Montevideo City Guide
Montevideo Shopping: The Malls, the Markets and Tax-Free Rules
Montevideo Shopping, the Buceo mall that opened in 1985 as the first in the Río de la Plata, is where many visitors start, but the city's shopping runs from five malls to Sunday street markets. This page gives the mall's hours, the other malls, the markets by day, what to buy, how Tax Free and the VAT cut work, and how to shop on a cruise day. For more on the city, see things to do in Montevideo.
Quick answer The mall, the markets, the tax rules
Montevideo Shopping opens every day from 10:00 to 22:00 with 200 brands, and the Tristán Narvaja market fills its street every Sunday from 9:00 to about 16:00. Buy mates, leather, knitwear and crafts at the artisans' market and the peatonales of the old town. A Sunday visitor heads to Tristán Narvaja, a cruise visitor shops by the port, and a rainy day goes to a mall.
Key takeaways
- Market shopping fits a city tour: the six-stop half-day tour costs $20 and gives free time at Mercado Agrícola.
- Tax Free goods are refunded only at a listed exit such as Carrasco International Airport or the Montevideo port.
- The mall in the old prison sits in Punta Carretas, on José Ellauri, the same street as the Villa Biarritz market.
- Pay by card and the VAT cut lands on the bill, see Uruguay currency for how payments work.
Montevideo Shopping, the First Mall
The mall that gave the keyword its name is still one of the city's biggest.
The brick walls of Montevideo Shopping beside the World Trade Center towers in Buceo. Photo: Andrés Franchi Ugart…, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The 1985 Mall in Buceo
Montevideo Shopping opened in 1985 on Av. Luis Alberto de Herrera 1290 in the residential Buceo barrio near the Rambla. It was the first shopping centre in the Río de la Plata, and it changed how Montevideans shopped, because until then they strolled and bought along the big avenues.
The design came from architects Gómez Platero and Enrique Cohen working with engineer Eladio Dieste, whose reinforced ceramic work gave the building exposed brick, cylinders and vaults. Today it holds 200 brands, a supermarket, a food court, 10 cinema screens, two theatres and a casino with over 600 slots. For the barrio around it, see Pocitos.
Hours and Getting There
The mall opens every day from 10:00 to 22:00, and the food court stays open one hour longer. A city bus ride costs $1.29 (UYU 52) with the STM card for an hour of travel, or $1.59 (UYU 64) in cash, and the first STM card is free with a minimum top-up of $2.48 (UYU 100). The hop-on hop-off bus with a 24-hour pass costs $25 and lists Montevideo Shopping on its route, along with Punta Carretas Shopping and Tres Cruces Shopping.
Source: Montevideo Shopping, Descubrí Montevideo.
The Other Malls
Four more malls cover the city, each with its own reason to go, and the table sums them up.
Punta Carretas Shopping
Punta Carretas Shopping opened on 14 July 1994 inside the former penitentiary, which operated from 1915 to 1986. The main arch and the exterior façade were kept, so you shop under a prison gate. Inside are three floors, over 200 shops, a food court, cinemas, exchange offices and a children's play area.
Hours are 10:00-21:00 according to the mall's own site. The barrio around it has the Rambla, parks and the Villa Biarritz market. See Punta Carretas.
Tres Cruces Shopping
Tres Cruces Shopping sits on top of the Tres Cruces bus terminal, the country's main station, which serves every Uruguayan department plus Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile. The mall opened on 16 November 1994 and holds about 190 shops after a 2019 extension. Practically, this is the place to shop while you wait for a coach: buy snacks, phone accessories or gifts, then walk downstairs to your bus to Punta del Este or Colonia del Sacramento.
Nuevo Centro and Portones
Nuevo Centro Shopping opened late 2013 at Av. Luis Alberto de Herrera 3365 at Bulevar Artigas in the Jacinto Vera area, with over 100 shops and five cinema screens. Portones Shopping opened in 1994 at Av.
