Teatro Solís, Montevideo: Guided Visits, Show Tickets and History

When the Visits Run

The theatre's guided-visits page lists Wednesday to Friday at 16:00, and Saturday and Sunday at 15:00 and 16:00. Its general-information page also lists Tuesday to Friday at 11:00, 12:00 and 16:00, plus the weekend slots. The afternoon times appear on both pages.

The weekday morning slots appear on only one page, so confirm them at the box office or by phone on 1950 1856 or WhatsApp 099 186 951 before planning a morning visit. Visits are given in Spanish, English and Portuguese. Times can change and spaces can close for technical or artistic reasons.

On the third Saturday of each month there is a casa abierta, an open house from 15:00 to 17:00, part of the city's Sábados en Ciudad Vieja programme.

What It Costs and How to Pay

Foreigners pay $9.92 (UYU 400) for the visit. People with a Uruguayan national ID pay $4.96 (UYU 200). Here is the trick for visitors: the theatre gives foreigners 50% off when they show the digital proof of payment of the Montevideo tourist tax, which brings the price down to the local rate, our sum $4.96 (UYU 200).

The tax is charged by your accommodation to non-resident guests over 11 years old, USD 1 per night with a maximum of USD 5 per stay, since 1 October 2025. So ask your hotel for that receipt before you come. Pay at the theatre box office in pesos, cash or card.

See our notes on Uruguay's currency if you are arriving with dollars.

What the Visit Shows

The visit walks you through the performance halls and the key spaces of the building, according to the city tourism site. Look up at the ceiling and the proscenium arch, painted in 1908 by Carlos María Herrera and Pío Collivadino. The hall is slightly elliptical and is often compared with La Scala in Milan, while the facade is compared with the Carlo Felice in Genoa.

Even without a visit you can walk freely through the photo gallery, the exhibition room and the Edificio Interactivo, so the building is worth stepping into even without a visit. If you want more context on the surrounding streets, our Montevideo tours page lists guided options that pass this corner.

Buying Tickets

The box office is open every day from 15:00 to 19:00, or until the performance starts on show nights. Tickets are also sold online through Tickantel and at Abitab and Redpagos outlets around the city. There is no reservation system, so tickets are sold outright.

Refunds are given only if a show is cancelled, and then at the box office. Which payment cards are accepted varies by show, so check before you queue. The theatre's phone line is 1950 1856 and the WhatsApp number is 099 186 951, answered weekdays 14:00-18:00 and weekends and holidays 15:00-18:00.

The programme changes through the year, so check the theatre's own programme for what is on during your stay.

On the Night

There is no entry once the performance has started, so arrive early and plan dinner around the curtain time. Children from 3 years old need their own ticket, and for under-3s the theatre suggests an easy-exit seat. Wheelchair users have seats in lower boxes 17 to 20 at 50% of the price in the main hall, and should confirm in advance.

The building is a working house: it has been home to the Comedia Nacional, the national theatre company, since 1947, and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Montevideo performs there, as its own programme lists. After a show, take a taxi rather than walking alone through the old town, following the UK travel advice for the area. See our pages on safety in Montevideo and nightlife.

A Theatre Begun in Wartime

In 1840 a society of 156 shareholders formed to build a proper theatre. Montevideo then had about 40,000 inhabitants and exactly one performance hall, the old Casa de Comedias. The Italian architect Carlo Zucchi drew the first design in 1840, adapted by Francisco Javier de Garmendia.

Works began in 1842 and stopped in 1843, when the Siege of Montevideo during the Guerra Grande choked the city. The materials ordered from Europe were kept safe through the blockade: Siberian timber, Italian marble capitals and roof slate waited out the war before they could rise as a theatre.

Opening Night and the Wings

The theatre opened on 25 August 1856 with Verdi's Ernani, before President Gabriel Antonio Pereira, with the side wings still missing. The wings were built between 1869 and 1874 to designs by the French architect Víctor Rabu. A metal roof arrived from France in 1881 and the stage was widened in 1882.

In 1908 the ceiling and proscenium received the paintings by Carlos María Herrera and Pío Collivadino that you still see on the visit today. The name honours Juan Díaz de Solís, the navigator who reached the Río de la Plata.

The City Buys the Theatre

The Intendencia, the city government, bought the building on 26 January 1937, and it reopened in 1946. In 1947 the Comedia Nacional was created and made the Solís its home. The theatre closed in 1998 for restructuring and reopened on 25 August 2004, the anniversary of its first night, with the CIDDAE archive created at the reopening.

The stage has carried serious names: Luisa Tetrazzini sang here in 1875, Adelina Patti in 1888, Francesco Tamagno in 1896 and Enrico Caruso in 1903, with Sarah Bernhardt, Eleonora Duse and Vivien Leigh among the actors.

- The building materials survived a war: the Siberian timber, Italian marble capitals and roof slate ordered from Europe were stored safely through the Siege of Montevideo before the theatre could be finished. (Teatro Solís) - Caruso sang here in 1903, after Tamagno in 1896 and Adelina Patti in 1888, and Sarah Bernhardt and Vivien Leigh appeared on the same stage. (Teatro Solís) - The main hall seats about 1,500 people and is slightly elliptical, a shape the theatre compares with La Scala in Milan.

(Wikipedia), Teatro Solís) - The facade is compared with the Carlo Felice opera house in Genoa, and the theatre's name honours Juan Díaz de Solís, the navigator who reached the Río de la Plata. (Teatro Solís) - It reopened on 25 August 2004, 148 years to the day after the 1856 opening night, and the reopening created the CIDDAE performing-arts archive. (Teatro Solís)

The easiest fit is an afternoon visit after a morning in the old town. Walk down Peatonal Sarandí from Plaza Matriz, reach the theatre, take the 16:00 visit, then cross to Palacio Salvo across Plaza Independencia. On the third Saturday of the month the open house from 15:00 to 17:00 lets you wander in without a guided slot.

If you prefer company, the Ciudad Vieja walking tour starts at the Citadel Gate near the theatre and the hop-on hop-off bus stops at the square. For a show in the evening, book ahead and read our old town guide for what to do before curtain. More options are on our Montevideo tours page.