Montevideo's Ciudad Vieja

The Spanish founded Montevideo as a walled city on the peninsula in 1724. Until 1829 the walls protected the town; when they were torn down after independence, only the main gateway to the Ciudadela was kept, and it remains an emblem of the city. Street names still recall the fortifications: Ciudadela for the citadel and Brecha for the breach that British forces opened in the wall when they briefly took the city in 1807.

As Montevideo spread outwards, Plaza Independencia became the link between the old and new cities. Within the Ciudad Vieja, the Cabildo was built between 1804 and 1812, and the Cathedral, whose origins go back to the colonial period, is a National Historic Monument. Sarandí street was turned into a pedestrian walk in 1992 and extended beyond Plaza Matriz in 2005, reviving it as one of the city's favourite strolls.

The Ciudad Vieja is both an office district and a cultural quarter, so weekdays are busy with workers while evenings and weekends bring diners and visitors. Montevideo's tourism office presents the Mercado del Puerto as a meeting place for Uruguayans as much as for tourists, and the Peatonal Sarandí as a showcase for local makers. Carnival is central to the city's identity, explored at the Museo del Carnaval and its outdoor Plaza del Carnaval.