Self-guided walking itinerary

One day in Montevideo: a self-guided walking itinerary

The old city first, then the avenue's free 22nd floor lookout, a grill lunch at the port, and the rambla out to the 1876 lighthouse.

Photo by Sebastián Velásquez on Unsplash

At a glance

On foot1.6 km25+ min

RouteEdificio Lapido → Palacio Municipal de Montevideo

TerrainFlat, paved walking through the old city and along the avenue; the rambla leg is open to sun and wind.

Day budgetBudget roughly 1,500 to 2,500 pesos per person for the day: a paid museum or two, a full parrilla lunch at the market, coffee, and a bus ride or two.SourceTeatro SolísMercado del PuertoIntendencia de Montevideo

Interactive map of the route. The full stop list below works without it.

The day plan

How do you spend one day in Montevideo on foot?

Montevideo is a city that rewards the person who walks it in order. This day does exactly that: the founding old town and its surviving citadel gate first, then the 1920s avenue that built upward to a free 22nd floor lookout, then the rambla south to the 1876 lighthouse, with a grill lunch at the port in between. Three things to get right before you leave the hotel. Every price on this page is in Uruguayan pesos, and local price tags write them with the same $ symbol as dollars. Monday is the one day to avoid: the Solís runs no tours, and the Palacio Taranco, the carnival museum and the national art museum all stay shut. And if candombe drums are the reason you came, they are a Sunday evening practice in Barrio Sur, not a nightly show.

Morning9:00 to 12:30
The founding city on foot
Start on Plaza Independencia, where the colonial citadel once stood and Artigas lies beneath the square. Circle the Palacio Salvo, pass through the surviving Puerta de la Ciudadela, and step down the pedestrian Sarandí. Time your visit to join a Teatro Solís guided tour, then cross to the Museo Torres García and the cathedral and Cabildo on Plaza Matriz. End the old town on leafy Plaza Zabala, in front of the Palacio Taranco.
- TicketsThe Teatro Solís guided tour costs 400 pesos for foreigners and 200 with a Uruguayan ID, and it is free on Wednesdays.SourceTeatro Solís
- HoursGuided tours of the Teatro Solís run Tuesday to Friday at 11:00, 12:00 and 16:00, and Saturday and Sunday at 15:00 and 16:00.SourceTeatro Solís
- HoursMuseo Torres García opens every day from 10:00 to 18:00.SourceDescubrí Montevideo
- HoursThe Cabildo museum opens Monday to Friday 11:00 to 17:45 and Saturday 11:00 to 17:00.SourceDescubrí Montevideo
- HoursPalacio Taranco's decorative arts museum opens Tuesday to Saturday 11:00 to 18:00, with guided visits and no reservation needed.SourceDescubrí Montevideo
EatCoffee at Café Brasilero, the wood panelled corner cafe that has poured coffee since 1877.
Midday12:30 to 14:30
Lunch over the grills
From Plaza Zabala, drop to the Rambla 25 de Agosto and the Museo del Carnaval, where the murga costumes and candombe drums explain what you will hear in Barrio Sur later. Then step into the Mercado del Puerto. The 1868 iron hall is a working grill room: pull up a stool at a counter, order a chivito or a cut of asado, and wash it down with a medio y medio. Lunch is the point here, so do not rush it.
- TicketsGeneral entry to the Museo del Carnaval is 200 pesos, and children under 12 go free.SourceMuseo del Carnaval
- HoursThe Museo del Carnaval opens Wednesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00 and takes Visa, Master and Maestro.SourceMuseo del Carnaval
- HoursThe Mercado del Puerto hall opens Monday to Friday 9:00 to 17:00, Saturday 9:00 to 17:00, and Sunday 10:00 to 17:00, with the outside terraces running until midnight.SourceMercado del Puerto
EatA parrilla counter at El Palenque inside the Mercado del Puerto: order the asado and a medio y medio.
Afternoon14:30 to 17:30
The avenue that built upward
- Edificio Lapido2 min
- Museo del Gaucho y la Moneda2 min
- Plaza Fabini4 min
- Plaza de Cagancha1 min
- Mercado de los Artesanos2 min
- Palacio Díaz10 min
- Palacio Municipal de Montevideo
Walk back to Avenida 18 de Julio and read the avenue the way it was built. Start at the white Edificio Lapido, then duck into the free Museo del Gaucho y la Moneda, now in the Banco República hall at Cerrito 351, for gaucho silver and the country's money. Cross Plaza Fabini and the oval Plaza de Cagancha, browse the Monday to Saturday craft hall on the corner, and end at the Palacio Municipal. Take the elevator to the 22nd floor before 19:00 and the whole center and coast fall open beneath you.
- HoursThe Museo del Gaucho y la Moneda is free and open Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00, now in the Banco República hall at Cerrito 351.SourceFundación Banco República
- HoursThe Palacio Municipal's 22nd floor lookout is free and open every day 11:00 to 19:00; enter at Soriano 1372 at the corner of Ejido, and note it closes during orange or red weather alerts.SourceDescubrí Montevideo
Evening17:30 to 20:30
The rambla and the southern tip
From the Palacio Municipal, walk down through Parque Rodó and give the free Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales a good look: Blanes, Figari and Torres García, all of it Uruguay's own. Then take the rambla south past Playa Ramírez to the poet's summer house, the Museo Zorrilla, and out to the Faro de Punta Carretas, where the river opens to the sea at the southern tip. Finish with coffee inside Punta Carretas Shopping, the mall built into the former prison, before you ride the bus back.
- HoursThe Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales is free and open Tuesday to Sunday 13:00 to 20:00; it closes on Monday.SourceDescubrí Montevideo
- HoursMuseo Zorrilla opens Monday to Friday 14:00 to 19:00 and Saturday 11:00 to 16:00, and is closed on Sunday.SourceMuseo Zorrilla
EatCoffee at Punta Carretas Shopping, inside the brick walls of the former prison.

Questions about the day

Planning your day

Can I do this whole day on foot, or do I need the bus?

The day strings the old town, the avenue and the rambla into one continuous line, so you can walk the whole thing. If you want to save your legs on the way back from Punta Carretas, a one hour bus ticket costs 52 pesos with an STM card and 64 in cash.

SourceIntendencia de Montevideo

What day of the week should I do this?

Tuesday to Saturday keeps every museum in the plan open. Sunday trades the Cabildo and the Palacio Taranco for the busiest market lunch and the Barrio Sur candombe in the evening. Monday is the day to avoid: the Teatro Solís runs no tours, and the Palacio Taranco, the carnival museum and the national art museum all stay shut.

How much cash should I carry?

Cards work at museums, restaurants and supermarkets, but the craft market stalls and smaller parrillas often want cash, so carry a few thousand Uruguayan pesos. Remember that a $ sign on a price tag here means pesos, not dollars.

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