The Best Old Town in Latin America

International Living Postcards--your daily escape

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005
Montevideo, Uruguay

Dear International Living Reader,

From our box seats, I looked around the magnificently-restored Teatro Solís, a theater from a bygone era...and I was glad I'd brought something besides jeans on this trip.

As the lights dimmed and a hush fell over the black-tie crowd, world-famous conductor Zubin Mehta entered the stage and prepared to conduct the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in the inaugural performance of their Latin America tour. To me, this theater is symbolic of the "new" old-town Montevideo.

Montevideo, 120 miles from Buenos Aires, is Uruguay's commercial, educational, and cultural center. It has a European ambiance and old-world charm. Ciudad Vieja, the old historic center, is my idea of a perfect city environment, with sycamore-lined streets, open air markets, fine restaurants, and sidewalk cafés. Property prices are reasonable, and the day-to-day cost of living is on par with Ecuador, if not a bit less. There are numerous schools of dance, music, and art, along with 35 radio stations, good cable television, and high-speed Internet services. They've even got a jazz festival.

As regular readers will know, I'm searching for a new home (see: Three Homes For the Price of One), something in the historic center of a large city. Ciudad Vieja and the part of Centro which borders it, fits the bill perfectly.

Here's where you'll find the city's highest concentration of fine dining establishments, casual restaurants, bars, and sidewalk cafés. The sector's new pedestrian walkway, Peatonal Sarandí, draws visitors from all over the world to enjoy its old-world ambiance and shop in its upscale boutiques. This part of Montevideo never sleeps, and you'll find revelers in the bars and cafés until the sun comes up, all year long. (I learned this the hard way, as the balcony of our room overlooked the Peatonal.)

You can take a walk down to Montevideo's waterfront market which is famous for its many parilladas (meat roasted slowly over a fire), relax in the city's first park, Plaza Zabala, or spend hours browsing the Saturday flea market in Plaza Constitución.

The real estate is a great value here, especially for a world capital. I looked at a small studio apartment along the river, with a nice view from its balcony with an asking price of $26,000. A third-floor, two-bedroom, two-bath apartment on Plaza Zabala had an asking price of $42,000, and a 3,200-square-foot house on San Jose--in good condition--was going for $88,000.

My favorite property was an apartment taking up the entire sixth floor of a building off Plaza Fabini, my favorite park in Centro. The 3,100-square-foot apartment was completely restored, right down to its rich wooden floors. It has four bedrooms, three baths, and two independent servants' quarters. From the front porch you can see the harbor and a colonial church across the street. The asking price is $115,000.

My real estate contact in Montevideo is María Teresa Isola, a real professional who speaks perfect English. You can contact her by e-mail at tisola@adinte.com.uy.

You'll find decent suburban areas in Montevideo, too, such as Pocitos, Carrasco, and Punta Gorda, and many Uruguayans are happy to pay up to three times what it would cost elsewhere to live there. But I'm not here to find a "nice residential" area--I'm looking for downtown in the big city. So far, I like what I've found.

Lee Harrison
Roving Latin America Editor, International Living

P.S. The best restaurant in Montevideo? I'm going to stick my neck out and say it's La Corte, located on Peatonal Sarandi on Plaza Constitución. Not only was the menu world-class, but with appetizers, a bottle of great wine, main courses, and desserts, you'll spend under $45 for two...with the tip. The restaurant I thought had the most character was the Basque Club, on San José.