MONTEVIDEO
Left: Tango at Primuseum restaurant
ESSENTIALS
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When to go: Visit year-round. It’ s busiest in the peak summer season( December-February), as well as during carnival( late January-early March). Book accommodation well in advance for the latter. Late spring( October-November) is a quieter period, but still warm. Currency: Uruguayan peso Language: Spanish Getting around: The city center and the Ciudad Vieja are easy to explore on foot. Buses and taxis are commonplace, though there’ s no metro system. Uber is available and there are extensive cycle lanes. disadvantaged women in rural areas, sells high-quality woolen goods produced by 12 cooperatives.
NIGHTLIFE
‘ We’ re all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass of wine’, wrote Eduardo Galeano, Uruguay’ s most famous author, who was a regular at Café Brasilero. The Ciudad Vieja mainstay is a fine place to test out his maxim at the start of the night.
South in the Punta Carretas neighborhood, Bar Tabaré is another classic drinking spot that hosts regular gigs. Meanwhile, lively Cordón tends to draw a somewhat younger crowd, with its host of craft breweries, dive bars and nightclubs.
Tango is a fixture of the nightlife scene. Montevideo was one of the birthplaces of the music and dance form, alongside Buenos Aires. Emerging from working-class neighborhoods in the late 19th century, tango, like carnival, blended African, European and Indigenous influences and remains central to the city’ s identity.
Today, there are a multitude of options to see performances and take lessons. There’ s Primuseum, a restaurant-museum-music venue in the Ciudad Vieja, while just outside the Ciudad Vieja, the more raucous Baar Fun-Fun remains a classic spot. According to legend, tango great Carlos Gardel was inspired to sing a cappella in 1933 after sampling the bar’ s house drink, a potent combo of port and wine called an uvita.
BOOK IT NOW
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Princess Cruises’ 15-day Cape Horn & Glaciers of Patagonia itinerary hops along the coasts of Argentina and Chile with award-winning dining, plush accommodation and wide-ranging enrichment programs. Sail from Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 7, 2026, on board the Majestic Princess.
CALL US
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Call our travel agency to book your trip. image: limón. fotografía. illustration: emma kelly
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