Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Lisbon

Much as I dislike having to climb up steep slopes when I am on vacation, I appreciate that these places usually have viewing decks for visitors. This was the case in Castelo de São Jorge in Lisbon. It is built on top of a hill and you can get sweeping views of the city of Lisbon from here. I was looking at the view intently looking for some interesting structures and the one which struck me the most was what appeared to be the ruins of some old structure. I wasn’t sure what that was and I just hoping to be able to stumble into it as I walked around Lisbon. I was already in the shopping district of Baixa, I kind of gave up on seeing anything historical and I was just enjoying the place.

I was surprised to accidentally encounter the ruins of that old church. This place was the Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It used to be the largest church is Lisbon but the great 1755 earthquake reduced most of Lisbon into rubble, including the convent. As you can see, the convent was never rebuilt. The roof is now long gone, probably for safety as well. What remains is the skeleton of an old gothic church which has been turned into a museum. There is an entrance fee to the ruins, I don’t mind it since this one looks special.

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