A Neighborhood Guide to Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo: Best Cafés, Tango Bars & Historic Landmarks

Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja is, as its name indicates, the oldest part of the city. The area was originally a fortified citadel built by the Spanish to solidify their claim to the eastern side of the Río de la Plata against the Portuguese, who sought to extend the borders of their colony Brazil to the south. Today, the neighborhood is the heart of the city, full of historic buildings dedicated to commerce as well as culture. Read on for a guide to exploring Montevideo’s historic center.

Mercado del Puerto

Originally a wholesale fruit and vegetable market for the nearby port, the Mercado del Puerto is now effectively a cultural center dedicated to Uruguayan cuisine, filled with high-quality restaurants serving all manner of local delicacies. This 19th-century market, designed by British architects with iron brought over from Liverpool, is an excellent place to indulge in a traditional Uruguayan asado, involving different cuts of beef and sausage (chorizo) cooked over embers on the parrilla (grill). This wood-burning technique affords the meat its distinctive smoky flavor. Though the red meat is best paired with an Uruguayan red wine, you can also try a glass of medio y medio, equal parts dry white and sweet sparkling wine, which is said to have been invented at the market.

Café Brasilero

Opened in 1877, this is the oldest cafe in the city, and it’s an excellent place to spend an afternoon over a coffee, pastry, sandwich, or something stronger. The cafe was a favored haunt of the legendary tango singer Carlos Gardel as well as the writer Eduardo Galeano, who was known to visit every Wednesday afternoon for decades.

Café La Farmacia

This is another charming cafe just up the street from Brasilero, housed in an old pharmacy from the 1890s. Grab a coffee and a seat in the window, watching the world outside pass by.

Baar Fun Fun

Though it has been housed in a variety of different locations since it first opened in 1895, Fun Fun has remained the epicenter of Montevideo’s tango scene for over a century. In addition to its nightly shows, the bar is also famous for its signature drink, la uvita, a mix of Garnacha wine and port, aged in house according to a secret recipe. Legend has it that Gardel was so enamored of the drink that, upon trying it for the first time, he broke out in song and dedicated an autographed photo to the bar, which can be seen there today.

Palacio Salvo

The tallest building in Latin America at the time of its construction, the Palacio Salvo is a landmark of Art Deco architecture and an emblem of the city.

Built in 1928 by the Italian architect Mario Palanti, the building’s design incorporates an eclectic mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Neoclassical influences, with allusions to Dante’s Divine Comedy in its floorplan as well. Palanti designed a twin building, the Palacio Barolo, on the Avenida de Mayo in Buenos Aires, meant to symbolize the brotherhood of these two nations on either side of the Río de la Plata.

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