike both hit this week. AIMA workers are out today, tomorrow, Wednesday, and Friday. The CGTP general strike is Wednesday with CP trains and SNPVAC cabin crew confirmed. Corpus Christi is Thursday (public holiday). Combined, AIMA is effectively closed through Sunday June 8. If you have an appointment, call to confirm. If you have flights on Wednesday, rebook. If you haven't planned around this week, you're already late.
One in three Portuguese fall below the poverty line when housing costs are included. The average Lisbon renter spends 99% of their net salary on a one-bedroom flat. That is not a fringe case. Housing costs push roughly a third of the population below the poverty threshold. The crisis is no longer about whether you can find a flat. It's about whether you can afford to live after you've paid for one.
Portugal is raising the retirement age to 66 years and 11 months in 2027. If you're working in Portugal and planning long-term, the goalposts just moved. The increase is incremental but cumulative, and it affects pension calculations, voluntary contribution timelines, and the maths behind any early retirement plan.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh arrive today. The royal visit runs through Wednesday, marking the 640th anniversary of the Treaty of Windsor (1386), the oldest active alliance in the world.
🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY
Lisbon's oldest café has been serving coffee on the Praça do Comércio since 1782. That is 244 years in the same arcaded corner of the same square, through revolutions, earthquakes, republics, and a dictatorship. Fernando Pessoa used to arrive in the morning, have lunch, drink his coffee, and stay until sunset. His table is still there, permanently reserved, with a small plaque and the quiet understanding that nobody else sits in it.
Martinho da Arcada operates as two spaces. The café side, under the arches, is the casual version: stand at the counter for an espresso and a pastel de nata, or sit at one of the small marble tables and watch the square. The walls are lined with hand-painted Portuguese tiles depicting Pessoa and Camões. The bolo de bolacha (biscuit cake) is the pastry the regulars order. The coffee is Portuguese-strong, served fast, and costs what coffee should cost.
The restaurant side is the formal version. White tablecloths, traditional Portuguese cooking, and the kind of service that comes from a kitchen that has been doing this for longer than most countries have existed. The bacalhau, the seafood rice, and the grilled fish are all reliable. A full lunch runs around €30-40 per person. Dinner requires a reservation.
The café was originally called Café do Gelo (the Ice Café) when it opened in 1778, selling beverages and ice. It became Casa da Neve (House of Snow) in the early 1800s, selling ice cream to Lisbon's upper classes. In 1845 it took the name of its then-owner, Martinho Bartolomeu Rodrigues, and has been Martinho da Arcada ever since. José Saramago, Portugal's Nobel laureate, also had a reserved table here.
Two of Portugal's greatest writers. The same café. 244 years. Still open. Still serving coffee on the same square.
Praça do Comércio, Terreiro do Paço.
Insider tip: Go on a Monday at lunchtime. Sit at the counter in the café side, order an espresso and a pastel de nata, and look at the Pessoa tiles on the wall. That's a five-minute stop that connects you to 244 years of Lisbon's literary history for under €3. Come back for dinner another night when you want the full experience.
📅 WHAT'S ON
Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh visit Portugal (today, Mon 1 to Wed 3 Jun) 640th anniversary of the Treaty of Windsor.
AIMA Strike (today Mon 1, Tue 2, Wed 3, Fri 5 Jun) Nine-day effective shutdown.
CGTP General Strike (Wed 3 Jun) CP trains and SNPVAC cabin crew confirmed.
Corpus Christi (Thu 4 Jun) Public holiday.
Voces Caelestes (Fri 5 Jun, àCapela, 9:30pm) Brazilian folk songs and American spirituals under guest conductor Mariana Farah. Tickets via Ticketline.
Jason Miles: 100 Years of Miles Davis (Sat 6 Jun, Cascais Jazz Club, 9pm) Miles Davis's collaborator performs stories and music from Davis's final era. Largo Cidade de Vitória 36, Cascais.
Festas de Lisboa (throughout June) Santo António Parade (Fri 12 Jun). Peak street parties (Sat 13 Jun).
Rock in Rio Lisboa (Sat 20-Sun 21 and Sat 27-Sun 28 Jun, Parque Tejo)
Lisbon Book Fair (ongoing to Sun 14 Jun, Parque Eduardo VII) Free entry.
Out Jazz (Sundays, May through September, various parks) Free.
Todd Webb in Portugal (ongoing, Gulbenkian, through 27 Jul)
From Plate to Print (ongoing, Museu do Oriente, through 9 Aug)
See you tomorrow morning.