In the center of Independence Plaza is a very large monument to General Artigas (seen below). Below that monument is a crypt which houses the urn containing his ashes (seen above). The urn is guarded by a special honor guard who you can see stationed to either side in the picture above.
The Port Market is the “tourist” visit in Montevideo. Within the old port market is a collection of Asado restaurants severing traditional Uruguayan food. Between the restaurants are some souvenir shops selling a variety of local crafts and tourist trinkets.
Plaza Zabala is the only fenced park in Montevideo… It has an interesting statue in the center. The relief at the top depicts the town settlers gaining self governance from the Spanish army.
The buildings in old town have a variety of interesting architectural details. This one had a series of face gargoyles set in it’s side.
Constitution Plaza (Plaza Constitucion) is another plaza in old town that is surrounded by historic buildings. In the center is the fountain shown above. On opposite ends of the plaza are the Cathedral (1790) pictured below and the Cabildo (old city hall) which is not pictured. Somehow I ended up without a picture of it.
Independence Plaza (Plaza Independencia) houses a number of significant architectural items. Above is the office of the President (of Uruguay) and the statue/tribute to Artigas (an Uruguayan historical hero). Below (after the jump) are the Old City Gate, the Solis Theater (Teatro Solis) and Salvo Palace (Palacio Salvo). The city gate marks the entrance to the “Old Town” (original town behind the long gone protective walls) of Montevideo.
Not long after arriving in Montevideo, I had the opportunity to take a quick tour of Montevideo. We didn’t stay anywhere long, but we got a layout of town, where the historical areas were and a bit of the history related to them. Pictured here (in order): Cannons at the Cerro, Flowers at the Japanese Gardens, Plaza Zabala, and the Antel Building across the River Plate.
Another “must visit” in my opinion. We spent several hours here and it’s central to other locations. Very pretty and nice to visit.
No trip to San Francisco is complete without at least seeing the Golden Gate Bridge. We didn’t really have any interest in crossing it, or getting up close, so we chose to do this from Lincoln Park.
