24 Best Things to Do in Montevideo (2026 Guide)

We didn’t exactly choose to spend five days in Montevideo.

After four weeks at sea from Germany, our Defender spent another five days waiting for port clearance, so we walked the city, took an Uber home at night and tried most of the things to do in Montevideo on this list.

This guide is for first-time visitors with one to five days who want the highlights.

We numbered the 24 best things to do in Montevideo, grouped them by neighborhood, marked the free ones and added the tours and day trips worth booking.

Our conclusion: Montevideo is a three-day city. We only ran out of things to fill the days because we had a car to wait for.

If you only do 5 things, do these: the Mirador de la Intendencia (#1), a weekday morning in Ciudad Vieja (#3 and #4), a chivito at Mercado del Puerto (#7), the Rambla walk to the Montevideo sign (#10 and #17) and one evening at Primuseum (#20).

Short on time? Follow our one day in Montevideo route, or stretch it into 3 days in Montevideo.

Watch our walk through the city before you go:

Centro: where to start

1. Mirador de la Intendencia (free)

The best thing we did in Montevideo didn’t cost anything.

We went up to the viewpoint on the 22nd floor of the Intendencia, the city hall on Avenida 18 de Julio.

From up there you see the old town on its peninsula, the port and the Rambla curving east, which makes the rest of the day much easier to picture.

The elevator only takes about 6 people at a time, so you may queue for a few minutes at busy times.

Three things decide whether this stop works for you:

Check the hours. It’s open every day from 11:00 to 19:00.

Reserve first. Entry is FREE, but you have to reserve a QR code online in advance, so do it before you go rather than turning up at the door. The official booking page is here (in Spanish).

Use the right door. The visitor entrance is on Soriano 1372, at the corner of Ejido, not the main 18 de Julio façade.

2. Plaza Independencia and Palacio Salvo (free)

Plaza Independencia is the heart of Montevideo, with the mausoleum of national hero José Gervasio Artigas underground beneath his statue.

Palacio Salvo, once the tallest building in South America, has Art Deco touches and a half-hidden Masonic emblem above the entrance that most people walk straight past.

Worth it: yes, you’ll pass through it on the way to the Old Town anyway.

We walked it without a fixed stop list, and that’s still how we’d do it: the real value isn’t any single building. Plaza Independencia is the gateway towards the old town where most of the best attractions are.

Ciudad Vieja: the Old Town on foot

3. Peatonal Sarandí and the Puerta de la Ciudadela (free)

Go through the Puerta de la Ciudadela, the last gate of the old city walls, onto the pedestrian street Sarandí.

Look down for the sun-shaped tiles of the Espacio de los Soles, Montevideo’s own walk of fame.

4. Plaza Matriz and Plaza Zabala (free)

Plaza Matriz is where the first constitution was sworn in in 1830, and the Metropolitan Cathedral sits on the square.

Nearby, Plaza Zabala is a quiet square named after Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, the governor who founded the city, with the Palacio Taranco decorative arts museum facing it.

Both are a quick look on your way through, and the small Templo Inglés is the one to skip if you’re short on time.

We stayed in Ciudad Vieja and walked almost everywhere during the day, so we’d treat both squares as stops on the way, not a destination.

It’s a chill square to take a rest and enjoy the brids chirping. We saw many locals coming here to enjoy their maté.

5. Teatro Solís (only with a show)

Teatro Solís is Uruguay’s most important theatre.

We only walked past it, and on its own the building wasn’t really worth it, so book a show or a tour instead.

6. Montevideo museums: Torres García, Andes 1972 and Carnaval

• Museo Torres García: small and well curated, dedicated to the painter Joaquín Torres García.
• Museo Andes 1972: tells the story of the survivors of the 1972 Andes flight disaster, a heavier visit.
• Museo del Carnaval: explains the Montevideo Carnival, one of the longest in the world.

Pick one, not all three: the small Torres García is the easiest to fit between other stops.

7. Eat a chivito at Mercado del Puerto

Mercado del Puerto is the old port market turned parrilla hall.

We watched the meat on the huge wood-fired grills and had a chivito and some drinks.

An awesome moment, but it isn’t cheap: one chivito plate with two drinks cost us $34 (€31).

Pay with a card issued abroad, because it always got us a discount on restaurant bills (see our money in Uruguay guide for how the tourist VAT discount works).