Italia 5775 with 145 shops, seven cinema screens and free parking, and it is the mall closest to the airport, which makes it useful on a last afternoon before a flight out of Carrasco International Airport.
The Malls at a Glance
The five malls side by side, with addresses, size and hours from each mall and the city tourism office.
| Mall | Address | Shops | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montevideo Shopping | Av. Luis Alberto de Herrera 1290, Buceo | 200 brands | 10:00-22:00 daily |
| Punta Carretas Shopping | José Ellauri 350 | Over 200 shops | 10:00-21:00 |
| Tres Cruces Shopping | On top of the Tres Cruces terminal | About 190 shops | Posted on the mall's site |
| Nuevo Centro Shopping | Herrera 3365 at Bulevar Artigas | Over 100 shops | Posted on the mall's site |
| Portones Shopping | Av. Italia 5775 | 145 shops | Posted on the mall's site |
Source: Descubrí Montevideo, Nuevo Centro, Portones, Wikipedia.
The Markets, Day by Day
Montevideo's street markets cover the whole week, and the table at the end shows which day sends you where.
Book stalls at the Sunday Feria de Tristán Narvaja. Photo: Rodrigo Olivera from Montevideo, Uruguay, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Feria de Tristán Narvaja, Sunday
Tristán Narvaja is the big one. It first set up on what was then Yaro street on Sunday 3 October 1909, descended from a Sunday produce market in Plaza Independencia. Every Sunday from 9:00 to about 16:00 it runs along Tristán Narvaja from 18 de Julio in Cordón, spreading into side streets towards Fernández Crespo and Minas.
You find books, with secondhand volumes clustered on Paysandú street, records, antiques, furniture, pets, fruit and fresh pasta for Sunday lunch. Estimates of the stall count range from 1,000 to 3,000. Bring cash in small pesos and watch your bag in the crowd.
It pairs with 18 de Julio, the shopping avenue from Plaza Independencia to the Obelisco, busiest on weekdays and Saturday mornings.
Feria de Parque Rodó, Sunday
The Feria de Parque Rodó runs every Sunday from 9:00 to 15:30 around the lake on Av. Gonzalo Ramírez, between Julio Herrera y Reissig and Joaquín Requena. Stalls sell crafts, clothing and accessories, and in December the fair adds gift stalls and free shows.
Because it packs up by mid afternoon, it pairs well with Tristán Narvaja on the same Sunday: go early to the big one, then walk over. The setting is Parque Rodó, with its lake and amusement park.
Feria de Villa Biarritz, Tuesday and Saturday
Villa Biarritz runs on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9:00 into the afternoon, in Parque Juan Zorrilla de San Martín at José Ellauri 602, the same street as Punta Carretas Shopping at number 350. Stalls sell crafts, clothing, fruit and vegetables. Closing falls at 15:30 or 16:00 depending on the day, so go early for the full choice.
It is the easiest market to reach from the malls and the Rambla.
Mercado de los Artesanos, Monday to Saturday
The artisans' market works two branches, Plaza Cagancha 1365 in the centre and Piedras 258 by Peatonal Pérez Castellano near the Mercado del Puerto. Both open Monday to Saturday from 11:30. The craft list is long: leather, mates, ceramics, wood, fabric, glass, metals, jewellery, silverwork, resin, batik, painting, sculpture, recycled paper, musical instruments, percussion and toys.
This is the place for gifts that fit in a suitcase, and the Piedras branch sits directly on a cruise-day walking route. See Mercado del Puerto for the food hall next door.
The central hall of the Mercado Agrícola de Montevideo after its restoration. Photo: Fedaro, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mercado Agrícola de Montevideo
The Mercado Agrícola de Montevideo, known as the MAM, stands at José L. Terra 2220 in Goes. It opened in 1913 as a wholesale fruit and vegetable market and reopened in 2013 after a restoration for its centenary, with about 100 stalls selling produce, cheese, meats, typical dishes, souvenirs and crafts. Entry is free.
