"Uruguayan Capital City" a Montevideo Travel Page by Ramonq

If there is a capital city that is under-estimated and overlooked by tourists, it's Montevideo. Overshadowed by its more glamorous twin sister city, Buenos Aires, many tourists visit Montevideo as an afterthought and not as the main destination. Its main street, Avenida de 18 Julio, is not as grand and delightful as the Buenos Aires’ equivalent, but the city has a certain charm of its own. Montevideo does have many of Buenos Aires’s attractions. For example, tango was developed around the docks of Montevideo, simultaneously with Buenos Aires . In fact, the most famous tango crooner, Carlos Gardel, was born in Uruguay, something that porteños are afraid to admit. The city also has some of the best steakhouses this side of South America. In fact the whole of Uruguay was built on the cattle industry. If you love meat, especially beef, this is the place to be!

Montevideo has its fair share of grand beaux art buildings similar to those seen in Buenos Aires, but alas, the city went crazy during the boom years of the 1960’s, by tearing down heritage sites and replacing them with lots of non-descript apartment blocks, giving it a more Eastern European communist appeal, rather than a stately Iberian one. You can observe this around the inner suburbs of Pocitos, one of Montevideo’s smarter address, where 10-storey block apartments are ubiquitous. But the city made up for it by lining the streets with large shady trees to cover up the unsightly buildings, and its plazas are smaller and more intimate than those found in Buenos Aires.

But one thing that Montevideo has over Buenos Aires is its laid-backness and friendliness. People do ask you about your stay and are concerned about your safety. It is not as self-absorbed or melancholic as its twin city. I must say, it’s a great place for a quiet break.

Montevideo has a very European face. Most of its people are descendants from Spain, being a Spanish colony for hundreds of years. There are only a few indigenous or black people seen walking around the streets of Montevideo. The culture is therefore very Mediterranean, with lots of cafes and extremely late nocturnal past times. If you want to sample its nightlife, start at 1 AM, otherwise you will come into an empty bar or club.

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Puerto Mercado

From a tourist’s point of view, most of the attractions are inside the Ciudad Vieja (Old City) area. Here you will find ornate Spanish colonial architecture that is still being used for residential or commercial use. Some of the buildings are decaying and ill-maintained, but the city government is sprucing up certain areas, particularly around the plazuelas and the main port. The best place to enjoy Montevideo is at the Puerto Mercado, which has been transformed into a temple for the carnivorous glutton. I had some of the best steaks here at a very reasonable price. It’s great to simply wander around the old centre and take time to explore the bars and shops.

Plaza Independencia is the heart of Montevideo where one can see Montevideo's iconic landmarks, the Palacio Salvo building and the gigantic Artigas monument. It is a great starting point to explore the 18 July Boulevarde and the Ciudad Vieja. Plaza Independencia is named after the independence of Uruguay from Spain led by Artigas. Uruguay was formed as a buffer state between the two warring countries of Brazil and Argentina. Montevideo was made its capital in 1828 even though it was founded as a lucrative slave port town by the Spanish colonists in 1724 much to the chagrin of Buenos Aires. In fact in the old section of Montevideo, one can still see the descendants of the African slaves although they are now small in numbers. The old city (Ciudad Vieja) was originally built within a walled fortress using traditional Spanish colonial gridline layout. This wall has since been torn down to make way for the expanding city.

The British played an influential role in the development of Montevideo. To avoid the dominance of the Argentine and Brazilian control of trade in the La Plata region, the British traders exerted their commercial prowess to the rulers of Uruguay in the 19th century. Montevideo's infrastructure vastly improved during its prosperous times building railroads and financial institutions. Strife in Europe caused mass migration to Montevideo with many Italians, Germans, Spanish and Jewish refugees streaming into the city. They have influenced the population make up of the city as well as its culture.

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Solis Theatre

Today, Montevideo is the largest city and the dominant force in Uruguay. With over a million people, the city has a vast majority of the country's university and business institution. As the capital city, political power is also seated here. It has a stable banking institution that Argentines and Brazilians deposit their money here during times of financial troubles. This is why Uruguay is called the Switzerland of South America. Not only it is neutral in its political position, but it has a relatively good standard of living compared to most in the continent. You can see that Montevideo has a European feel about it. Yes, the city has come under brutal dictatorships and economic difficulties, but I find that Montevidenos are a pragmatic lot so they are able to go with the flow and move on regardless. Although many Montevidenos have migrated elsewhere, but the city has opened its doors to new skilled and entrepreneurial migrants from Europe and America. Montevideo is renewing itself.