Ciudad Vieja: Walking Montevideo's Old Town

Puerta de la Ciudadela

This stone gate was the entrance to the Spanish Citadel begun in 1741, which stood where Plaza Independencia is now. When the walls were demolished the gate was taken down stone by stone, used for years as the rear gate of the Escuela de Artes y Oficios, and rebuilt in 1959 a few metres from its original spot, aligned with Sarandí. It was restored again in 2009.

The city's tourism office calls it the imaginary start of the historic walk, and it is exactly where the Ciudad Vieja walking tour and the city's free Saturday walks set off. It stands between Plaza Independencia and the pedestrian street, so it is the natural point to begin your own walk too.

Peatonal Sarandí

Sarandí was the old town's main street and has been pedestrian since 1992, extended past Plaza Matriz in 2005. It carries you from the gate to the Cathedral square past galleries, design shops, bookshops and street stalls. Two small museums sit on it.

Museo Torres García, dedicated to the constructivist painter Joaquín Torres García, is open every day 10:00-18:00 with a ramp and lift to all floors. Museo Gurvich keeps shorter days: Monday to Friday 10:00-18:00 and Saturday 11:00-15:00, with no Sunday hours. Weekend stall browsing doubles as shopping in Montevideo, so leave bag space.

Plaza Matriz and the Cathedral

Plaza Matriz, formally Plaza Constitución, is the old Plaza Mayor of the grid town laid out under the Laws of the Indies, the square around which colonial life turned. On the square stands the Cathedral of Montevideo, begun in 1790 and consecrated in 1804, neoclassical and attributed to Tomás Toribio. It was raised to a Metropolitan Cathedral in 1897 by Pope Leo XIII and is a National Historic Monument.

The main door sits 20 metres from Sarandí with a ramp and handrail, and history leaflets in Spanish and English are kept in the sacristy shop. One practical warning: there are no public toilets.

The Cabildo

Facing the Cathedral across the square is the Cabildo y Reales Cárceles, built from 1804 as the town council and jail. The pairing of church and Cabildo on one square was the colonial arrangement of powers, and you can still read it in the architecture. In 1830 the first Constitution of Uruguay was sworn here, and the building housed the General Assembly until 1925.

Today it is the Museo Histórico Cabildo and entry is free, open Monday to Friday 11:00-17:45 and Saturday and holidays 11:00-17:00. Note what is missing from that list: Sunday. Pair it with the Cathedral and the market on a weekday morning, or take the Ciudad Vieja walking tour, which includes entry.

Museo Andes 1972 and Casa de Rivera

Two museums sit a block apart. Museo Andes 1972 at Rincón 619 tells the story of the 1972 Andes air crash in which a chartered flight carrying 45 people went down, and honours the 16 who survived 72 days in the mountains. Admission is $8 for adults, with lower prices for seniors, youths and children, and the visit takes about 60 to 90 minutes. Hours are Monday to Friday 10:00-17:00 and Saturday 10:00-15:00, so it is closed on Sunday and stops early on Saturday.

A block away, the Casa de Rivera was bought in 1834 by Fructuoso Rivera, the first constitutional president, and is now a seat of the National History Museum, open Wednesday to Sunday 12:00-17:45. Entry is free for residents and paid for non-residents, sold through Tickantel, but no price is printed, so bring pesos or a card.

Plaza Zabala and Calle Brecha

Plaza Zabala carries the name of Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, who founded the town between 1724 and 1726 as San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo. Calle Brecha remembers a harder moment: its name means breach, after the gap British troops opened in the colonial wall during the 1807 invasion. Proof of that wall still turns up.

During works in 2007-2008 a 60-metre stretch of the colonial wall was found in a basement nearby. Stand in the square and you are standing inside the footprint of the fortress town, close to the water that made it worth fortifying.

Pérez Castellano to the Mercado del Puerto

The pedestrian Pérez Castellano runs from Sarandí to the front of the Mercado del Puerto, passing the Mercado de Artesanos craft market on the way. The market itself opened on 10 October 1868, built with iron parts cast at the Union Foundry in Liverpool, and began life as a wholesale market supplying ships and the town. Since the 1970s its stalls have been restaurants, and the parrillada, the mixed grill over wood fire, is the thing to order.

Each restaurant keeps its own hours, so there is no single market opening time. The city tourist office stands right by, at Piedras 257 corner Yacaré, open every day 9:00-17:00, handy for maps and questions. Read up on Uruguayan food before you order.

Teatro Solís

Back at Plaza Independencia on the Ciudad Vieja side stands Teatro Solís, named after the navigator Juan Díaz de Solís. It opened on 25 August 1856 with Verdi's Ernani, after works that began in 1842 and were interrupted by the Siege of Montevideo. Guided visits cost $9.92 (UYU 400) for foreigners, paid at the box office in pesos, and visitors who show the digital proof of payment of the Montevideo tourist tax get half price.

Visit times change, so confirm the day's slots at the box office. Even without a tour you can walk freely through the photo gallery and exhibition rooms.

Treat Monday to Saturday as museum days. Note that Saturday afternoon is short: Museo Gurvich and Museo Andes 1972 both shut at 15:00, and the Cabildo closes at 17:00 on Saturdays and holidays instead of 17:45 on weekdays. Sunday flips the script.

