Overview to Montevideo: Travel Guide and Tourist Information
- Montevideo Information
- Eating & drinking in Montevideo
- Things to do in Montevideo
- Where to stay in Montevideo
- Montevideo street map
Montevideo may not be one of the big-name South American cities, but it's an intriguing and laidback destination that more than merits a visit. A couple of days can be well spent here exploring the miles of sandy beaches and the select attractions.
Stretching around the Montevideo Bay, the Old Town (or Ciudad Vieja) provides a great way into the city. Lined with colonial-era buildings, the rundown streets practically boil over with atmospheric charm and make for hours of intriguing exploring.
Down by the port sits the Mercado del Puerto, an authentic meat market home to a number of stalls and restaurants that make an endlessly fascinating spectacle. Not far from the market sit the striking Iglesia de San Francisco and the Casa de Garibaldi.
To the south, through the maze of crumbling streets, lies the quarter’s oldest square, the Plaza de la Constitucion. Looming over one corner is the impressive Neoclassical Catedral Metropolitana (known locally as the Iglesia Matriz), which houses an interesting museum inside the Cabildo.
Another, larger square is situated a little to the east surrounded by some of the most notable buildings in the city. The Plaza Independencia is sufficiently huge to incorporate the mausoleum of General José Gervaiso Artigas and the masses of people who gather there.
Travelers looking for a less strenuous time when find miles of sandy beaches stretch away past the Avenida 18 de Junio and beyond the suburbs. It may not be the most wildly cosmopolitan or modern city but when you're lying out on the sand, blissfully relaxed, it’s hard to begrudge it that!
