12 best Things to Do in Montevideo in 2 Days

If you want to know things to do in Montevideo in a couple of days, we tell you in this article.

Montevideo welcomed us with great kindness, thermoses and mates everywhere. It seemed like a tiny Buenos Aires, with much more tranquility and less honking, a little more wind than in the neighboring Rio de la Plata, and a little more expensive than we could have imagined before arriving.

As soon as we arrived, some things caught our attention in Uruguay.

We found that the people were extremely friendly, and I don’t want to say that one country is more or less friendly than another, nor generalize, but in Montevideo we noticed that the way they treated us was sweet and mellow.

I told Juan: “They convinced me, mate is Uruguayan“. And we have seen it so much again that I felt very small with my Mate Route without mate, thinking that everything was already Uruguayan: dulce de leche, tango, Gardel…

How many days to visit Montevideo?

While many travelers dedicate only one day to visiting Montevideo, we recommend exploring it at a more relaxed pace over two days.

Below, we mention the must-see places to visit in Montevideo in 2 days.

1) Pocitos Beach in Punta Carretas

We stayed in a hotel in the Punta Carretas area, a 10-minute walk from Pocitos beach and very well connected to all the sights of Montevideo.

Pocitos beach is one of the busiest in the city and its extension is almost 2 kilometers. In the 19th century, it was part of the town of Pocitos, which was later incorporated intoas a neighborhood in Montevideo with the growth of the city, and its name comes from the time when the washerwomen used to wash their clothes in the waters of the river by making wells in the sand.

So the day we arrived we went for a walk along Montevideo’s Rambla, which was quite lively on a beautiful day. Obviously, there was no lack of mate anywhere.

La Rambla extends for about 20 kilometers along the Río de la Plata, so the beach is not a sea beach but a river beach, although it seems that the salt water is noticeable (despite the heat, we didn’t go in). has little swell which makes it ideal for quiet water sports.

📷 Book the Montevideo tourist bus here to explore the city in total comfort with an audio guide.

2) Montevideo sign

We walked the entire Pocitos Beach until we reached the famous Montevideo sign. Along with us there were many other people trying to take a picture with him. If you go at sunset time, you have to take into account that the sun will be behind the sign, which means that the photograph will not have a good lighting. We made a little trick, which was a selfie from the back side, where there were no people, modifying the photograph “in mirror”.

📷 Find out more by taking a guided tour of Montevideo. The best way to get to know the city and learn.

3) Shopping in Montevideo

One of the things to do in Montevideo is to go shopping in Punta Carretas, where there are several malls among which is the “Montevideo Shopping“.

Other major shopping centers in the city include Punta Carretas Shopping, Nuevo Centro, and Tres Cruces.

4) Montevideo Municipal Palace

To go from Punta Carretas to downtown, we took a bus that dropped us off at the Palacio Municipal where the headquarters of the Intendencia de Montevideo (Municipality or City Hall) is located, one of the must-see sites in Montevideo.

This building was built in the first half of the last century and is located on Avenida 18 de Julio, one of the most important avenues in the city. On the esplanade at the entrance there is a replica of Michelangelo’s David and, in addition, you can climb to a lookout point to see downtown Montevideo from above. Admission is free.

5) Gaucho Monument

Before going to the old part of the city, we went to the “Monumento del Gaucho” which is on the corner of the Palacio Municipal. It is a very typical statue to see in Montevideo, because of what it represents.

A gaucho is a typical character from the south of South America, inhabitant of the plains, expert horseman, mate drinker, field worker (although he is always portrayed as a bit lazy). It has a very typical dress based on poncho, bombachas (wide pants) and leather boots (although the modern ones wear espadrilles).

6) Walking along “la 18”.

We then walked down 18 de Julio Avenue in the direction of the Old City. This street is colloquially called “la 18” by the locals. It is full of old buildings, offices, businesses and restaurants. The main movement of the city is here, it is one of its arteries.

7) Independence Square

Thus we arrived at the Plaza de la Independencia, the gateway to the Old City of Montevideo. In the Plaza is the equestrian statue of Artigas, the Uruguayan hero (although he is also a hero in Argentina), inaugurated in 1923. In the lower part of it, his remains are in a mausoleum.

José Artigas was a military man and statesman born in Montevideo who played a leading role during the War of Independence of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (as the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was called after the May Revolution).

He has fought all his life for total independence from Spanish power, for the equality of the different provinces, for the organization of the government as a republic and for the sovereignty of the Eastern Province (Uruguay). To the left of the monument is the impressive facade of the Citadel Building.

At the foot of the Citadel Building is the Citadel Gate, the entrance to the Old City. There were the walls that enclosed this historic part of the city.

8) Solis Theater

At one end of the Independence Square is the Solis Theater, inaugurated in 1856 and later reopened in 2004 after a refurbishment. It is an emblematic building in Montevideo used for theater, ballet, opera and concerts. In its beginnings it was used by members of the upper class as a social meeting point.

And speaking of theaters, Montevideo has a large number of them, especially in the renowned “Barrio de las Artes” of the capital. The former Cervantes theater and hotel, a couple of blocks from the Solís theater, has been converted into the city’s first boutique hotel, the Esplendor Montevideo.

