MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY

The largest and Southern most capital city in the Americas is Montevideo, Uruguay. 

Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey lists Montevideo as first in Latin America, a title it has held since 2005.

The city of Montevideo lies on the north shore of the Río de la Plata estuary that separates the south coast of Uruguay from the north coast of Argentina with Buenos Aires only 140 miles west on the Argentine side. 

Montevideo was founded in 1726 to counter a Portuguese attack from Brazil.  Between 1807 and 1830 Montevideo found itself occupied by British, Spanish, Argentine, Portuguese, and Brazilian forces, causing a decline in both trade and population.   Independence came in 1830 and Uruguay now has a population topping 3.4 million of which 1.2 million are located in the city of Montevideo.

Montevideo has an annual average temperature of 62 degrees Fahrenheit. The lowest recorded temperature has been 21 degrees while the highest has been 109 degrees Fahrenheit. On the day of my arrival the temperature topped out at a beautiful and sunny 79 degrees.

The Royal Princess docked in Montevideo at 8am on Wednesday 2/20/2019. Sunrise was 7:54am but by that time I had already been standing at the rail of the Horizon Terrace, Deck 16 for 30 minutes.  I did not want to miss the maneuvering of our massive ship into this small and unique port.  Nothing like being pulled ‘backwards’ into the port by a tug boat.  

Backing into the port in Montevideo Uruguay

Tugs pulling us in backwards

Royal Princess docked in Montevideo

I found Montevideo to be quite charming with immense history, natural beauty and culture.  The people were genuinely friendly, polite and helpful with many speaking English. 

Montevideo's port is in a great location, situated next to the historic center of the Ciudad Vieja at the southern tip of the city. The port is small enough that you can walk from the ship into the heart of the old town.  From the port to the center of Independence Square will take you about 25 minutes.

Possibly taking a cue from Dorothy’s yellow brick road, Montivedeo has painted a green walkway to help guide cruise passengers off the pier. Once you disembark you can follow the green walkway to the pier exit.  You will find the Tourist Information Center, a large building just to your left as you exit the port.  Here you can find maps and general information as well as download those important emails by accessing their free wi-fi.  

Walkway to exit the pier

Green walkway to exit the pier

 

 

Port entrance/exit

Directly in front of you, across the street from the Information Center, stands the Mercadodel Puerto, a beautiful iron and glass port building dating back to 1868. Restored with 14 restaurants along with stalls and stores for selling local handicrafts, the Mercado is a great place to enjoy some traditional Uruguayan barbecue. The 'Port Market' is not actually as much a market as it is a giant space with restaurants and shops, all to entice cruise passengers. 

   

Also across from the Tourist Information Office you should see the colorful hop on hop off buses operated by Bus Turistico Montevideo. 

Bus Turistico HOHO Montevideo 

Route Map for HOHO Bus Turistico

Unfortunately, the ticket I pre-purchased online at Montevideo City Tours could not be used on the Bus Turistico buses.  Be careful where you purchase your online tickets as some sights will attempt to make it look like you are buying tickets to the Bus Turistico Montevideo, even going so far as to use their route map and bus photos. 



After several minutes and a phone call to the Montevideo City Tours office, I was informed that we would not be taking a hop on hop off bus.  Instead, our group of 14 boarded a private 14-passenger van.  We were joined by 2 other unknown passengers, making our group a total of 16 plus Rose, our tour guide.  The tour would last 2.5 hours but only made 3 stops:  The Montevideo sign, Parque Batlle to view the Monumento la Carreta and a 20 minute stop at Mercado Agriculture.

Our group boarding the 16 passenger van

Our van for the day

It certainly wasn’t the hop on hop off type of tour that I was hoping for but it did last 2.5 hours, although most of that was simply driving by landmarks.  I would have much preferred to be able to stop at some of the places like the Palace Legislation and World Trade Center.

Our first stop took us to the Montevideo sign.  Uruguay's capital had its name placed in giant letters in the city in 2012.  The letters were first intended as a temporary display but the citizens fell in love with the look and so a new version made out of a more long-lasting material was made in 2014. The letters were originally painted white but are now painted for different occasions.  Once we left the port the drive took between 15-20 minutes.

Standing in front of the Montevideo sign

From here our van headed to the Rambla, a coastline promenade approximately 10 miles long that borders the city on the south coast.  Here you can walk, jog, cycle or skate along De los Pocitos Beach while watching the landscape on one side and the beaches and water on the other.  It would be perfect for people-watching and watching the sun rise and set. 

Next we made a short stop at Parque Batlle to view the Monumento la Carreta, created by local sculptor Jose Belloni in honor of the ox-cart drivers of the 19th century.  The bronze and granite sculpture was first installed in 1934 and was recently restored by the artist's grandson.  It is recognized as a National Historic Monument. 

Our third stop was the Mercado Agricola.  Here we were given 20 minutes for bathroom, refreshments and shopping. I enjoyed a local beer and purchased some alcohol to take back to the ship. 

Our final stop was at the Plaza Independencia, the main square of Montevideo. The plaza separates Ciudad Viejas from the downtown area. Directly in front of us stood the magnificently restored opera house Teatro Solis, dating to 1856. It is the most important theater in Uruguay and the second-biggest theater in South America.  The main hall has space for 1,500 people. 

The Palacio Salvo is also located in this area and is a National Heritage Monument.  It has 27 floors and is 328 feet tall which made it South America's tallest tower from 1928 to 1935. It is also the home to Museo del Tango, a small privately owned museum.

Our tour actually ended here at Plaza Independencia but we were given an option to remain on the van and be driven back to the pier.  A few opted to leave the tour here but the majority remained on the van.  A GPS check indicated that the route back to the ship was 1km. With my foot injury I felt it best to stay in the van and ride back.  

We were dropped off in front of the Mercado and made our way across the busy street, through the pier entrance and back to the ship.   

On our way back to the ship

I would have loved to spend more time exploring this charming city but the inconvenience of my injured foot made it impractical.  All the more reason to return yet another day.