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| Carnaval 2010 - Montevideo, Uruguay |
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| Plaza Fabini - Downtown Montevideo, Uruguay |
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| Mate Tea Gourds - Montevideo, Uruguay |
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| Pat with Carnaval Singer - Montevideo |
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| Street - Montevideo, Uruguay |
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| Downtown - Montevideo, Uruguay |
Montevideo, Uruguay (Capital) (1/15-16/2010)
We came here for a South American Carnaval! - more on that below.
We came here for a South American Carnaval! - more on that below.
Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, with its 90%+ European-descendent population, is similar in nature to a northern Mediterranean city. Many believe that Uruguay has the highest quality of life in South America. About half of Uruguay's total population of 3.4 million live in Montevideo.
Although not particularly rich in tourist attractions, parts of Montevideo are attractive with nice suburbs, sandy beaches along the Rio (River) Plata, good restaurants, sidewalk cafes, tree-covered parks, sycamore-lined streets, and attractive architecture.
During the time of our visit in 2010, other parts of Montevideo reveal a run down nature especially in its old town and port areas. Significant reconstruction was taking place all over Montevideo and you can image this capital city of Uruguay will someday live up to its splendid past.
We came to Montevideo during Carnaval and attended a couple of the most popular events. We had the most fun at the outdoor Teatro Verano watching singing groups (mostly men) in very colorful costumes (see photos). The crowds loved it because the songs were making fun of the government, etc. We enjoyed the festival but not understanding the language, the jokes and satire were lost on us.
By the docks, we visited the Central Market (Marcado del Puerto) that dates back over a century and is similar in structure to the old European markets - great fun with food, street performers, artisans, and Museo Carnaval.
We stayed in the Old Town (Ciudad Vieja) and wandered the European looking streets visiting sites such as Catedral Matriz (the old city church), Plaza Independencia (the main square with the statue of liberator Jose Gervasio Artigas), Plaza Constitucion, Palacio Salvo (South America’s tallest building in the 1920’s), Palacio Estevez (national government headquarters), Teatro Solis, and much more (see photos).
We stayed in the Old Town (Ciudad Vieja) and wandered the European looking streets visiting sites such as Catedral Matriz (the old city church), Plaza Independencia (the main square with the statue of liberator Jose Gervasio Artigas), Plaza Constitucion, Palacio Salvo (South America’s tallest building in the 1920’s), Palacio Estevez (national government headquarters), Teatro Solis, and much more (see photos).
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| Montevideo, Uruguay |
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| Map of Montevideo |
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| Map of Uruguay |
We were not overly impressed with the beaches near Montevideo but please do see our blog post for other stop in Uruguay... Punta del Este, Uruguay (South America’s beach resort of the rich and famous).
Please see our 2 other blog posts for beautiful Uruguay:
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We visited Montevideo last year and it is one of the more interesting cities I have ever visited. Really liked to walk along the Rambla and eating alot of good food. :)
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