Things to do in Montevideo

Nature · The entire southern coast, Ciudad Vieja to Carrasco

More than twenty kilometres of continuous waterfront promenade — the longest of its kind anywhere and the spine of daily life here.

Local tip: Uruguayans walk it with a thermos under one arm and a mate gourd in the other hand, at any hour, in any weather. Sunset at Punta Carretas or Playa Pocitos on a summer evening is the single most Montevideano thing you can do, and it costs nothing.

Landmark · The old city on the peninsula

The colonial and nineteenth-century core — the Mercado del Puerto, Plaza Matriz, Teatro Solís, and the banking district that grew around them.

Local tip: It empties completely after office hours and at weekends, which surprises people expecting a residential old town. The Mercado del Puerto is a working parrilla hall at lunchtime and a tourist affair in the evening — go at one o'clock on a weekday.

Food · Goes, north of the centre

An 1913 iron-framed produce market restored into a food hall that still has real greengrocers and butchers among the restaurants.

Local tip: Unlike most restored markets this one kept its working half. The butchers and fishmongers on the perimeter are the reason locals come, and prices there are ordinary Montevideo prices rather than tourist ones. Saturday morning is the moment.

Culture · Immediately east of Ciudad Vieja along the coast

The historic Afro-Uruguayan neighbourhoods and the home of candombe — the drumming tradition that is Uruguay's most distinctive cultural export.

Local tip: On Sunday evenings the cuerdas de tambores rehearse and process through the streets, and anyone can follow. It is not a performance for visitors — it is the neighbourhood doing what it has done for two centuries. Stand back, do not photograph the drummers' faces without asking, and walk with it.

Neighborhood · East along the coast from the centre

The dense, walkable, beach-fronted district where most newcomers end up — towers, tree-lined streets and a proper city beach.

Local tip: The blocks immediately behind the rambla are the expensive ones; go three or four streets inland and the rents drop noticeably while everything remains within walking distance. Villa Biarritz market on Tuesdays and Saturdays is the best produce in the district.

Landmark · Across the bay, west of the port

The hill that gave the city its name, topped by the Fortaleza General Artigas and the country's oldest working lighthouse.

Local tip: Almost no foreign resident ever crosses the bay, which is why this is the best view in Montevideo and you will usually have it to yourself. The fortress museum is small and good, and the panorama takes in the whole peninsula, the port and the river. Go on a clear afternoon; the neighbourhood below is working-class and unremarkable rather than dangerous.