For me, the only way to really get a feel for a city is to explore it on foot. That’s exactly what we did during our visit to Montevideo, the capital of the South American country of Uruguay, with our expert guide Roberto (of Ciudad Vieja Tours).

Since we arrived by ship, it made sense to start our tour at the historic Mercado del Puerto (Port Market), built in the 1860s

The ironwork for Mercado del Puerto was cast in Liverpool, England, and arrived with its own crew of blacksmiths to assemble it

Montevideo has its own unique Carnival, in which rival groups battle to put on the best shows, such as this one in the Ciudad Vieja (Old City)

Plaza Zabala, named after Bruno Mauricio de Zabala (the guy on the horse), who founded what would become Montevideo in 1726

Places you only find with a local: an auction house where Montevideans come to get period pieces for renovated buildings

Puerta de la Ciudadela (Citadel Gate) in Plaza Independencia was once the eastern entrance into the Ciudad Vieja fortress

Plaza Independencia (Independence Square) stands on the border of Ciudad Vieja and Centro (Montevideo city centre)

We stumbled upon a wreath laying ceremony in Plaza Independencia at the monument to Uruguay’s national hero, José Artigas (again, the guy on the horse)

Palacio Salvo on Plaza Independencia is closely related to Palacio Barolo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which was also designed by the architect Mario Palanti

At 515 feet (35 storeys), Montevideo’s Torre de las Telecomunicaciones (Telecomunications Tower) is the tallest building in Uruguay

Monumento a los últimos charrúas (Monument to the Last Charrúa): the last four members of their tribe, they died in Paris in 1833, where they were being shown off as curiosities, after the rest of their people had been exterminated on the orders of General Fructuoso Rivera, Uruguay’s first president

Estadio Centenario (Centennial Stadium) was built to host the first ever football (soccer) World Cup in 1930

A Bello y Reborati house in the Pocitos neighbourhood (see my previous blog The Remarkable Houses of Bello and Reborati, Montevideo, Uruguay to learn more)

Back at the port: anchor of the German ‘pocket battleship’ Admiral Graf Spee, which was scuttled by her crew off Montevideo after the famous Battle of the River Plate in World War II
This post was inspired by this week’s photo challenges of Walks from Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge and Jo’s Monday Walk.
If you’re the sort of person that loves to experience local history and culture on your travels, why not sign up and follow my continuing Journeys here at Jaspa’s Journal (on WordPress or Bloglovin’), or through my website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr?
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An eclectic mix of architectural styles, Jaspa, 🙂 The bookstore reminds me a little of one in Porto. My favourite shot is probably the fish wall art with the boat in the middle. Many thanks for the share. 🙂
My pleasure, Jo!
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