MONTEVIDEO
Tango, football and barbecued beef are ever-present, while the many bookshops are testament to its status as a UNESCO City of Literature
HISTORY
Founded in 1724 by the Spanish in an area that had been inhabited by Indigenous peoples such as the Charrúa for thousands of years, Montevideo was originally designed as a bulwark to help stave off Portuguese influence in the River Plate region. Thanks to its strategic position, it subsequently grew into a major port and trading hub during the colonial era and after Uruguay won its independence in the 19th century.
This history feels close at hand in the Ciudad Vieja, the site of the earliest settlement. On a peninsula jutting into the river, it’ s accessed through a gateway called the Puerta de la Ciudadela, one of the only parts of the old wall that once encircled the city that survives to the present day. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Ciudad Vieja’ s cobbled streets and leafy squares are lined with centuries-old townhouses, mansions and churches, some perfectly preserved, others gracefully crumbling. Palm trees shoot up from the pavements
— providing welcome shade in the summer— while many of the buildings are covered with large murals and street art. Although there are countless architectural highlights— including the grand Catedral Metropolitana overlooking the Plaza de la Constitución— the area is best explored via an idle wander and no fixed plan.
Gentrification is well underway in the Ciudad Vieja, with plenty of boutique hotels, fancy coffeeshops and renovated palacios, but there are still patches of urban decay, especially near the busy port and ferry terminal on the northern side of the peninsula. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Uruguay developed into an agricultural powerhouse and a constant stream of ships chugged out of Montevideo carrying beef, grain and other goods to Europe and beyond. Migrants from across the globe boosted the city’ s population and economy.
During this period, the city continued to spread its footprint well beyond the Ciudad Vieja. Belle époque theaters and municipal
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