Montevideo has a great historical and cultural background.
Small and very beautiful, a "balcony to the sea", with a large number of squares, green areas, and beaches.
Here you will get to know not only the classic "tourist" places but we will also go into the neighborhoods with their own daily life, style and characteristics.
When you leave you can be sure that you really enjoyed your time here and got to know it as very few visitors do.
My recommendation is to do the tour as soon as you arrive.
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
Hotel / Port / Airport (*Flexible Meeting time from 5:00AM to midnight)
- We can meet even at 5:00am since the Montevideo Airport receives flights from that time onwards, but ultimately you set the start time depending on your particular situation.
(Meeting point options)
The usual meeting points for our Tour are the following:
**a) Airport – I receive you upon arrival and we go directly to your hotel to leave the suitcases and let them freshen up and from there we leave to begin our city tour. It is an excellent option to take advantage of your first day.
**b) Port - In case of coming by Cruise or Ferry from Buenos Aires.
**c) Hotel - After breakfast, it is better to start as early as possible to make the most of the day, around 0800 hrs.
Below will be listed a series of places that we will visit on our tour.
It is worth clarifying that this is a Private Tour, and therefore the schedules and routes will be adapted to your preferences and times. Those marked here are just a guide as that is how it is laid out on the site.
Beyond the points listed here (which are the best known), we will enter other places outside the tourist circuit, so that you can see how the city and the daily life of its people live.
Escollera Sarandi (Sarandi´s Breakwater)
Next to the port, this breakwater is the continuation of the pedestrian walkway that bears the same name. A place with a privileged view of the Old City and the port and a meeting point for fishing enthusiasts. If we are lucky we will be able to see a ship or cruise ship entering the port from very close, we will stop for a few minutes to contemplate the view.
Throughout this tour of the coast that begins here, several stops are proposed but remember that this Tour is private and personalized, therefore you can omit and/or add stops to your liking.
Plaza España
Here we will stop at Plaza España Opposite the Rambla Sur, in this square is one of the few remnants of the old wall that surrounded the fortified city.
In front of the square is the Cubo del Sur, an emblematic place that preserves the wall that surrounded colonial Montevideo.
This place for military purposes and for the defense of the Spanish colony, located on the southern courts of the city, is also a place of memory for the cultural expressions of enslaved Africans, since it is there where the so-called dances, tangos and candombes were performed. meetings and gatherings that were accompanied by singing, dancing and percussion, acts of resistance against the slave regime.
Here is also the English Temple, which was built at the request of the US, Swedish and British consuls in 1844, and then rebuilt in 1934.
Edificio Mercosur
We will stop for a few minutes in the Plaza that surrounds the Skating Rink to enjoy the view of the end of the city's so-called South Rambla. In front of us will be the Mercosur Building, which was formerly the well-known Parque Hotel, which since its early days was an important center of Montevidean social life, with memorable parties in its halls with the performance of famous international and River Plate orchestras. From here we have a great panoramic view of Playa Ramírez, Parque Rodó, Las Canteras and Paseo de los Pescadores, which will be our next stop
Faro de Punta Carretas and it´s neighborhood
Built in 1876 and Originally Punta Brava Lighthouse, it is located at the southernmost point of Montevideo and Uruguay.
Since 1948 every ten seconds inserts a red flash to differentiate itself from other lighthouses and buoys. It has a height of twenty-one meters and a luminous range of fifteen miles, it is still a reference for fishing boats that go to the English Bank, the Diving Port or the entrance of the Santa Lucía River. From its coast a panoramic view can be appreciated.
Pocitos Neighborhood
The "Punta de Kibon" and the "Cartel de Montevideo". This is the classic tourist stop on a city tour. It was always one of the places chosen for one of the best-known photographic shots of the city, and since the poster was inaugurated on January 2, 2014, this became even more notorious. It was completely renovated, both in style and quality, in May 2018, being chosen by individual and collective initiatives, where groups of high schools and different institutions met. Before continuing we will make a brief stop at the "Puertito del Buceo" for other panoramic views and stories of the area.
