The deep bay of Montevideo nestles at the foot of the Cerro, the hill that was first sighted by the spanish. A whitewashed fort and an old lighthouse top it in a setting of parks and beaches. colonial Montevideo grew out of the sheltered port on a classic grid plan aired by sedate plazas.

From atop a bronze horse on Plaza Zabala, the statue of Bruno Mauricio de Zabala watches the city he founded in 1726 spread east: a European-style capital with high-rise buildings, monuments and large parks. A stroll of a few blocks along Calle Sarandi takes you to Plaza Constitucion, where the Town Hall or Cabildo faces the Baroque Cathedral across the town's oldest square. Further along, Plaza Independencia is the heart of the modern city. Palm trees are dwarfed by the monument to another man on horseback, national hero José Gervasio Artigas, whose modern mausoleum below is guarded by colourful guards in 19th-century uniforms, the Blandengues. Here is Government House, with its long balcony and portico, and the Palacio Salvo, the town's first tall building. It marks the beginning of Avenida 18 de Julio, the main shopping area. Along this busy artery, three more plazas offer occasional breather, Plaza del Entrevero, where fountains cool the monument to fiery fighters for independence, plaza Libertad and Plaza Lorenzo Justiciano, more often known as El Gaucho. From Plaza Entrevero starts diagonal Avenida Brig. Gen. Lavalleja, familiarly called Agraciada, that cuts across town to the Parliament, a Neo-classic mass of Uruguayan marble and stone that took more than 20 years to build and was inaugurated in 1925.

Many other sights of Montevideo are pleasantly located within the city parks. Busy Avenida 18 de Julio ends at Parque Batlle y Ordonez where you can see La Carreta: bronze figures of three pairs of yoked straining oxen tugging a covered waggon, the work of José Belloni, of Swiss Ticino descent. An even larger item in this park is the Centenario, the stadium that can seat 70,000 foorball fans comfortably. There are also tracks for field and bicycle events.
Only a short drive from the centre of Montevideo are the parque Rodo's internationally known golf links, boating lake, children's playground, open air theatre and amusement centre. The National Museum of Fine Art (Bellas Artes), in the grounds, displays current exhibits, modern works and the paintings of Pedro Figari and Joaquin Torres Garcia.

Beaches

Montevideo, the Rio de la Plata's only sea port, faces the ocean and is buffeted by Atlantic winds and waves. From December to Easter, its citizens can enjoy the beach. Apart from the city's nine immediate beaches, from Pocitos to Carrasco, Montevideo is the starting point for a varied coastline of bays, beaches, points and calm lagoons. A direct route goes as far as the Brazilian border at Chuy, while the parallel Ruta Interbaleria connects to the resorts.
Atlantida, with its cool pine forest, is noted for a casino and golf course but mainly for the whiteness of its sand.
InPiriapolis, hills reach the ocean edge and yacht harbour, hiding the hot springs, golf course and racing car track.

Punta del Este is a little over an hour from Montevideo (barring seasonal traffic), past quieter portezuelo and its beaches of Punta Ballena and the exotic botanical gardens of Parque Lussich. Cramped on a narrow peninsule between a calm bay (La Playa Mansa) and the rough rollers (Playa Brava) on the ocean, hemmed by forests of pine, eucalyptus and mimosa that an Englishman once planted to anchor the dunes, the only way for Punta del Este to grow was upwards. Skyscrapers now overlook the pleasure harbour and its extravagant yachts and dashing deep-sea fishing boats. Not far from the point where Darwin saw thousands of dolphins is isla de los Lobos, where a protected colony of sea lions basks in the sun ( excursion boats dailyà.
Driving up to the Brazilian border, one comes across some memories of colonial times.Maldonaldo has some interesting old buildings. In the national parks of San Miguel and Santa Teresa are two starshaped forts where never a gun was fired; they continue to dream of battle among palm groves and bushes of the national flower, flor de celbo.

East of Montevideo, facing Buenos Aires, the only colonial town remaining on the Atlantic coast is 300-year-old Colonia del Sagramento. Whitewashed houses with round-tiled roofs have been restored with care, down to the old iron faroles (lanterns) that once lit the cobblestoned streets. The mansions of the Spanish Viceroy and of Argentine leaders Almirante Brown and General Mitre testify to the changes of occupants during periods of Spanish and Portuguese contest.

Eating Out

During the day, the sweettoothed Uruguayans enjoy chaja, a sponge cake loaded with jam and cream, or the crystalized egg yolks they call yemas.
These little breaks do not interfere with serious eating (after 9 p.m.). The accent is above all on beef, whether fillet steak (lomo or lavish asados (meat on the grill) and the very typical asado con cuero (grilled in the hide). A special delicacy is morcilla dulce, a type of blood sausage. Restaurants also offer the standbys of Italian cooking - pasta, pizzas, milanesas (breathed veal cutlets, but don't expect milk-fed veal or you'll be dissapointed).
While local red wines are fair in quality, the favourite local drink is beer. for an unusual experience try mate, the gaucho's herb (and very bitter) tea, and, as an after-dinner fling, a fiery shot of cana or grappa.