The Cabildo, Gurvich and Andes museums all list no Sunday hours, so plan around them, while Museo Torres García runs every day 10:00-18:00 and the Casa de Rivera opens Wednesday to Sunday 12:00-17:45, which makes Sunday the day for those two. Sunday is also the day the Mercado del Puerto gets busiest at lunch, which is a good thing if you like a crowd and musicians. If you want a street fair on Sunday, the Tristán Narvaja market is in Cordón, outside the old town, so see the shopping in Montevideo page for it.

Opening hours of the five old town museums by day of the week, from the city tourism office and the museums' own pages.

Two hours is enough for the spine: the Citadel gate, down Sarandí, a look into Plaza Matriz and the Cathedral, then Pérez Castellano to the Mercado del Puerto. If you would rather have someone else handle the route, the photographer walk fits the slot at 105 minutes and leaves you with about 40 edited photos by email within 7 days. A half day adds one museum and the Cabildo, or hands the whole thing to the Ciudad Vieja walking tour at 2.5 hours with the Artigas Mausoleum entry included.

A full day adds the Andes museum and Torres García, then an early evening walk onto the Rambla as the light drops. Browse the Montevideo tours compared if you want to mix in the beach neighbourhoods instead.

Three routings for Ciudad Vieja by the time you have, with what each costs from the tour listings and museum prices.

Cruise Passengers

The passenger terminal sits on the Ciudad Vieja waterfront, and the Mercado del Puerto faces the port, so the old town is the first thing you walk into. The tourist office is at Piedras 257 corner Yacaré by the market, open every day 9:00-17:00, with a 24-hour touch screen outside hours. Three ways to spend your hours: walk the spine on your own using the route above, meet the private walking tour at the black lamp post on the corner of Yacaré and Piedras one block from the port terminal, or book the shore excursion, a 3.5-hour city loop for $44 that meets in the port and returns there, which suits anyone who wants the beaches and stadium added.

See the cruise port guide for the terminal itself.

Ferry Day-Trippers

The direct Buquebus ferry from Buenos Aires takes a little over two hours, according to the city tourism office, and for a day-tripper the old town is the natural first stop. The gate, Sarandí and the market form one short loop, so even a tight ferry day covers the core of the old town. If your legs are done but the day is not, the hop-on hop-off bus stops on Rambla 25 de Agosto de 1825 right by the market and gives you a 24-hour city overview for $25.

Plan the crossing with the Buenos Aires to Montevideo guide.

A Spanish Fortress Town

Montevideo began as a military project. The Spanish Empire founded the town in 1724 on the peninsula at the entrance of the natural port, naming it San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo, under Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, who founded it between 1724 and 1726. The grid plan followed the Laws of the Indies, the rules Spain used for colonial towns, which is why the streets still meet at right angles.

Stone walls went up around the town, guarded by the Ciudadela, the fortress begun in 1741 on the land where Plaza Independencia now sits. The walls answered a real threat. In 1807 British troops invaded and opened a breach in them, the breach that gave Calle Brecha its name.

Everything you walk past in the old town sits inside that defended rectangle.

After the Walls

The walls stood until 1829, after independence, and then came down so the town could grow. Only the Citadel gate survives, rebuilt near its original spot in 1959. Plaza Independencia was laid out from 1837 by the architect Carlo Zucchi on the site of the Citadel, and it now marks the seam between the old town and the newer city, where Avenida 18 de Julio begins.

Freed of its walls, the old town became the commercial and financial heart, which is why you find art deco, art nouveau and neoclassical facades between the colonial blocks. The Museo Andes 1972 building itself mixes period handmade bricks with stone recovered from the demolished wall. In 1992 Sarandí was made pedestrian and in 2005 extended past Plaza Matriz, completing the walkable spine most visitors follow today.

- The stones of the demolished colonial wall were recycled. The building that houses the Museo Andes 1972 mixes period handmade bricks with stone from the colonial wall torn down in 1829. (mandes.uy) - A 60-metre stretch of that wall survived underground.

It was found in a basement during works in 2007-2008. (Wikipedia) - The Puerta de la Ciudadela you photograph today is not in its first position. It was dismantled stone by stone, served as a rear gate of a trade school, and was rebuilt a few metres away in 1959.

(Wikipedia) - The Ciudad Vieja museums close on Sunday, not Monday. The Cabildo, Gurvich and Andes museums list no Sunday hours, the reverse of the museum pattern most travellers expect. (descubrimontevideo.uy) - The 'medio y medio', the sweet sparkling wine mixed with dry white wine that the market bars pour, was invented inside the Mercado del Puerto, a National Historic Monument since 1976.

(Wikipedia)

Give the old town your first morning. The gate, Sarandí, the Cathedral square and a market lunch fill it naturally, and the museums open from 10:00 or 11:00 if you start early. Keep the afternoon for the other Montevideo: the Rambla along the water or the beach at Pocitos, both east of the old town.

In two to four days you can add the Museo del Carnaval, the Palacio Legislativo and a day trip to Punta del Este or Colonia del Sacramento. If you are choosing where to sleep, staying in the old town puts the port, the theatre and the market at your door, while the beachside barrios trade history for sand. Compare options on the Montevideo hotels page, and see what to see in Montevideo for the rest.