Montevideo
Montevideo is one of South America's most relaxed and livable capitals, and you take its pulse along the Rambla, the long waterfront promenade that runs for miles beside the Rio de la Plata. This is the city's open-air living room, where the whole of Montevideo seems to walk, jog, fish and sip mate as the sun drops over the water. Spend an evening here and you understand the easygoing spirit of the place at once: there is no rush, only the wide river, the soft light and the steady, unhurried rhythm of a city that has made the most of its riverside.
Inland from the promenade lies the Ciudad Vieja, the old town, a handsome quarter of leafy plazas, faded art deco facades and grand old buildings like the Teatro Solís and the soaring Palacio Salvo. At its heart is the Mercado del Puerto, a wrought-iron market hall by the harbor where the parrilla grills smoke with beef and the city comes to eat. Pull up at a counter at weekend lunch, order grilled meat and a glass of Tannat, and you are right in the middle of Montevideo's great culinary ritual, shoulder to shoulder with locals.
What makes the capital so easy to fall for is everything around the edges of the headline sights. There might be a candombe drum procession rolling through the streets, the deep, rolling beat that is the soul of the city's African heritage, or a small tango bar tucked down a side street. There is the cafe culture of mate and medialunas, the slow morning over coffee, the long evening on the plaza. Montevideo rewards slow, unhurried days, and we love folding a couple of them into the start of any Uruguay journey.