Parque Rodo
This extensive park that is located in front of Playa Ramírez and is one of the largest green spaces in the city, with an area of 43 hectares. It has a large lake where you can take a pedal boat ride. Also in the neighborhood you can find an area of quarries, the Summer Theater, the Museum of Visual Arts, buildings of architectural interest, an important number of monuments and an open-air photo gallery. The castle was inaugurated in 1903 together with other attractions of the then called Urban Park. It is said to be a replica of a French medieval castle, but we have not found data to really confirm this.
Plaza Zabala
When they finish lunch we will begin our tour of the old city.
We can do it on foot or by car, that is your choice.
One of the first places we will visit is the Zabala Square, it´s origin dates from the demolition of the colonial Casa del Gobernador at the end of the 19th century, seeking to generate green spaces as urban lungs.
It has its own urban characteristics such as being a block turned with respect to the classic checkerboard of the colonial city, it is also the only Montevidean square that preserves its gate -in the French and English style-, although it is no longer the original one, and it is the only square that the traffic around you is in a clockwise direction.
Its implementation was based on a "Belle Epoque" spirit, which aspired to resemble Montevideo to Paris, in 1889, the project was commissioned to the French landscaper André.
The design, picturesque in nature, consists of an undulating walkway bordering large grass beds with flower beds and various species of trees. The Gothic-style equipment, with lanterns, a drinking fountain and the octagonal gate with small gates, contributes to its special character.
Plaza Matriz
From 1726 it was the Plaza Mayor of the Fortress City of San Felipe and Santiago de Montevideo.
Since its creation, this square constituted the civic and social center of the city, first with the construction of the Iglesia Matriz and later with that of the Cabildo (seat of the colonial government), to which were later added large shops, buildings of a social nature and hotels.
Plaza Independencia
After the demolition of the fortifications of the colonial city, and the independence affirmed, the walled city gave way to an open city. The Plaza constitutes the link that unites the Old City with the New City. It also marks the beginning of the country's main avenue, 18 de Julio.
Around it are some of the most outstanding buildings in the city, such as the Solís Theater, the Salvo Palace, the Puerta de la Ciudadela, the Estévez Palace and the Executive Tower of the national government.
The monument to the hero José Gervasio Artigas rises above the center of the square.
Below it descend some stairs that lead to the mausoleum where his remains rest.
Palacio Legislativo
The Legislative Palace is the seat of the Legislative Branch of Uruguay.
The General Assembly works there, which is made up of two chambers that meet separately or jointly depending on the circumstances: the House of Representatives and the Chamber of Senators. The building was built between 1908 and 1925 in the city of Montevideo, it was inaugurated on August 25, 1925 in commemoration of the centenary of the Declaration of Independence.
Viewpoint of the City Council
Headquarters of the government of Montevideo, the building began to be built in 1935 and was fitted out in 1944. Subsequently, it underwent several extensions and modifications, culminating in the 70s where it obtained its current appearance.
At the base is the Museum of Art History and at the top the Municipal Viewpoint. Admission is free and (depending on how we come from time) if you wish to visit it you will be able to appreciate a great panoramic view of the city and various points of the tours today.
Mercado del Puerto
Old warehouse that was inaugurated in 1868 for this purpose, and is now a National Historic Monument. Within it there is a wide variety of restaurants whose specialty is the "parrilla" or "Uruguayan barbecue".
In the pedestrian streets that surround it, there are artisans and artists offering their products. In front of it is the Customs building that is approximately 100 years old.
If you wish, we will stop here for lunch. I will wait for you in the car and then continue with the tour.
Estadio Centenario
In the heart of Parque Batlle is this stadium that was inaugurated on July 18, 1930 on the occasion of the first Soccer World Cup in history, whose champion was the Uruguayan team. It has capacity for more than 60,000 spectators, being the stadium with the largest capacity in Uruguay and one of the 15 largest in America. In 1983 it was declared by FIFA "Historical Monument of World Soccer". In addition to seeing the stadium from the outside, we will take a walk through the park where the Athletics Track and the Monumento de la Carreta are located.
Carrasco
Originally conceived as Barrio Jardín, it is now the most important residential neighborhood in Montevideo, where most of the ambassadors' residences are located. Facing the beach is the Hotel Casino Carrasco, built in 1921, a clear example of the beginning of the above.