👉 INSIDER TIP: Order the chivito, Uruguay’s national dish: a thin steak sandwich with ham, cheese, egg and tomato. We had one chivito plate at the market, which comes with fries or salad, and it was a filling lunch for two. If you’d rather go for the grill, ask for a parrilla and share it, because the portions are big.

8. Try a maté experience

Maté is everywhere here: we saw people with a thermos and a gourd on buses, along the Rambla and even at the airport.

At Obralia (Yacaré 1581, open Friday to Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00), we learned how maté is drunk, how the Uruguayan version differs from the Argentine and Brazilian ones, and that one gourd can last a whole day.

It cost $20 (€18) for both of us, starter kit included, and to us, maté tastes like a strong herbal tea.

9. Join the free walking tour

A free walking tour is the easiest way to get your bearings in the Old Town on your first morning.

The free walking tour of Montevideo runs on tips, so pay what you think it was worth, and check the schedule and meeting point on their site.

Prefer a paid guide? This is the 3-hour guided walk we’d book:

The Rambla

10. Walk the Rambla (free)

The Rambla runs about 22 km (14 miles) along the Río de la Plata, and it’s where Montevideo goes to jog, skate, and drink maté.

We walked it in thick sweaters in October, with around 14°C (57°F) on cloudy days, and our fleeces came out on every cold evening.

Start at the Rambla Sur viewpoint where Ejido meets the river and walk west to the port, or head east toward Pocitos for sunset.

Cordón: the Tristán Narvaja market street

11. Feria de Tristán Narvaja (Sundays)

The Feria de Tristán Narvaja is the big Sunday street market for antiques, records, books, food, and maté gear.

It’s best between 10:00 and 13:00, and it was one of our favorite mornings in the city, even at around 15°C.

12. Visit Babilonia Libros

Babilonia Libros (Tristán Narvaja 1591) is a used-and-new bookshop with tall shelves, hanging plants, and a cobblestone floor.

Most books are in Spanish, but it’s still fun to have a look.

13. Grab a drink at El Imperio

El Imperio (Tristán Narvaja 1752) is a long-standing bar full of antiques, popular with locals, with a courtyard and rooftop terrace.

It’s lively on Sundays, so make it your stop after the market.

Parque Rodó

14. Parque Rodó and the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales (free park)

Parque Rodó has a lake, an old amusement park, and space to sit with a maté, and the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales sits in the park with Uruguayan art, a good rainy-day stop among the Montevideo museums.

We’d fold both into a walk you’re already taking and skip them as a dedicated trip.

Punta Carretas and Pocitos

15. Punta Carretas Shopping

Punta Carretas Shopping (José Ellauri 350) sits inside the old Punta Carretas prison, built around 1915 and closed in 1986.

To be fair, you don’t notice it: the mall is huge, with three floors, and nicely decorated. Worth it for a rainy hour or a coffee; skip it if malls aren’t your thing.

16. Faro de Punta Carretas

The Faro de Punta Carretas, also called the Punta Brava lighthouse, is a 19 m (62 ft) tower on the Rambla.

You can climb it for a view over Montevideo, but for us the best view in the city is still the Mirador de la Intendencia (#1).

17. Pocitos beach and the Montevideo sign

Pocitos beach (Playa de los Pocitos) is the relaxed, beach-town side of the city.

The Montevideo sign stands on the Rambla in front of the beach, next to the Hyatt Centric hotel.

It’s free and open 24 hours, so go 45 to 60 minutes before sunset for photos. Pantagruel and Pistatxofusión, two of our favorite dinners, are close by.

We asked for a doggy bag after the asado de tira at Pantagruel, and Pistatxofusión’s six-course dinner was the most creative one we had in Montevideo (both invited us; see our best restaurants in Montevideo guide).

Beyond the center

18. Estadio Centenario and the Museo del Fútbol

Estadio Centenario hosted the first FIFA World Cup final in 1930, and the Museo del Fútbol inside is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00 and Sunday from 11:00 to 15:00.

Foreigners pay 400 pesos (about $10).

It’s too far to walk, so take a taxi.

We skipped it since neither of us is a big football fan, but it’s the one stop we’d keep if you are, and the one to skip if you aren’t.

19. Parque Prado and the Fortaleza del Cerro

Parque Prado is bigger and quieter than Parque Rodó, with the Botanical Garden inside, and during Holy Week it hosts Semana Criolla, a gaucho rodeo and folklore festival.

The Fortaleza del Cerro is a hilltop fortress across the bay with views back over the city. We’d skip both unless you have a car or a spare day.

