I came to Montevideo because flights from Buenos Aires were $40 and someone told me the beef was better. I expected a layover. I got a city that made me question why I rush through everything.
Flew into Carrasco International (MVD) at noon. The airport is small, modern, and pleasantly unchaotic. Bus 710 to the city center: 42 UYU ($1). Forty minutes of highway and then suddenly you're on the Rambla — Montevideo's 22-km waterfront promenade that follows the Rio de la Plata.
Checked into a small hotel in Pocitos: 2,800 UYU/night ($70). Clean, a block from the beach, no frills. The receptionist — Sofia — heard me struggle through check-in in Spanish and switched to English. "You're the third American this week," she said. "Usually it's just Argentinians."
Walked the Rambla from Pocitos toward Ciudad Vieja. The scale of this waterfront is staggering. They call it the longest continuous sidewalk in South America — 22 km of promenade along the water. Joggers, cyclists, families, old men with mate thermoses tucked under their arms.
I stopped at Ramirez Beach. The sand was mostly empty on a Tuesday afternoon. A couple played paddleball. A kid chased a dog. The water of the Rio de la Plata is brownish — this isn't Caribbean turquoise. But the width of the river — you genuinely can't see the other side — makes it feel like an ocean.
Dinner: my first chivito sandwich at a cafe in Pocitos. Thin steak, ham, mozzarella, bacon, fried egg, lettuce, tomato, olives, mayo. In a bun. 380 UYU ($9.50). I couldn't finish it. I've been thinking about it ever since.
Walked to Ciudad Vieja, the colonial old town at the tip of the peninsula. About 4 km along the Rambla from Pocitos — a beautiful morning walk.
Plaza Independencia is anchored by the imposing Artigas Mausoleum (Jose Artigas is Uruguay's national hero — his image is everywhere). The Solis Theatre next to the plaza offers guided tours for 100 UYU. The interior is beautiful — all gilt and velvet, a mini version of European opera houses.
Wandered the streets of Ciudad Vieja. Art deco buildings next to colonial facades next to the occasional modern glass structure. Saturday would have the street fair on Calle Perez Castellano, but on a Wednesday it was quiet — which I preferred.
Lunch at Mercado del Puerto. The 1868 iron-frame building is now filled with parrilla restaurants, all competing for your attention. I chose a stool at a counter directly facing the grill. Ordered a pamplona (stuffed rolled beef) and a medio y medio (half sparkling wine, half white wine — the Montevideo drink). Total: 780 UYU ($19.50).
The medio y medio is deceptively smooth. Two of them and you're having a very good afternoon.
Afternoon: Museo Torres Garcia. Small museum dedicated to Uruguay's most important modern artist, Joaquin Torres Garcia. Entry: 250 UYU ($6). His inverted map of South America — with the south at the top — is one of those images that changes how you see things. The museum is never crowded. I had an entire room to myself for fifteen minutes.
Sometimes the best travel day is the one with no plan.
Walked to Pocitos Beach at 8AM. The crescent bay was calm, the sand mostly empty. A group of older men were playing futbol near the water. I sat on the Rambla wall with a takeaway coffee (100 UYU from a cafe on Bulevar Espana) and watched the city wake up.
A woman on the next bench offered me mate. Her name was Laura. She was a retired teacher. We sat together for forty minutes, passing the mate back and forth, communicating in my broken Spanish and her patient corrections. She told me Pocitos used to be a summer beach town before the city grew around it. Now it's the neighborhood where young professionals live.
When I said gracias passing the mate back (the signal that you're done), she smiled and said "Ya eres Uruguayo" — you're already Uruguayan.
Lunch: a pizza shop on Calle 21 de Septiembre. Muzza (mozzarella pizza, the local style) for 220 UYU ($5.50). Thick crust, heavy on the cheese, light on the sauce. Not Italian pizza. Uruguayan pizza. Different thing. Excellent in its own way.
Afternoon: bookshop browsing on 18 de Julio avenue (Montevideo's main commercial street). Found a used bookshop with an entire wall of Galeano and Benedetti — Uruguay's literary heroes. Bought a copy of Benedetti's poems for 200 UYU.
Evening: sunset at the Rambla near Punta Carretas. The sky turned pink, then orange, then deep purple over the water. A fisherman reeled in nothing and seemed completely content about it.
Spent the morning at the Feria de Tristan Narvaja — Montevideo's massive Sunday street market (except today was Thursday, so instead I visited Feria de la Aguada, a smaller weekday version). Produce, antiques, used books, vinyl records, and some of the best street empanadas in the city (60 UYU each, filled with ham and cheese).
Afternoon: visited the Palacio Salvo, Montevideo's iconic eclectic art deco tower on Plaza Independencia. It was the tallest building in South America when completed in 1928. Tours of the tower run about 350 UYU and take you to the upper floors with panoramic views of the city and river.
Evening: Fun Fun Bar in Ciudad Vieja. Montevideo's oldest bar (since 1895) with live tango. Arrived at 9PM, got a table near the stage. Two musicians — bandoneon and guitar — started at 10PM. No microphones. No stage lighting. Just the instruments and the room.
I'd heard tango in Buenos Aires. This was different. Smaller, rawer, more personal. The bandoneonist played with his eyes closed. The medio y medio kept coming. I stayed until midnight.
Late dinner at a parrilla on Calle Bartolome Mitre. Bife de chorizo (strip steak) with fries and salad. 550 UYU ($14). The steak was charred on the outside, pink in the middle, and seasoned with nothing but salt. Uruguay's beef reputation is earned.
Final morning. Walked the Rambla from Pocitos one more time. Same coffee from the same cafe. The same old men playing futbol on the beach. The same fishermen on the pier.
Stopped at a kiosk and bought a thermos and mate gourd set as a souvenir: 800 UYU ($20). The shopkeeper showed me how to prepare mate properly — angle the yerba, pour water at 70-80°C (not boiling), let it settle before inserting the bombilla.
"You'll practice when you get home?" he asked.
"Every morning," I said.
Bus 710 back to the airport. 42 UYU. Forty minutes of watching the Rambla recede through the window.
I'm going back in October. I already checked flights. For more insights, check out our Montevideo travel tips. For more insights, check out our firsthand Montevideo story.
Montevideo taught me something I didn't know I needed to learn: that a city doesn't need to be exciting to be wonderful. No famous museums (the Torres Garcia is excellent but small). No Instagram-famous landmarks (the Rambla is gorgeous but not flashy). No nightlife scene that makes international lists (except maybe it should).
What it has is pace. A rhythm that says: sit down, have some mate, watch the river, eat some beef, listen to some music, and stop checking your phone.
I needed five days to learn that. I think it'll take a lifetime to master.
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