The elegance of simplicity

By Flavia Tomaello, https://flaviatomaello.blog/, Instagram @flavia.tomaello

Montevideo is that corner of the world where time does not run, it floats.
It has something of an old city and something of a new beginning. Walking it is feeling that everything happens with a calm that cannot be explained, you can only breathe it. Its streets seem to keep the memory of a country that learned to live without haste, to listen, to share.

At first glance, Montevideo is offered with the basic and essential: the promenade that embraces the Río de la Plata with 24 kilometers of horizon, the Solís Theater with its solemnity intact, the Plaza Independencia that opens and closes the old city.
But the real secret lies beyond those essentials.
Montevideo has an inner pulse, a network of subtle, warm and deeply human experiences that give it its true identity.

Behind the centuries-old cafes and tiled facades, the Uruguayan capital reinvents itself with proposals that honor its history, its people and its spirit. Whoever visits it discovers that luxury here is not in excess, but in authenticity.
There is a silent elegance in every corner, a way of receiving that combines sobriety and tenderness.

This tour is an invitation to know the other Montevideothe one that beats behind the monuments, the one that is felt more than seen.

The corner that stopped time

On Avenida 18 de Julio, a corner seems to have made a pact with eternity. The Facal Baropened in 1882, is a haven of memories. Its air has the exact temperature of freshly brewed coffee and warm dulce de leche. Students, travelers and regular Montevideans meet at their tables.

It is one of those places where the past is not preserved: it is lived. Outside, the fountain with Bronze Gardel he sings without a voice while passersby stop to take photos, and inside the murmur of the room seems to sustain the city.

Facal has been declared the most accessible bar in South Americabut its greatest merit is to remain the same. Its history is mixed with the aroma of espresso and that gentle nostalgia that only Montevideo can sustain.

The fire that teaches how to live

A few kilometers from the center, the smoke rises slowly, as if it wanted to tell a secret.
On a nearby farm, the project Make Your Asado transforms Uruguayan grill into a cultural experience. Under the guidance of an expert griller, visitors learn how to light the fire, read the embers, patiently salt the meat, accompany it with chimichurri and flavored bread, prepare fried cakes while sharing a mate.

The ritual is completed with a pairing of local wines, especially Tannat of Fallabrino Winerywhich dialogue with smoke and meat as if wine were also born from fire.
It is an experience that is not rushed, because the barbecue is not a meal: it is an act of communion.
When the sun goes down and the grill goes out, everyone who participated feels like they have learned more than just a recipe: they learned the rhythm of a country.

Silence as a luxury

Between Pocitos and Punta Carretas, hidden between quiet streets, a space seems to breathe differently. Odonata Boutique Spa offers a break within the city. There is no rush, there is no noise.
Here, the skin and the mind align in the same gesture.
Massages, facial yoga, rituals with natural salts and aromatherapy are combined with an environment where every detail—light, sound, aroma—is designed to reconnect with oneself.

Your director, Monica Moralessummarizes the philosophy in one sentence: “Healthy skin reflects a balanced life.”
It’s not about beauty, but about well-being. To stop time and remember yourself alive.

The wine that found the city

In the heart of Rodo Parkan elegantly restored old house holds a surprise: the first urban winery in Uruguay.
City Winery was born from the impulse of the family Pizzornowhich brought its Canelones wine tradition to the pulse of Montevideo.
The result is a refuge where wine pairs with the city.

Oak barrels, stone walls and glasses that shine under the dim light accompany guided dinners, tastings and meetings where wine becomes conversation.
The cuisine, inspired by local products, dialogues with Tannat, Merlot or Albariño wines.
In this place, heritage is reinvented: the winery becomes a gallery, the wine becomes culture and the experience becomes a tribute to time.

The house where memory sleeps

In front of the Wide Squarein the Old City, a mansion from the last century keeps the spirit of cultural Uruguay.
Each room of the Hotel Alma Histórica pays tribute to a Uruguayan artist, musician or writer.
No two are alike: one breathes theatre, another poetry, another music.

Staying here is like sleeping between pages of the past. The stained glass windows, restored wood and refined silence evoke the elegance of another era.
It is not a hotel, it is an aesthetic experience: a habitable museum where hospitality has the scent of history and the old city seems to cradle you with its serenity.

The city that dances its history

If Montevideo had a heart, it would beat in the South Neighborhood.
There, the streets resonate with the echo of candombethat drum music that was born from the Afro-descendant soul and today is the heritage of humanity.

The project Afro Bark proposes to explore that pulse through the places where candombe flourished: the Middle World Conventilloa symbol of resistance demolished during the dictatorship and today revived as a memory; the streets where the drums are still rehearsed every weekend; and the Cuareim workshop 1080where the troupes continue the tradition.

The visitor does not attend a show, he participates in a legacy. Listen to how the drum not only marks the beat, but the story.
Montevideo is revealed here in its deepest version: mestizo, rhythmic, proud of its identity.

The mysteries of the Salvo

In the center of the city, the silhouette of the Salvo Palace It rises like a beacon from another era. Built in 1928 by architect Mario Palanti—the same one from Barolo Buenos Aires—it was the tallest building in Latin America.

Today, hand in hand with Peatonal Toursyou can explore its history through the tour Mysteries of the Salvoan experience that combines art, legend and architecture.
Between corridors and stairs, the guides reveal the secrets of this labyrinthine building: its connection with The Divine Comedythe stories of former guests, the echoes of “La Cumparsita” that still seem to ring in the air.
From above, Montevideo appears as a city of reddish roofs and liquid horizons, where nostalgia mixes with the river breeze.

La Macarena, the green whisper of the city

A few minutes from the center, Montevideo changes its voice.
The air moistens, the streets dissolve, and nature takes over. On the outskirts, the Saint Lucia Wetlandsave a gem: The Macarenaa biodiversity sanctuary at the gates of the capital.

There, among birds, willows and camalotes, you can walk along trails, navigate the river, or eat organic products from your own garden.
It is an experience of sustainability and connection with the land, a reminder that Montevideo is not just a city: it is a living territory.

The visitor understands that here the border between the urban and the natural is thin, almost invisible. The Macarena teaches us to listen to the sounds that cement usually silences: the sound of water, the rustling of leaves, the distant song of a heron.

Between the smoke of the barbecue and the perfume of the wine, between the drum of the candombe and the silence of a spa, Montevideo shows itself in its most intimate version.

A city that does not scream, that whispers.
Which teaches that true luxury is not shine, but authenticity.

The traveler who dares to look beyond the classics discovers a place that vibrates with its own rhythm: that of slow fire, friendly conversation, living memory and elegant calm.
Montevideo is not visited: it is inhabited.
And when one returns, there is always the feeling that something of its rhythm stayed inside us.

You can move around Montevideo easily: Uber is a simple and well-known resource, the 1919 Celeritas Taxis will schedule any section for you, Transfer Transfers and Incoming Tourism can make your journey end-to-end.

For the Buenos Aires–Montevideo route, Buquebús operates with 25 weekly frequencies, maintaining daily departures and multiple schedules per day.