Sights and Activities
Below are the places we saw and activities completed while visiting Uruguay:
Colonia del Sacramento
Porton de Campo: one of the entrances to the historic center is via this reconstructed 1745 city gate.
Plaza Mayor 25 de Mayo: the historic center’s main square full with restaurants and cafes.
Calle de los Suspiros: one of many picturesque spots in the historic center, this narrow, roughly cobbled street (Street of Sighs) is lined with tile-and-stucco colonial houses.
Faro and Convento de San Francisco: a 19th-century lighthouse stands within the ruins of a 17th-century convent.
Museo Municipal: this museum houses many exhibits from prehistory, colonial artifacts, and animal life.
Casa Nacarello: a beautiful colonial home in town, with period furniture, thick whitewashed walls, wavy glass and original lintels.
Museo Indigena: houses Roberto Banchero’s personal collection of Charrúa, local indigenous, stone tools, exhibits on indigenous history, and an amusing map upstairs showing how many European countries could fit inside Uruguay’s borders, it’s at least six!
Paseo de San Gabriel: we strolled along this western riverfront enjoying the breeze and views.
Iglesia Matriz (Basilica del Santisimo Sacramento): Uruguay’s oldest church, begun by the Portuguese in 1680 and then completely rebuilt twice under Spanish rule, is located in Plaza de Armas.
Archivo Historico: this museum contains historical documents along with pottery and glass excavated from the 18th-century Casa de los Gobernadores (Governor’s house) located nearby.
Museo del Azulejo: this small 17th-century stone house has a sampling of French, Catalan and Neapolitan tilework.
Juan Lacaze
We spent a couple nights in this small town learning about Uruguayan way of life. We spent an afternoon in the local beach and took a short walk to the town center to enjoy some ice cream. It was a relaxing way to spend a couple days, which we later discovered that this is the way of life in rural Uruguay.
Montevideo
Palacio Legislativo: dating from 1908, and still playing host to Uruguay’s Asamblea General (legislative branch), this three-story neoclassical Parliament building is where the popular president of Uruguay, Jose ‘Pepe’ Mujica conducts work.
Torre Antel: we tried going up to the top of this building to get great views of the city, but unfortunately it closes on weekends.
Mercado del Puerto: we had a delicious, expensive, but well-worth, parillada (grilled steak) lunch at this old port market building, whose wrought-iron superstructure is impressive.
Museo de Arte Precolombino e Indigena: this museum displays a collection of artifacts and information about Uruguay’s earliest inhabitants and indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Casa Rivera: the former home of Fructuoso Rivera (Uruguay’s first president), this neoclassical 1802 building is the home of Museo Historico Nacional (National Historical Museum), with a collection of paintings, documents, furniture, and artifacts that traces Uruguayan history from indigenous roots to independence.
Plaza Matriz: also known as Plaza Constitución, this plaza was the heart of the city in colonial times.
Iglesia Matriz: the city’s oldest public building was completed in 1799.
Cabildo: this town hall was finished in 1812, but because of the scaffolding and plastic cover that was on the exterior while it is being renovated we were not able to see it.
Puerta de la Ciudadela: located in Plaza Indenpendencia, this stone gateway is a lonely remnant of the colonial citadel demolished in 1833.
Plaza Independencia: the city’s largest downtown plaza commemorates independence to hero, José Artigas, with a 17m, 30-ton statue and the subterranean Mausoleo de Artigas, where his remains rest.
Palacio Salvo: this 26-story building was once the continent’s tallest building when it opened in 1927.
Teatro Solis: the city’s premier performance space first opened in 1856 and was completely renovated during the past decade.
Rambla: we took an afternoon to join the locals with their thermoses of mates and strolled along the beach boardwalk passing by Playa Ramirez, Punta Carretas, and Playa Pocitos. We were amazed that despite the warm weather the Uruguayans were still sipping on their mates.
Parque Rodo: we were fortunate to catch a pre-Carnaval samba drumming rehearsal in this park. The intensity was on high as we watched and listened to the procession parading around the park. We can only imagine the atmosphere during the actual Carnaval!
Samba Drumming and Dancing in Preparation for Montevideo’s Carnaval
Museo del Gaucho: this museum displays a superb collection of historical gaucho artifacts, including horse gear, silver work, and mates and bombillas (metal straws with filters, used for drinking mate).
Treinta y Tres
Quebrada de los Cuervos: the day we tried going to this canyon was a rainy day, which was not a good way to start. It also turned out that getting there via public transportation was not possible and private transportation was expensive! We tried hitchhiking our way there, but with the weather conditions and the fact that it was out of the way of any town, also resulted as a failure. We made it as far as the turnoff from the main road…
Tacuarembo
Deep into the interior of the country, the city is known as gaucho country. This town proved once again that in rural Uruguay they know how to relax. We walked around the alleged birthplace of tango legend Carlos Gardel, enjoying the tree-lined streets, attractive plazas, and gauchos walking around with their cowboy boots and hats.
Valle Eden
Spent a day lounging around this lush valley and walking beside rivers while gauchos passed on horses. We crossed a hanging bridge to get to the Carlos Gardel Museum.
Museo Carlos Gardel: the museum documents Tacuarembo’s claim as birthplace of the revered tango singer, a claim contested by both Argentina and France!
Paysandu
On the east bank of the Río Uruguay, this is Uruguay’s third-largest city. Founded as an outpost of cattle herders, Paysandu gradually rose to prominence as a meat-processing center. Despite its ongoing status as a major industrial center, modern-day Paysandu is surprisingly sedate. This town is another example of the relaxed way of life in rural Uruguay.
Termas del Guaviyu: we spent a few hours enjoying the natural hot spring pools in this complex located just outside Paysandu. The weather was a little cloudy and rainy therefore, we spent most of the time in the indoor pool that had 39° C (102° F) thermal water.
