Jerónimos Monastery Cloister + Pastel de Nata Tasting Tour

Most visitors treat the monastery and the famous custard tart shop next door as two separate stops. This tour treats them as one story, because historically they are one story: the pastel de nata was created by the monks who once lived inside these cloisters, and the bakery that still uses their recipe sits a short walk from the monastery gate.

This guide covers exactly what the tour includes, where the tasting happens, how long to set aside, and who it suits — alongside the honest caveats, like the fact that it does not include Belém Tower.

What’s Included on This Tour

A guide leads a small group (maximum 20 people) through Belém, into the ticketed cloisters, and on to the Monument to the Discoveries before ending at the original Pastéis de Belém bakery for the tasting. The listing on Viator is titled “Belém: Jerónimos Cloister + Pastel Tasting (Skip-the-Line Option),” so when you book, confirm you are selecting the option that includes skip-the-line cloister entry — that is the version described here.

Belém Tower is not part of this itinerary. If you want to see the tower as well, the Belém Tower + Jerónimos combo ticket covers both attractions on a single ticket instead.

What is included: Guided walking tour of Belém, skip-the-line admission to the Jerónimos cloisters, entry to the church of Santa Maria de Belém and the tomb of Vasco da Gama, a stop at the Monument to the Discoveries, and a pastel de nata tasting at the original Pastéis de Belém bakery

Duration: About 3 hours

Rating: Around 5.0 stars from several hundred reviews (review counts vary slightly by source at the time of writing)

Cancellation: Full refund if you cancel up to 24 hours before the start time

Best for: Visitors who want the cloister highlight and a taste of Lisbon’s most famous pastry arranged for them in one outing, rather than booking entry and finding the bakery separately

Languages: English, plus French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish

If you would rather buy just the cloister admission on its own and skip the food stop, the standard entrance ticket is the simpler, cheaper option.

Why Pair the Cloister with a Pastel de Nata Tasting

The pairing is not just a marketing gimmick — it is a genuine history hook. The pastel de nata’s recipe is traditionally traced to the monks of Jerónimos, who made the custard tarts before the monastery’s closure in the 1830s during Portugal’s monastic suppression. A nearby sugar refinery reportedly acquired the recipe and began selling the tarts commercially, and the original shop, Pastéis de Belém, has operated a short walk from the monastery gate since 1837, still guarding its version of the “secret recipe.” Tasting one at the source, right after seeing the cloister the monks once walked, gives the stop context that a plain bakery visit would not have on its own.

Keep expectations realistic: this is a tasting, not a sit-down meal. It is a stop at the bakery for the tart itself, worked into a walking tour rather than a leisurely café visit.

Meeting Point, Duration, and Group Size

The meeting point is the Maritime Museum café adjacent to the monastery, not the monastery’s own ticket entrance, so allow a few extra minutes to find the right spot if you have not visited Belém before. From there, the group walks with the guide through the monastery grounds and the cloister, out to the Monument to the Discoveries, and back toward Pastéis de Belém for the tasting near the end of the roughly 3-hour outing. As with any small-group walking tour, some walking and standing is required, and it is not described as wheelchair accessible.

Because the visit depends on the cloister being open, it cannot run on the Mondays when the monastery is closed to the public. The adjoining church is normally free to enter on its own, but this tour’s ticketed cloister portion follows the monastery’s regular opening schedule regardless.

Is This Tour Right for You?

This works best for visitors who want the story behind the pastel de nata explained on the spot, rather than researching it themselves before or after a separate bakery stop. If you are mainly after a broader overview of Belém with more sights and less focus on the tasting, the Jerónimos entry + Belém walking tour covers similar ground without the dedicated food stop. For a wider view of everything else in the neighborhood, our Belém district guide rounds out what to see beyond the monastery.