Trouville
The Montevideo coast has several beaches and rocky points between them. In some of them we have the possibility of stopping for a few minutes to breathe the sea air and take some photos and learn about the history and the different characteristics of each neighborhood. The Pointe de Trouville is one of those places. It officially separates the Punta Carretas neighborhood from Pocitos and is a neighborhood meeting point with a skating rink, gym equipment and other attractions. In front of it is the Pittamiglio Castle (with its alchemical, Christian, Templar, Rosicrucian and Masonic symbolism), Gomesoro Square, and it is the beginning of 21 de Setiembre Avenue. It offers beautiful views over Pocitos Beach and the boulevard.
Ending Point
Hotel / Port / Airport
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
Guide fee
Hotel pickup and drop-off by a suv
Any stop that customers could want or need
Wifi and internet connection wherever we go, not only in the vehicle.
All expenses related to the vehicle or transportation such as fuel, parking, tolls, etc.
Food and drinks
Any kind of entry tickets of museums or other places along the trip
Even though the Tour is by car, I recommend bringing comfortable shoes because if you like you can go a little outside the classics and for example:
- Do part of the Tour on foot (if you like and can) walk about 15 blocks, we will combine that closer to the meeting day.
- Depending on the day of the Tour, you can visit open-air street markets that are set up in different neighborhoods of the city.
- go down and walk a little on the beach or a park.
As in all my tours and destinations, I make the following observations:
1) You will have Wifi in the vehicle we use and outside of it too, you will be always connected.
2) This is your Tour, with your times and preferences, I am your guide to take you to the best places and advise you, but you are the ones who set the pace and what you prefer to dedicate more or less time to.
If you like to stop, we stop … if you want to continue, we continue.
3) The vehicle to be used is licensed for 7 people, including the driver, and there are safety features for everyone.
The ideal number of adults in the group should be 4 of medium build so that they can travel in total comfort.
It is also possible to incorporate 2 children or adolescents if they are not large.
The clarification is because the 3rd row seat is smaller than the rest.
This is your tour, with your times and preferences so you are the one who set the pace and where to dedicate more or less time to.
If you like to stop, we stop … if you want to continue, we continue.
Wifi in the vehicle we use and outside of it too, you will be always connected.
The vehicle to be used is licensed for 7 people, including the driver, and there are safety features for everyone.
The ideal number of adults in the group should be 4 of medium build so that they can travel in total comfort.
It is also possible to incorporate 2 children or adolescents if they are not large.
The clarification is because the 3rd row seat is smaller than the rest.
Larger groups can be organized but with an extra cost.
I welcome you to this small and beautiful country.
Meeting people who are traveling, interested in discovering new places, cultures and traditions is not a job for me, I enjoy it.
After the tours the guests generally become friends, that has been my style and general approach in my years of experience supporting visitors.
I was captivated by the natural world from a very young age and made my passion to explore and investigate my country which led me to visit practically all of it, and anyway, not only the best known places but also those little hidden spots that often go unnoticed. Travel all kinds of routes, roads, and trails. Camping in hills, forests and beaches. Paddle through rivers, streams, and the open sea.
Knowing the history, art and microcultures of each region was always the essential complement to the above, which in my opinion is what ends up making the identity of each place.
These concerns later led me to live in other latitudes, where geographical and cultural exploration was constant.
There I realized that sharing with other people the knowledge that one acquires on the roads and communities filled me greatly, and I could contribute to these visitors who came for a few days much more than traditional options.
What I offer you here is exactly that, share my knowledge and show you that each place in Uruguay not only has its own natural beauties, but also history, legends, traditions, architecture, art and characteristic gastronomy.
When you return to your land, will remember that you not only visit what everyone knows about Uruguay but also explore secret spots that only locals frequent.
My goal is to show you the most beautiful, interesting, and unique places in a very private tour, so that when you leave, you can be assured that you really got to know Uruguay, its culture, and its people.
Hoping you find this proposal interesting, I will be very happy to be your guest here and explore this beautiful country together.
WHEREVER / WHENEVER
$600/ per group