Several city tours stop here, so shopping comes built in: the six-stop half-day tour gives 20 minutes at the market for $20, the cruise city tour gives 30 minutes of shopping for $35, and the shore excursion at $44 includes free time to taste food and browse leather and cashmere.
The Week of Markets
One table covers the week of street markets, with the day, the hours the city tourism office gives and what each one sells.
| Day | Market | Hours | What it sells |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | Feria de Tristán Narvaja | 9:00 to about 16:00 | Books, records, antiques, furniture, pets, fruit, fresh pasta |
| Sunday | Feria de Parque Rodó | 9:00-15:30 | Crafts, clothing, accessories |
| Tuesday and Saturday | Feria de Villa Biarritz | From 9:00 into the afternoon | Crafts, clothing, fruit and vegetables |
| Monday to Saturday | Mercado de los Artesanos, Plaza Cagancha and Piedras | From 11:30 | Leather, mates, ceramics, wood, glass, silver, jewellery, instruments |
Source: Tristán Narvaja, Parque Rodó, Villa Biarritz, Mercado de Artesanos, Mercado Agrícola.
City Tours With Shopping Time
Three tours build market time into the route and the hop-on bus stops at the malls. Listed prices and the shopping stop, from each operator's listing.
| Tour | Length | Listed price | Shopping stop | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half-day tour with six stops | 3.5 hours | $20 | 20 minutes at Mercado Agrícola, plus a second market | Check Availability |
| City tour for cruisers | 3 hours | $35 | 30 minutes of shopping at Mercado Agrícola | Check Availability |
| Shore excursion for cruise passengers | 3.5 hours | $44 | Free time at the MAM, leather and cashmere | Check Availability |
| Hop-on hop-off bus, 24-hour pass | 24 hours | $25 | Tres Cruces and Mercado Agrícola stops, malls on the route | Check Availability |
Malls and markets are free to enter. Figures current {checked}.
Tours That Stop to Shop
Each of these puts a market or a mall on the route, useful when time in the city is short.
from $20
Montevideo: Complete Half-Day Tour with Guide and 6 Stops
Six-stop orientation coach tour of Montevideo at $20 per person with hotel pickup, free time at two markets and no entrance fees included.
Check Availability
from $35
Montevideo City Tour for Cruisers
A 3-hour port-to-port overview tour at $35 per person that waits for late cruise ships and returns to the terminal.
Check Availability
from $44
Montevideo: Shore Excursion for Cruise Passengers
A 3.5-hour port-based city loop for cruise passengers at $44, covering Ciudad Vieja, Estadio Centenario and the Rambla with wheelchair access.
Check Availability
from $25
Montevideo: Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
The cheapest city overview in Montevideo, a two-circuit 24-hour hop-on hop-off pass with audio guide for $25.
Check AvailabilityPrices, ratings and details are the platform's own. Dollar figures are the listed prices. The platform bills in your account's currency.
What to Buy in Montevideo
Popular products to buy in Uruguay start with the mate kit: a gourd, a metal straw called a bombilla and yerba to fill it, and the artisans' market sells the full set. Leather goods are the other classic, from belts and bags to jackets, and the MAM market and the artisans' market both carry them, cashmere included at the MAM. Knitwear suits the cool months, and jewellery and silverwork appear at every craft fair.
Ceramics and carved wood fill the artisans' market, along with candombe drums and percussion if you want to take the rhythm home. Secondhand books and records are the Tristán Narvaja specialty. Tannat wine is best bought after a winery visit, see Uruguay wine, and packaged yerba travels easily, see Uruguay mate.
For street shopping, Peatonal Sarandí is the old town's walking street from Plaza Independencia to Plaza Matriz, lined with mates, leather, jewellery and knitwear.
Source: Mercado de Artesanos, Peatonal Sarandí.