Today it houses a collection of works of art of great importance worthy of a visit, in addition to the fact that among its walls have passed renowned writers in Latin America such as Jorge Luis Borges, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Emilio Oribe and Julio Cortázar.

9) The Sarandí pedestrian street of Montevideo

From the Plaza de la Independencia, we entered the pedestrian street Sarandí, where we walked among restaurants, stores and stalls selling handicrafts and mates. We arrived at Plaza Constitución or Plaza Matriz, where we had lunch in one of its terraces, and visited the Metropolitan Cathedral.

10) Metropolitan Cathedral

The Metropolitan Cathedral, formerly called Iglesia Matriz, like so many other tourist attractions in Montevideo, is listed as a National Historic Monument. The church dates from colonial times (18th century) and was consecrated as a cathedral at the end of the 19th century.

11) Port Market

As we approach the port, we notice that the houses become more colonial, the stores more picturesque and the number of tourist restaurants more abundant.

And at the end we find one of the most visited places in Montevideo for tourists, the so-called Mercado del Puerto, which brings together many stalls of typical Uruguayan food.

12) Other places to see in Montevideo

There are many more places to visit in Montevideo such as Rodó park, walking along the rambla beyond and beyond Pocitos beach, visiting the Tristán Narvaja street fair which (like the Madrid flea market) is open on Sundays, among other things.

Also, very close to the Plaza de la Constitución and the Cathedral, is the Andes 1972 Museum, which tells the story of the rugby plane that crashed in the Andes that year. Very interesting.

📷 Buy in advance the entrance ticket to the museum and check also the guided tour.

Practical information for your trip to Montevideo

Things to do in Montevideo in 2 days

1. Punta Carretas: walk along the Rambla, Pocitos beach and other nearby beaches, Montevideo sign, Montevideo Shopping.
2. Center: Municipal Palace, 18 de Julio Avenue, Monument to the Gaucho.
3. Old City: Independence Square, Monument to Artigas, Solis Theater, Gate of the Citadel, Matríz Square and Church (Metropolitan Cathedral), Port Market.

📷 If you have more days in Montevideo, you can take a day trip to Colonia de Sacramento or Punta del Este.

What to eat in Montevideo?

In addition to the classic “asado” or the different varieties of meat that are grilled (barbacoa), Uruguay’s typical dish is the “chivito”. Yes, I was fooled too, because I thought it would be goat or lamb, but it is actually beef.

According to legend, the chivito was born from the so-called “viveza criolla” of someone who had eaten a real chivito in Argentina and, upon arriving in Uruguay and wanting to taste the same, was fooled into thinking that he was being served chivito when in fact it was loin. Since that person did not realize the deception, the rumor spread and the dish became popular.

Nowadays, the chivito comes in many variations, al plato, Canadian, or whatever, but rest assured that it will be a very abundant dish (and perhaps to share between two).

In general, Uruguayans do not skimp on the quantities of ingredients and you are sure to have some left over. An example of these are the photographs we show both of a chivito al plato and of a salad.

Is mate Uruguayan?

I have no doubts, eh! Jokes aside, there won’t be 5 minutes on the street that you don’t cross paths with someone drinking mates. We were struck by a sign on the bus that read:

Mr/Mrs. Customer, we remind you that it is not allowed to drink mate while traveling: in case of an unforeseen maneuver, you may be burned or injure other passengers and remember that in such cases the bulb becomes a dangerous object. Travel safely, help us to help you.

Isn’t it great?

Where to stay in Montevideo

We stayed at the Dazzler Montevideo, located in the residential neighborhood of Punta Carretas. Nearby are the most important shopping malls in the city, a number of restaurants for all tastes and budgets, the promenade just a few minutes walk away and the beach to enjoy the sun that usually provides the city.

🏨 Do you want to look for other options? Find here the best hotels in Montevideo.

How to get to Montevideo?

There are direct flights to Montevideo airport from Madrid, Miami, Panama and several Latin American cities, mainly Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile, Lima, Bogota, Asuncion and Buenos Aires.

✈️ Search here for cheap flights.

To and from Buenos Aires

From Montevideo to Buenos Aires you can go either by plane (operating out of Ezeiza and Aeroparque airports) or by ferry across the Rio de la Plata.

📷 Book your ferry crossing from Buenos Aires to Montevideo here. The trip includes bus from Montevideo to Colonia and ferry from Colonia to Buenos Aires.

How to get from Montevideo Airport to downtown?

There are several public transportation companies that cover the route. COPSA buses have several lines. The company COT has express services to the main points of the city center and other places in Uruguay such as Punta del Este, La Paloma or Colonia, without the need to go through downtown Montevideo.

On the other hand, the DM1 line of the Cutcsa company is the cheapest way to get from Montevideo airport to downtown Montevideo.

If you take the DM1 bus that connects the airport with Punta Carretas, it will leave you in that neighborhood (which is the one we took to go to the Dazzler Hotel Montevideo), but if you want to go downtown most of the buses that go through that stop go to Tres Cruces.

In addition, there are cabs and minivans (combis) that take you door to door to the hotel in a safe and more personalized transfer.

📷 Book your transfer from Montevideo airport to downtown Montevideo and forget about everything.

What do you think of all there is to see in Montevideo? Tell us about it!