Montevideo is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108. Montevideo is situated on the southern coast of the country, on the northeastern bank of the Río de la Plata. It is the southernmost capital city in the Americas. The 2017 Mercer's report on quality of life, rated Montevideo first in Latin America, a rank the city has consistently held since 2005.
I spent three days exploring Montevideo - which some call the heart and soul of Uruguay. It has its affluent neighbourhoods but with so many people, also some very poor sections. Knowing your surroundings at night was always talked about, but I never felt unsafe. Very little English is spoken anywhere, even in the touristy areas. I used my Spanglish (half English half Spanish) to get by quite nicely.
Montevideo’s Architecture is an unusual mix of styles. In the famous Plaza Independencia you will find buildings that reflect Italian style, French style and even an Art Deco style building. Montevideo can surly not claim to be similar to Buenos Aires (the Paris of South America) in architecture style - but a trip downtown is well worth it.
Mercado del Puerto
is a must visit to any trip to Montevideo, really. This market is located in the old part of town by the port. Arrive around lunch time and you will see a Uruguayan tradition in full display - a mixed grill lunch to top all lunches you ever had. Dozens of restaurants are scrambling for your business as this is a lunch time only affair.
Photos below shows Kathy and I having a lunch in the Mercado. Yes, placed before us was just about 3 pounds of meat - for lunch. This massive amount of food was preceded by a fair size chunk of sausage - just to get us going. We gave it a valiant try, but didn’t come close to eating half of the beef. The Mercado is a great place to see how much Uruguayans love their food and especially their beef.
The Rambla
is a tiled walkway that stretches for 20kms (12 miles) along Montevideo’s beach. On a sunny weekend day the beaches and restaurants come alive. The bay is filled with sailboats, the beaches filled with sun worshipers, the walkway busy with runners/joggers, and even a few people are out surfing. When I think back on my time in Montevideo, biking along the Rambla enjoying a beautiful sunny day will always be a great memory.
I enjoyed my time in Montevideo and certainly would recommend a prominent spot on a Uruguayan itinerary. Try to plan it for a weekend as the beach comes alive. I’ll leave this blog with one more photo. I mentioned that Uruguayan’s love their beef, well to be more specific they love to eat and big plates or platters are the only way to go. I stopped to eat at a Seafood Restaurant on the beach - the person next to me had just ordered the seafood platter?
