Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay. It’s also the country’s most populous city with more than one million people calling Montevideo home. For tourists, one day in Montevideo means there’s enough time to wander the Old Town before strolling up along river toward Parque Rodo. It’s just enough time to get you a brief overview of the city before moving on to another part of Uruguay.
So whether you’re passing through or spending the night, here’s how I recommend you spend one day in Montevideo.
One Day in Montevideo, Uruguay
As always, this is not the only way to spend one day in Montevideo, but it’s what I recommend for first time visitors. It’s based on my own trip to Montevideo, but condensed and adjusted to make just a bit better use of your time.
9:00 am – A Brief Stroll through the Old Town
Start your morning with a stroll through Montevideo’s Old Town, or Ciudad Vieja. This is where you’ll find some of the more picturesque areas of the city, though we’ll venture beyond the Old Town later this afternoon. Visit the plazas and step into the cathedral.
There’s no set route for your sightseeing, and you’ll probably double back on some of it later when you take a walking tour, but I found it interesting to wander on my own to get some initial impressions before joining a walking tour to learn a bit more about the city.
10:30 am – Montevideo Walking Tour
I don’t know about you, but when I was in school, we didn’t spend a lot of time talking about Uruguay. We talked about how Spain colonized much of South America, but that was where most of my education ended. After school, everything that I learned about Uruguay was travel related (where to go, what to do, etc.).
What’s my point? I highly recommend taking a walking tour in Montevideo to learn a bit more about Uruguay. Yes, you’ll learn about Montevideo, but you’ll also learn a bit of the history of Uruguay. The guides know that Uruguay is a small country and most people don’t know much about their country. On these tours, they want to try to change that and give you more context.
I booked a free walking tour with Curioso Tours that departs the Old Town every morning at 10:30 am. We were split into two groups (one English tour and one Spanish tour) and we were guided through the Old Town. Some of the sights we stopped at were places that I had already been, but with the help of our guide, I was able to get more context.
After my tour, I really started noticing all of the Artigas statues and mentions, had a better understanding of Uruguayan’s obsession with mate, and realized that Uruguay treats Argentina and Brazil just like Wisconsin treats Illinois (as an annoying older sibling).
My tour lasted just over two hours and was a fantastic resource for my time in Montevideo. Plus, if your guide is anything like mine, you’ll be able to get plenty of recommendations for other things to do in not only Montevideo, but also Uruguay.
1:00 pm – Lunch
Take a break for lunch. If you take the same walking tour I did, you’ll finish at the Port Market. There are plenty of restaurants here and according to my guide they are priced pretty similar to elsewhere in the city (meaning it’s not cheap). It’s up to you if you choose to get lunch here or head somewhere else.
Personally, I felt like the Port Market was just a bit too touristy and so I headed back and found a different restaurant for lunch.
2:00 pm – City Hall
Before completely leaving the Old Town, take a stroll to City Hall. I stopped here at the advice of my walking tour guide (who said he hates this building, but tourists should visit). So why visit City Hall? Because you can take an elevator to the 22nd floor for fantastic views of Montevideo? And did I mention that this is completely free?
Keep in mind that if you visit during the week, there will be plenty of people going about their business at City Hall, so you need to find the tourist area. In my opinion, the best way to do this is to go in the back (near the playground). You’ll reserve a time in advance which will give you a QR code that you can use to scan into the building. Note that while I needed that QR code to get in, I made my reservation while standing at the entrance. No one checked the time on it.
Then, once inside, head to the elevators. What’s nice is that there are elevators to take you to the top floor and they are glass so you can get a nice view for the entire ride. What sucks about these elevators is that they take forever and only six people can use them at a time. So bring a little bit of patience.
But once at the top, there’s great views of the city of Montevideo. There is also a cafe in case you want to get another treat, but honestly, just coming for the views is worth it in my opinion.
2:30 pm – Las Ramblas
Now we start making our way from the Old Town to Parque Rodo. In my opinion, the best way to do this to walk along Las Ramblas. The pedestrian path way lines the river and is a fantastic place for a stroll. On a sunny day, it’s alive with people out for walks and enjoying the weather.
Here’s another option if you’re looking to see just a little bit more and don’t mind spending a little money for a taxi or an Uber. Jump in the taxi or Uber and head to the Montevideo sign. It’s a bit further than Parque Rodo and I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t make it out here myself (though I did pass by on a bus). Snap your picture with the sign and then walk from Parque Rodo from here. You’ll still be along river and the Ramblas, but it’s just something a little bit different.
3:30 pm – Parque Rodo
The more I visit big cities, the more I become fascinated by parks. I love how some big some of these parks are and how you can just forget that you’re in a city of over one million people. Parque Rodo is no exception and it’s a great place to stroll. The traffic is outside of the park, the paths are nice, and there are trees everywhere. And if that’s not enough, you can walk around the small lake (or rent a paddle boat) or have a drink at a nearby bar.
Evening – Traveler’s Choice
The evening is yours to explore. Find a place for sunset, have a drink in a bar, stroll along the Ramblas. The choice is up to you.
Is One Day in Montevideo Enough?
It’ll be a busier day, but I think that one day in Montevideo is enough. At most, I think you could spend two days in Montevideo, but anything more than that, you’d probably want to start looking at day trips or even venturing to another city completely.
I had four nights in Montevideo. I arrived in the afternoon on the first day and didn’t do much besides getting something to eat. I had two days to explore Montevideo and used my third day for a day trip to Punta del Este.
With More Time
Within Montevideo itself, you can look at visiting a few more of its top sights. Palacio Legislativo is a nice building but a bit out of the way. There are daily tours in English for those wishing to learn more. Teatro Solis also offers tours every day. For less intensive sightseeing, heading back toward Parque Rodo for the nearby Playa Ramirez.
If you’re here on a Sunday, I recommend swinging by the markets. There is a market in Parque Rodo, but I think I enjoyed Feria de Tristan Narvaja more. It’s bigger, livelier, and has just about every thing you could possibly imagine for sale. Even if you’re not there to buy something, it’s fun just to stroll and see what is all for sale. If you can’t find it at this flea market, I’m not sure it exists.
For day trips, the two most popular are Colonia and Punta del Este. If possible, I’d separate Colonia and spend the night since it’s a two and a half hour bus ride one way from Montevideo. Punta del Este is two hours from Montevideo, but can be done as a day trip. While I’m glad I visit Punta del Este, it wasn’t my favorite day trip and if I were to do it again, I’d try to spend the night to enjoy it just a little more.
How to Get Around Montevideo
It really depends where you need to get in Montevideo. In general, I found Montevideo to be very walkable. I stayed in the Old Town and walked everywhere, including Parque Rodo. I’ll be the first to admit it was a longer walk, but it’s pretty flat and you can take the path along the river, which is nice.
The only place that I didn’t walk was to and from the Tres Cruces bus terminal. This was a bit further than I wanted to walk (while carrying all of my luggage), so I used Uber for transportation. While not the cheapest method of transportation, it was convenient and cost me about 350 UYU for the journey.
City buses do loop around the city and depart frequently. If you’re taking the bus, it’s unlikely that you’ll have to wait longer than 10 minutes for a bus to show up. Buses are also cheap, costing about 50 UYU per ride.
Final Thoughts
Montevideo makes for a great addition on any trip to Uruguay. You don’t need a lot of time, but one day in Montevideo is still just enough to give you the highlights and help you learn just a little bit more about this small country.