Tax Free and the VAT Cut
Two savings work at two different moments: one refund at the border, one discount on the bill, and the table splits them.
Tax Free on Goods
Tax Free runs all year at participating shops for non-resident tourists. Ask for the form at the till when you buy, then claim the refund at the marked booths when you leave Uruguay through a listed exit. The listed exits are Carrasco and Laguna del Sauce airports, the ports of Montevideo and Colonia, the Punta del Este cruise terminal and the border bridges to Argentina and Chuy.
No minimum purchase and no refund percentage are posted, so ask the shop before you buy. The key detail for ferry passengers: goods bought in Montevideo are refunded at the Montevideo port when you sail to Buenos Aires, and that route is covered in Buenos Aires to Montevideo.
The 9-Point VAT Cut
Paying by foreign-issued card or e-money takes 9 percentage points off the VAT at restaurants, bars and cafés, including a mall food court, and on car rental without a driver, catering and event services, and tastings at registered wineries. The cut applies until 30 April 2027. Hotels charge non-residents no VAT on the room at all, all year, when you show a foreign ID, and the invoice simply comes without VAT, so there is nothing to claim back.
See Uruguay currency and Montevideo car rental.
| Saving | Where it applies | When you get it |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Free refund | Participating shops, goods only | At a listed exit such as Carrasco airport or the Montevideo port |
| 9-point VAT cut | Restaurants, bars, cafés, car rental, winery tastings | On the bill, paid by foreign card or e-money, until 30 April 2027 |
| 0% hotel VAT | Hotel rooms for non-residents | On the invoice, all year |
Source: Uruguay Natural, IMPO.
Shopping on a Cruise Day
The shopping closest to the ship is in the old town. The artisans' market at Piedras 258 and Peatonal Pérez Castellano, lined with souvenir stalls, sit right by the Mercado del Puerto next to the port, in Ciudad Vieja. From there, Peatonal Sarandí leads you to Plaza Independencia, with mates, leather, jewellery and knitwear along the way.
If your call falls on a Sunday, Tristán Narvaja is a bus or taxi ride away and runs until about 16:00. The Montevideo port is also a listed Tax Free refund exit, so keep your forms, and ask the shop which exits apply to your ticket before you rely on it. For the dock itself, see Montevideo cruise port.
Do and Don't When Shopping
Do
- Carry small pesos in cash for Tristán Narvaja and the street fairs.
- Ask for the Tax Free form at the till in participating shops, because you cannot claim it afterwards.
- Go to Tristán Narvaja early on Sunday, since stalls start packing up in the afternoon.
- Pay restaurant and café bills with a foreign card to take the 9-point VAT cut on the spot.
- Pair Villa Biarritz market with Punta Carretas Shopping, they sit a few blocks apart.
Don't
- Don't plan Tax Free refunds at the Buenos Aires ferry terminal in Argentina, the refund is claimed at the listed exit when leaving Uruguay.
- Don't leave bags open in the Sunday market crowds.
- Don't expect the artisans' market to open on Sundays, it runs Monday to Saturday from 11:30.
- Don't leave market shopping for the evening, the street fairs close by mid-afternoon while the malls run to 21:00 or 22:00.
Where to Shop on the Map
The five malls and the markets on this page, coloured by type.
Coordinates approximate, from OpenStreetMap.
Next Stops for Shoppers
Three pages that pair with a shopping day.
Punta Carretas
The barrio of the prison-turned-mall, the lighthouse and the Villa Biarritz market.
Mercado del Puerto
The grill hall by the port, next door to the artisans' market branch on Piedras.
Uruguay currency
Pesos, dollars, cards and the VAT rules that change what a shopping day costs.
Montevideo Shopping Questions
What can I buy in Montevideo?
