The hook
One of Latin America's most laid-back and livable capitals, a city of faded belle-époque elegance strung along a river-sea promenade, where everyone carries a thermos of mate and the weekends beat to Afro-Uruguayan drums.
01Why it's worth it
Montevideo is Buenos Aires's smaller, mellower cousin across the River Plate, and its unhurried charm is the appeal. Its old town, the Ciudad Vieja, is a compact grid of handsome, gently-crumbling 19th- and early-20th-century buildings, art-deco façades, plazas, and the bustling Mercado del Puerto, a hall of parrilla grills where you eat superb Uruguayan beef amid smoke and clatter. The city's defining feature is the Rambla, a long waterfront promenade curving for kilometres along the river-sea, where Montevideanos stroll, cycle, fish, and, above all, sip mate, the bitter herbal tea that is a national obsession, thermos tucked under the arm. The culture blends European roots with a strong Afro-Uruguayan heritage, most vividly in candombe, the pounding drum music and dance of the old neighbourhoods, especially alive during Carnival, the longest in the world. Add a lively arts and café scene, tango, and easy access to beaches, and Montevideo rewards a relaxed day or two as the gateway to a small, progressive, easygoing country.
02How to experience it
Wander the Ciudad Vieja, eat grilled beef at the Mercado del Puerto, and stroll or cycle the Rambla at sunset with the locals and their mate. Catch candombe drumming (especially around Carnival) and the café and tango scene. It is an easy trip from Buenos Aires and the start of Uruguay's coast.