Jerónimos Monastery

This guide to Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon opens on the night before Vasco da Gama's 1497 voyage to India, when his crew prayed at a small chapel on this spot. It follows how King Manuel I funded the monastery that replaced it, taxing every returning cargo ship a slice of its spices, and how construction gave rise to the ornate Manueline style named for him. Look for the twisted stone ropes and sea-creature carvings along the cloisters.