Mates and the gourd-and-straw kit, leather goods, knitwear, jewellery and silverwork, ceramics, carved wood and crafts. The artisans' market adds percussion and musical instruments, Tristán Narvaja adds secondhand books and records, and a winery visit is the place to buy Tannat. Peatonal Sarandí in the old town covers mates, leather, jewellery and knitwear in one walk.
What are popular products to buy in Uruguay?
The artisan list at the Mercado de los Artesanos gives the answer: leather, mates, ceramics, wood, fabric, glass, metals, jewellery, silverwork, resin, batik, painting, sculpture, recycled paper, musical instruments, percussion and toys. Add knitwear, Tannat wine and yerba for mate, all of which travel well in a suitcase.
What is Montevideo famous for?
The Rambla along the water, the old town of Ciudad Vieja, the long carnival season and the candombe drums. See candombe and carnival in Uruguay for the rhythm side of the city.
Is Montevideo walkable from the cruise port?
Yes for the old town. Peatonal Pérez Castellano with its souvenir stalls and the artisans' market at Piedras 258 sit by the Mercado del Puerto next to the port, and Peatonal Sarandí leads from there to Plaza Independencia. See Montevideo cruise port.
What are Montevideo Shopping's hours?
Every day from 10:00 to 22:00, with the food court open one hour longer. The mall sits at Av. Luis Alberto de Herrera 1290 in Buceo and holds 200 brands, a supermarket, a food court, 10 cinema screens, two theatres and a casino with over 600 slots.
Is there tax-free shopping in Uruguay?
Yes. Tax Free is valid all year at participating shops for non-resident tourists. Get the form at the till when you buy and claim the refund at the marked booths when you leave through a listed exit, such as Carrasco airport, the Montevideo or Colonia ports, the Punta del Este cruise terminal, Laguna del Sauce airport or the border bridges. Ask the shop for the minimum and the refund rate, since neither is posted.
When is the Tristán Narvaja market?
Every Sunday from 9:00 to about 16:00, on Tristán Narvaja street from 18 de Julio in Cordón, spreading into side streets towards Fernández Crespo and Minas. It has run since 1909, with estimates of 1,000 to 3,000 stalls. Secondhand books cluster on Paysandú street.
What is Tres Cruces shopping?
Tres Cruces Shopping is the mall built on top of the Tres Cruces bus terminal, the country's main station, which serves every Uruguayan department plus Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile. It opened on 16 November 1994 and holds about 190 shops after a 2019 extension. It is where you shop while waiting for a long-distance coach, and the hop-on hop-off bus stops there.
Do I get the VAT discount in shops or only in restaurants?
The 9-point cut by card covers restaurants, bars and cafés, including a mall food court, plus car rental, catering, event services and winery tastings, until 30 April 2027. Ordinary shop purchases are not covered by that cut, they fall under Tax Free instead, which is refunded at a listed exit when you leave Uruguay.
Fitting Shopping Into a Montevideo Trip
A Sunday morning works well: Tristán Narvaja until midday, then on to Barrio Sur for the Sunday candombe drums. A rainy day belongs to a mall, and Montevideo Shopping or Punta Carretas Shopping fill hours with food courts and cinemas. The last afternoon before a flight fits Portones Shopping, the mall closest to the airport.
For a wider plan of things to do in Montevideo, browse Montevideo tours and book Montevideo hotels near the markets you want.
Montevideo Shopping on Film
The Sunday market and the city's malls at street level.
TRISTAN NARVAJA FAIR. The largest in URUGUAY.
A walk through the Sunday stalls of Tristán Narvaja.
Video: Eze ChavalFeria de Tristán Narvaja, Walking Tour 4K, Montevideo
The market street by street, from 18 de Julio into the side streets.
Video: Por la ciudad a PiePUNTA CARRETAS SHOPPING Montevideo Uruguay Walk Tour 4K
Inside the mall that kept the prison's arch and façade.
Video: NeoWalk 4KPrices, hours and terms are set by the venue or operator and confirmed at checkout.
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