A relaxed capital along a long riverside promenade
Montevideo is calm for a capital, strung along the wide River Plate. The Ciudad Vieja holds colonial streets and art deco buildings around Plaza Independencia, overlooked by the tall Palacio Salvo. At the Mercado del Puerto, parrillas grill beef, chorizo and provoleta over wood fires. The Rambla runs for over 20 km along the shore, busy at sunset with walkers carrying thermoses of mate. In February, Carnival brings weeks of candombe drumming and murga theatre, among the longest carnivals in the world.