Choose another map, showing:

• South America (south)
• South America (central)
• South America
• The World

Other entries in Colonia

A Breath of Fresh Air

Colonia del Sacramento is in Uruguay. It is filled with old colonial buildings and cobbled streets, and is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.  Colonia was founded in 1680 by the Portuguese, sandwiched in between the Portuguese colony of Brazil and the Spanish Rio de la Plata (later Argentina). Its strategic position and use as a smuggling port meant that its sovereignty was hotly contested and the city changed hands several times between Spain and Portugal.

We loved Colonia! After just a short ferry ride from Buenos Aires we were transported to a small colonial town with cobble stone streets everywhere.  The quaint plazas were even dotted with locals dressed up in old colonial era garb, which was neat, but also kind of creepy, as they looked like they wanted to tap your shoulder and whisk you away to some type of hades. Colonia, an UNESCO site, houses Uruguay's oldest church too.

After a stroll around historic Colonia and a visit to the Faro Lighthouse, we settled down for a late lunch on the square at El Drugstore restaurant bar, wandering the cobbled streets of the historic district of Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, one senses that the past is tangibly present.

El Drugstore was one of the most unique restaurants lining the tree-covered plazas, easily recognisable by the vintage Ford cars permanently parked under the trees. El Drugstore is located on a corner across from the Iglesia Matriz, near Plaza de Armas. The restaurant was a resting spot for several vintage automobiles. Along a side street sits a 1920s Ford and an antique Citroën, which sprouts trees through its decomposing shell.

The Ford was set up as a private 'dining' car with a small café table decked with a bright red tablecloth—its door had been removed for easy access. We sat inside the Ford with most of it's original features still intact, ordered lunch and a jug of local wine and just sat and watched the world go by, smiling and giving the odd wave to tourists snapping our pictures as they strolled by. The Ford still have their original motors.

As the day drew to a close and the early evening light started to dim, we boarded our ferry, sitting in our 'especial' class top deck, with comfty reclining seats and panoramic views of the magnificent sunset on our return journey to Buenos Aires, we reflected on our time in Colonia and thought what a breath of fresh air it was to be away from the city for a day.

Useful Information for Travelers

The old city of Colonia, which holds the main attractions, is quite small. It can be easily walked in a single day. There are shops where you can rent bicycles or scooters which you can use to ride around the city or in to the countryside. Streets aren't always in perfect condition, so keep an eye on the road, especially cobbled ones.

A visit to El Drugstore Restaurant Bar is a must, situated at Portugal 174, Colonia del Sacramento eldrugstorecolonia@yahoo.com.  The interior of the restaurant is a bit funky and reminiscent of San Francisco’s Haight-Asbury district. It is a riot of color with bright blue, red, and yellow walls covered with eclectic posters and tables donning polka-dot cloths. Weather permitting, most guests choose to dine or share a bottle of wine under the trees. For dinner, beef barbecued on a traditional Uruguayan grill is a favorite. During lunch and dinner they offer live music, often a lady reprising Sinatra and other old-time American songs. El Drugstore is a place to enjoy the tranquility of Colonia on any afternoon or evening.

The main attraction of Colonia is its historic center. Nine small museums in the center can be visited with only one entrance ticket. For a few pesos you can go up to the top of the lighthouse (faro) and see most of the city and look out over the city and the river.

• Climb up the old light house (entrance fee is two for one regular price)
• Walk the old city center and eat fresh ice cream
• Look for souvenirs and eat asado

The old city is full of restaurants which serve the weekend tourist crowd from Buenos Aires. The specialties are Italian and asado (barbeque).

Colonia was also settled by Swiss immigrants and is home to a unique local Swiss cheese that you can get at the markets.

Two daily boat connections arrive and depart from Buenos Aires and are the main connection to Argentina. A fast expensive one and a cheap slow one. The fast Buquebus catamaran ferry (one hour) costs $60 USD+ return (tourist class) and is usually quite crowded with day tourists and travel groups. Make sure you book in advance for weekends and the peak season (Christmas until the end of February). The slower boat costs 149+ Pesos/$50 USD+ (from Buenos Aires) round trip, and takes about 3 hours.

A cheaper possibility is to take a boat from Tigre to Carmelo in Uruguay. From Carmelo, take a bus, which run every two to three hours from the center of the city to Colonia. 

There are several connections by bus from Montevideo to Colonia. Be careful with people telling you that all buses are booked out. This is in general not true and a taxi is much more expensive. For the peace of your mind buy a bus ticket upfront to avoid rare disappointment.

If you want to extend your stay in Uruguay or Argentina then Colonia is a good place because upon arrival you are granted a new 90 day tourist visa for either country

Add to del.icio.us Add to reddit