Situated in Lisbon’s Belém neighbourhood, the landmark Jerónimos Monastery welcomed its one millionth visitor yesterday, with an unsuspecting French couple being responsible for the feat.
It was shortly after 11am when Aurore Albert and her boyfriend, Misha Senelle, from Marseille, walked into the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and bought the one millionth ticket.
A bell went off accompanied by energetic applause to signal the occasion, taking the couple by surprise.
The Jerónimos Monastery, known for being one of the most prominent examples of the Portuguese Late Gothic Manueline style of architecture in Lisbon and classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has this year registered a growth of over 20 percent in visitors.
French nationals are among those which most contributed to the growth.
Last year, the monument came within sight of smashing the one million barrier after it received around 994,000 visitors.
This year, with over a month still to go until the end of the year, the record was achieved and the historic moment was captured by TV crews and journalists.