Montevideo

Uruguay·South America

Currency

UYU

Language

Spanish

Timezone

Montevideo

Continent

South America

Our guide

Discover Montevideo

Montevideo holds to a peninsula and a promenade. The Ciudad Vieja keeps the colonial grid, the Puerta de la Ciudadela, the only piece of the walls left, and the Mercado del Puerto, an iron hall of 1868 that became a row of charcoal grills. The Plaza Independencia joins the old city to the centre, with the Palacio Salvo — the tallest building in South America when it was finished in 1928 — and Artigas's mausoleum beneath the square. The Teatro Solís, opened in 1856, is the country's great stage. The Rambla runs along the river for more than twenty kilometres.

When to go

December to March, the southern summer: twenty-eight degrees, the Rambla alive, and Uruguayans on holiday through January. March and April are mild and quiet. Winter, June to August, drops to ten degrees with an estuary wind that goes straight through. Carnival week, in February, is the longest in the world and changes the city completely — the candombe parades come out in the southern streets.

Getting around

The bus network covers everything and is paid with an STM card, bought at a kiosk. The Ciudad Vieja and the centre are walked without difficulty. The Rambla is for bicycles, available to hire. Taxis run on the meter and the apps are widespread. For Colonia del Sacramento or Punta del Este, long-distance coaches leave from the Tres Cruces terminal.

Where to eat

Asado is an institution and the Mercado del Puerto is its shop window: the parrillas grill in full view. The chivito — beef, ham, cheese and egg in a roll — is the unofficial national dish. Maté is drunk everywhere, thermos under the arm; it is an image of the country more than a drink. The pastries are Italian and Spanish by descent. One halal address is listed.

Good to know

The Uruguayan peso is the currency, though dollars are taken in many tourist places. Foreign cards get a VAT exemption on restaurant bills, applied automatically. Twenty-seven sites and museums are free, several national museums among them. The country is among the safest on the continent, which does not remove the need for care at night in the Ciudad Vieja, empty once the offices close.

Smart Planning