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Montevideo: 24 HoursA happy, work-related coincidence led me to Montevideo. I call it “happy” because the city’s architecture, friendly people, handsome men and good food were a pleasant surprise.Text: sara nina funes I only had a few hours in which to discover the city’s charms, and I would have been grateful for some advice. Here is an especially good tip: buy a guidebook before you leave home. Due to some editorial mystery, it takes a miracle to find one in Montevideo. Two: Don’t smoke. A tough law passed in 2005 made all closed areas smoke-free. Three: Carry an umbrella in the summer. There’s always the chance of a surprise downpour.
Plaza Independencia (30 min)
Teatro Solís (40 minutes, if you take a guided tour)
Peatonal Sarandí (25 min)
Plaza Constitución or Plaza Matriz (20 min)
The Streets of the Old City (as long as you like)
Palacio Taranco (20 min)
Mercado del Puerto (depends how hungry you are)
La Rambla ( as long as your feet last)
Where to EatEl viejo y el mar: Enchanting ambiance with a view of the river in the Punta Carretas neighborhood. Sit outside if the weather permits. The house specialty is obvious: anything that swims (or walks!) in the sea. I indulged in shrimp cocktail and sole in a black butter sauce. Rambla Mahatma Gandhi 400 Tel. 598-2-710-5704 El Palenque: If you are looking for mounds of meat and a waiter who can offer detailed descriptions of cuts of beef, this is the place for you. This is a Grill (with a capital g) with 150 tables and a bar that seats 100 meat devotees. They also serve excellent fish. And if you have only a nap waiting for you after the feast, I recommend “El Manolito,” a chocolate dessert with bitter counterpoints. Mercado del Puerto, local / store 8 Tel. 598-2-915-4704 Panini’s: Any pasta dish you order will reduce you to tears, but the ravioli filled with spinach, ricotta cheese and walnuts will leave you inconsolable. Don’t even try to resist the chips with the mysterious dip that they serve while you wait for your meal. What else? The tiramisu is magnificent. Bacacay 1339 Tel. 598-2-916-8760 Where to StayRadisson Victoria Plaza: This five-star hotel offers guests a spa, a casino and a dining room with an unbeatable view of the port, all right off Plaza Independencia, just a hop, skip and a jump from the Old City. Plaza Independencia 759 Tel. 598-2-902-0111 www.radisson.com/montevideo.uy Hotel Plaza Fuerte: A classic Uruguayan hotel. The building was declared a National Historical Monument and is located on one of the little streets in the heart of the Old City. Bartolomé Mitre 1361 Tel. 598-2-915-6651 Hotel Cala di Volpe: A boutique hotel complete with an ocean view in the Punta Carretas area, very close to Pocitos Beach. Rambla Mahatma Gandhi & Parva Domus Tel. 598-2-710-2000 Hotel Oxford: Simple, nicely priced and close to the bustle of 18 de Julio. Paraguay 1286 Tel. 598-2-902-3792 Where to ShopShopping Punta Carretas: The most sophisticated mall in the city has a wide variety of shops, many of which specialize in women’s clothing. There is also a large food court and a tourist information kiosk on the first floor. José Ellauri 350 Esencia Uruguay: This little store is a great find for those who want to bring home a gift with local flavor. It offers liquors of caramel-sweet dulce de leche and walnut or butía (a palm fruit from the country’s eastern regions), tannat (the emblematic Uruguayan wine), olive oil, yemitas (sweets made of sugar, spices and the egg yolks after which they are named), custards, alfajores (cookies filled with dulce de leche and covered in chocolate) and other sweets. Peatonal Sarandí & Alzáibar, (Also in the Punta Carretas Mall) Mercado de la Plaza Cagancha: Folk art of every style, material and price range. This market also hosts art exhibits. Plaza Cagancha 1365 Manos del Uruguay: A folk-art store that stocks the country’s finest products. Here wool is king. Peatonal Sarandí 668 (Also in the Punta Carretas Mall) Feria Tristán Narvaja: Open Sundays, this eclectic antiques market has anything and everything that can be bought or sold. Tristán Narvaja & 18 de Julio and adjacent streets)
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Stand in Plaza Independencia at the feet of Uruguayan forefather José Gervasio Artigas, whose remains rest in a crypt a few feet below. On the level of the living, you will see the Casa de Gobierno, one of the offices of the Executive Branch. It houses a museum featuring the whims of past leaders, such as a watch chain made from the hair of President Fructuoso Rivera’s wife. On one side of the plaza is the Palacio Salvo, a 27-story architectonic emblem that was the tallest building in South America for years. On the other side is the Puerta de la Ciudadela, the only remains of the colonial fort that shored up the Spanish forces. It’s best seen from the west. Cross through the city gate and you will start to feel that you have arrived in the Old City. 
Bear left and you will see the 150-year-old Teatro Solís which was inaugurated by Sara Bernard. Thanks to juicy state subsidies and private sponsors, you can buy tickets at low prices every day from 3 p.m. Guided tours are offered Tuesday through Sunday at 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. 
From the sidewalk in front of the theater, take Peatonal Bacacay, a prelude to Peatonal Sarandí, which is an animated stretch of stores, restaurants and art galleries. On Saturdays, this pedestrian street becomes a stage for actors, jugglers and musicians and offers a lively nightlife. If you have time, check out the Museo Joaquín Torres García, which honors the Montevideo painter who rubbed elbows with Gaudí in Barcelona.
Just down the street, you will find a line of stands with books, leather goods, antiques and mates – gourd-like container used to drink mate infusions, a local fetish. This is the market, El Mercado de la Matriz, which sits next to a pleasant little square and a church that bears the same name. Even if you are not interested in praying, you can admire the extensive marble, filigree lamps and altars to Saint Francis and the Virgen de la Merced. 
Exit the church to the left and take Calle Rincón, or walk one block down to 25 de Mayo. It really doesn’t matter where you walk as long as you look up: this part of the Old City is an architectural melting pot, and you can’t help but stare at the Bank Boston building, the Junta Departamental, the Museo de Arte Precolombino, the old Water Works Company and neighboring buildings. I fell into a trance on 25 de Mayo when I reached the Juncal in front of a somewhat decrepit French-style construction with forged iron art nouveau balconies. I asked a young girl who was standing in the doorway if it was a museum. “No, it’s my house,” she answered simply. 
Follow 25 de Mayo to number 376, the former residence of Spanish immigrants who literally came here to find their fortunes at the end of the 19th century and wanted an abode that would suit the circumstances. The project was led by the authors of the Arc de Triomphe and the Petit Palais in Paris and is a glorious adorned monument in the style of Louis XV and Louis XVI, worthy of housing the Museo de Artes Decorativas (Museum of the Decorative Arts). 
Still looking up, walk two short blocks to Pérez Castellanos and then to your right until your nose announces the sinful smells of grilled bife chorizo. This is the port market, 38,000 square feet of grills that are worthy of a country in which meat is a religion. If you are a vegetarian, seek comfort in the local fork-art stores or with the multitude of street artists (mimes, painters and musicians).
Are you in hyperprotein shock? Take a taxi (don’t be surprised if you have to pay through a tiny door between the backseat and the driver) to La Rambla and get out anywhere. This area boasts 19 miles of waterfront along the Río de la Plata (River Plate) where you can admire the locals’ penchant for enjoying life. You’ll see people drinking mate, sunbathing, immersed in the rites of barbeque, skating and cycling. A luxury in public space, particularly in the Pocitos sector.
