Montevideo for a day

[sailingmickey]

Montevideo is a stop on our South American cruise. We will be in Montevideo on March 4th, any suggestions on tours or sites to see on our own will be appreciated. Thank you..

[J-D]

For a first time visitor with reasonable mobility and some interest in learning about the city and country, I recommend walking around downtown Montevideo on your own (but with a guidebook). One can walk to the downtown area from the cruise dock. There are sights to see within the first kilometre, beginning with the Graf Spee monument at the dock. The downtown area is at most 2 km, with monuments and lots of interesting and historical architecture.

 

John

[John Bull]

We joined up with other cruisers at the port gate & took a van tour. Churches, Parliament building, wagon monument, soccer stadium, coast, etc. Very satisfactory & inexpensive.

 

The "market", in a huge warehouse opposite the port, is actually a dining court.

But not the same as your average shopping-mall food court. ;)

Inter-mingled bars & restaurants & their kitchens, all in one huge open-plan split-level area. Superb steaks - well worth the expense for the food & atmosphere, even if you skip dinner aboard the ship that evening.

A few shops & stalls in the same area, worth a little wander. But don't bother with the "Flamenco Museum", a waste of time & money.

 

Doubt you'll see Graf Spee, whose mast is still visible off-shore.

Our ship kept well away, mebbe we needed an adventurous captain like Schettino.

Or, thinking about it, mebbe we didn't :rolleyes:

 

JB :)

[smeyer418]

There is an interesting Graf spee museum(in the movie the Graf Spee was played by an American Cruiser USS Salem

The US Navy would not allow any german ww II insignia(aka ****) to be displayed on the USS Salem. Footage of the wartime German flag and other insignia was filmed on British ships.)

 

http://forum.worldofwarships.eu/index.php?/topic/146-admiral-graf-spee/

[msclover]

More info in this thread :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1904586

[esalmon2001]

Last year my wife an I visited Montevideo. We visited "La Rambla", the famous Stadium called Centenario, Parliament Palace, the Old City, Port Market etc. We really had a great time there, its a great city to visit. I personally did a lot of research on getting a good guided tour and it was excellent. I recommend you use one otherwise you will miss many of the attractions, it's not that easy to go around the town by yourself. We also visited the City of Punta del Este, its only a 1.30 hour driving from Montevideo but it's a must see, its beautiful. We used the same guide company as well and the service was unique. I really don't remember the website of the company but the email was info@indooruruguay.com and the name of the person giving the tour was Brigitte.

 

Hope you have a nice trip

 

ES

[NSWP]

For a first time visitor with reasonable mobility and some interest in learning about the city and country, I recommend walking around downtown Montevideo on your own (but with a guidebook). One can walk to the downtown area from the cruise dock. There are sights to see within the first kilometre, beginning with the Graf Spee monument at the dock. The downtown area is at most 2 km, with monuments and lots of interesting and historical architecture.

 

John

John, we visit Montevideo on Golden Princess in March, the walk from ship into town, is it flat and on footpaths? Much to see along the walk?

 

Thanks.

[J-D]

John, we visit Montevideo on Golden Princess in March, the walk from ship into town, is it flat and on footpaths? Much to see along the walk? Thanks.

 

It is generally flat -- certainly not hilly. It is along city streets, mostly with sidewalks. However, I do not recall how smooth the sidewalks are, or whether the curbs would be negotiable for folks with walking problems.

 

Things to see within easy walking distance include the Graf Spee monument close to the dock, urban parks (with statutes of historical figures), the Metropolitan Cathedral, impressive architecture near Plaza Independencia but elsewhere as well, a market, various museums; also lots of restaurants. The National Assembly (Palacio Legislativo) building is farther away -- visible in the distance from the downtown area to which we walked, but probably too far for most passengers to reach by walking. Some of the Princess bus tours (if you take one of those) drive around the circular road that surrounds the Palacio Legislativo.

 

Of course, you would see additional sights and would range farther from the port if you were to take a tour. However, we were happy that, on our first visit, we walked around in the downtown area on our own with a guidebook. On our 2nd visit, we did take a tour that was mainly a trip out into the countryside (to Estancia La Rabida). However, it included a quick downtown drive-through, quickly passing several of the downtown sights we had seen at a more leisurely pace when on foot during our first visit.

 

John

[Ferry Beach Kayaker]

A great little city to visit and walk around. We felt safe but do beware of pickpockets'. Another couple we met on ship had a wallet taken from a back pocket ( same advice I would give for New York). We took a free shuttle to the middle of town, that is provided by a leather store, we did walk around the store but was not really pressured to buy. We than walked around the square and then walked to several close small museums.. They were free and in gorgeous old houses.. One was a gaucho museum. We walked downhill back to the ship through a street vendor fair. At the bottom of the hill there is a large warehouse type building that has the grilled steakhouses at multiple food counters .The meat was cooked right there in large grills and the meat is delicious and in a very authentic setting so I great photo op. I also ordered a bottle of the local beer and it was a very large bottle of beer. We got back to the ship feeling pretty good. We had a great time in Montevideo.

[Niffuts]

Just read your post about picking up a van tour in Montevideo--how does one find a van tour? Or are there just a bunch of vans at the gate, waiting?

[John Bull]

Just read your post about picking up a van tour in Montevideo--how does one find a van tour? Or are there just a bunch of vans at the gate, waiting?

 

Yes, vans waiting at the port gate, just beyond the Graf Spee artefacts.

Not sure whether there'll be enough, so I suggest you get out there tolerably early. Share with folk you meet on the ship and/or folk with the same idea at the port gate.

 

JB :)