Montevideo walking tour & city guide

The old town and the Rambla

Ciudad Vieja is where Montevideo began. Its grid of streets holds colonial churches, nineteenth-century mansions and Art Deco buildings, with pedestrian Sarandí street running from the old city gate, the Puerta de la Ciudadela, to Plaza Matriz and the cathedral. Near the port, the Mercado del Puerto is an iron market hall from the nineteenth century, now filled with grills cooking meat over wood fires.

Plaza Independencia marks the edge of the old town, with the tall Palacio Salvo on one side and the Teatro Solís, the city's historic opera house, just off the square. From here Avenida 18 de Julio runs east past shops, cafés and grand old buildings. The Rambla, a long seafront promenade, curves along the coast through Punta Carretas and Pocitos, the city's favourite beach neighbourhood.

A classic walk: Ciudad Vieja to Pocitos

Start at Plaza Independencia and pass through the Puerta de la Ciudadela onto Sarandí street. Walk west through Ciudad Vieja to Plaza Matriz, then continue to the Mercado del Puerto for lunch at one of its busy grills.

In the afternoon, take a bus or taxi to Punta Carretas and walk the Rambla east to Pocitos. The path is shared by joggers, cyclists and families, and as the sun sets over the water the beaches fill with people sharing mate. On Sundays, the Tristán Narvaja street market is a good morning detour.

Good to know

November to March is summer and the best time for the beaches and the Rambla; winters are cool, damp and windy. Carnival in January and February lasts for weeks, with candombe drumming groups parading through the Barrio Sur and Palermo neighbourhoods. City buses reach most areas, and the centre is easy to walk. Ferries cross the Río de la Plata to Buenos Aires, and the historic town of Colonia del Sacramento is a popular day trip.