Montevideo, city, capital of Uruguay and its Montevideo Department, on the Río de la Plata, in the southern part of the country. A spacious community with broad boulevards, it is the nation's largest city and its principal economic, administrative, and cultural center. Most of Uruguay's meat- and wool-processing plants and other manufacturing establishments are located in the metropolitan area. The city also has a large fishing industry, and its port handles the bulk of the nation's foreign trade. Many tourists visit the city and nearby beach resorts.
Cabildo
(next to it the unfinished headquarters of the former military government)
Landmarks include the Cerro (hill) for which Montevideo (from the Portuguese "Monte vide eu," "I see a hill") is named; the mausoleum of José Gervasio Artigas, the Uruguayan national hero; the Cabildo, formerly the seat of the national legislature; and an ornate cathedral (1790-1804). In Montevideo are the University of the Republic (1849), the Institute of Higher Studies (1928), the National Historical Museum (1900), and the National Museum of Fine Arts (1911).
Uruguayan Modern Art
Blanes Museum
Montevideo was founded by the Spanish governor of Buenos Aires in 1726 to secure the area against Portuguese infiltration from Brazil. It changed hands frequently during the Spanish-Portuguese rivalry of the early 19th century, until, partly through British intervention, it became the capital of independent Uruguay, established in 1828 as a buffer state between Spanish Argentina and Portuguese Brazil. It was besieged for nine years (1843-1851) during Uruguay's civil war but at the same time became one of the principal ports of South America. Large numbers of Europeans, especially Spaniards and Italians, migrated to the city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Thereafter, Montevideo continued to grow as a result of internal migration from rural Uruguay to the capital region. Population (1996) 1,378,707.
Montevideo is the very lively capital of Urugay. It is a stylish city with a strong European feel to it. The city was founded in 1726 on a promontory between the Rio del Plata and an inner bay; this area is still known as the Ciudad Vieja and is the area of main interest for visitors. The heart of the old city beats on the Plaza de la Constitucion. On one site is the Catedral with the historic Cabildo, opposite is the Museo Historico Nacional. On the south side is a quite unusual fountain dating from 1881 with an inscription in Spanish that contains a few spelling errors.
Just west along the Calle Rincon is the Plaza Zabal with a monument to the founder of the city: Zabala. Three blocks north of here and you are in the docks, three blocks south and you are on the rambla Francia, on the Rio del Plata.
Going east from here via the pedestrianized Calle Sarandi, you enter the new city after crossing the Plaza de la Independencia. This is the biggest Plaza of the city. On it you will find the mausoleum of Artigas, the Casa de Gobierno Historico and the Palacio Salvo.
East from here the Avenida 18 Julio takes you to the Tres Cruses Bus Terminal.
I am going to be adding more info to this and other SA destinations over the next few days, and of course, once I get back there will be a view of the places from my trip too in the review section.
If you dock in Montevideo, Uruguay, I'd recommend you take a day tour to Colonia de Sacramento, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a fabulous town, and the day we were there, we had the streets to ourselves!! Here are some pictures from our day there.
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Montevideo, Uruguay
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