Evenings: tango and dinner shows

20. Dinner and tango at Primuseum

Primuseum (Pérez Castellano 1389) was our first-ever tango experience and our number one dinner in the city: a set five-course dinner with a bottle of wine included, while the owner, Santiago, told us about his love for Primus stoves.

It’s open Thursday to Sunday from 20:30, and you need a reservation.

Primuseum invited us for dinner, and it’s still the evening we’d book as a couple.

Book Primuseum here.

City tours you can book

21. A shared Montevideo city tour

We covered the city on foot while our car was stuck at the port, so we haven’t taken a city tour ourselves.

But a shared Montevideo city tour covers more ground than you will on your own, which is handy for a cruise stop or a single day.

If you only have one morning, we’d book the half-day regular tour: it’s the cheapest way to get the layout of the city before you choose where to go back to.

Skip it if you’re staying three days, because you’ll cover the same ground on foot.

22. Bike or e-bike tour with a picnic

The small-group bike tour follows the Rambla and ends with a picnic, a nice way to see more of the coast.

See the Montevideo bike and e-bike tour with picnic.

Best if you want the Rambla without walking all 22 km; skip it if you already plan to walk it yourselves (#10).

23. Street food tour

For a taste of the Old Town, the Montevideo street food tour has 5 tastings.

Best if you’d rather taste the Old Town in small bites; skip it if you’re already doing the chivito at Mercado del Puerto (#7).

24. Visit a winery near Montevideo

Montevideo’s wine country starts closer than you’d think, so you don’t have to go to Carmelo for a tasting.

If you only have time for one, we’d pick Bodega Santa Rosa: it’s the cheapest and shortest, so it fits around a city day.

We haven’t been to any of the three since we went to different wineries in Carmelo, but we heard good things about them.

Day trips from Montevideo

Montevideo day trips are easy: buses to Punta del Este and Colonia leave from the Tres Cruces terminal, and tours pick you up in the city.

Our day trips from Montevideo guide covers them in detail.

Punta del Este

Punta del Este is Uruguay’s beach resort, about 2 hours from the capital.

We drove there after Montevideo and took a bundled-up selfie at La Mano, the giant hand in the sand, on a cold morning.

See our Montevideo to Punta del Este guide for buses, taxis and driving.

Colonia del Sacramento

Colonia del Sacramento is a Portuguese-era town on the river, roughly 2.5 hours by road, and the gateway for ferries to Buenos Aires (such as Colonia Express).

We left Uruguay through Colonia.

It’s worth an overnight, but the full-day tour works if you’re short on time. See our Colonia del Sacramento guide.

Carmelo wineries

The wine region around Carmelo is Uruguay’s other wine country, on the river west of Colonia.

It’s too far for most Montevideo day trips, so we’d base ourselves in Colonia or Carmelo for a night.

Recommended URUGUAY ESSENTIALS we personally use and trust
🧳 Travel duffel bag We flew in with just two of these	🎒 Daypack Ours goes on every city walk and day trip	👕 Moisture-wicking shirt For humid summers and asado afternoons
🧥 Warm fleece: Men | Women We wore ours every cold evening on the Rambla	🌧️ Waterproof jacket Rain, sun, rain again: we wore it daily	👖 Travel pants: Men | Women Comfortable for cobblestones and wineries
👟 Walking shoes: Men | Women Grip on cobblestones, no hiking boots needed	🧦 Base layers Essential for damp winters (June to August)	🔌 Universal plug adapter European plugs fit, UK and US plugs need one

All that walking on cobblestones calls for the right gear: our full season-by-season list is in our Uruguay packing list

Best things to do in Montevideo: Our conclusion

Montevideo rewards a slower pace more than a packed list, and three days is plenty.

We spent five days here only because our Defender was stuck at the port, and by then we were running out of things to fill the days.

If we had to prioritize, these are the five we’d keep:

• Go up to the Mirador de la Intendencia (#1)
• Wander Ciudad Vieja on a weekday morning (#3 and #4)
• Eat a chivito at Mercado del Puerto (#7)
• Walk the Rambla to the Montevideo sign (#10 and #17)
• Book one evening at Primuseum (#20)

Add a winery near Montevideo or Punta del Este if you have a spare day.

Still deciding whether the city deserves your time? Read is Montevideo worth visiting, or see how to split your days in our 3 days in Montevideo itinerary.

Written by Laura and Alexander, a travel couple overlanding through Uruguay, from Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja to the wineries of Carmelo.