FORVM Photo Quest #6: Belém

We’re not here for tourist selfies in front of stone towers.
We’re not here to glorify “discoveries” either.
We’re here to turn history into a question — and make you walk inside it.

Belém is Lisbon’s most polished lie.
A stage of monuments, museums, parades.
It tells stories about kings and golden ages.
But if you slow down, you’ll see the cracks:
silences, erasures, stone trying to speak.
This was once the launch point of colonial empires.
Now it’s the backdrop for pastries and parades.
On this walk, you won’t just take photos.

You’ll solve clues, follow old images, and find details that monuments try to hide.

You’ll be asked: who is remembered? Who is missing? What does the stone refuse to say?

We’re not photographing glory.
We’re photographing what it left behind.

📍 Structure
🟡 This is not a guided tour. You’ll receive a map with clues, prompts, and old photos.
🟡 You’ll walk in small teams, uncovering the answers as you go.
🟡 Each stop has a task: find, photograph, or decode something.
🟡 The walk lasts about 1 hour and ends somewhere local for a drink and sharing.
🟡 All cameras welcome: phones, film, digital — whatever sees.
🟡 At the end, we’ll gather, compare findings, and declare the “quest champions.”

🖼 After the Quest
At the end of the year, we’re building a FORVM exhibition — curated from all FORVM quests.

Follow: @forvm.lisbon
Let’s walk where empires began — and notice what they erased.
Let’s take pictures like questions, not trophies.