The capital of Uruguay, Montevideo is a city of 1.3 million on Montevideo Bay, overlooking the Río (river) de la Plata. It’s an increasingly popular visitor destination, owing to its history, sandy beaches, important port, and great restaurant scene. The center of the city is the old Spanish Citadel of Plaza de la Independencia, which leads to the Ciudad Vieja (old town), with the newer part of the city, Carrasco, to the east. Running in Montevideo is mainly defined by the extensive coastline, which leads east for many km.
The best places to run in Montevideo revolve around the Rambla, a coastal road that has a series of multi-use paths and wide sidewalks along the water for 25 km. Bordering the western end of the Rambla, we’ve put together a lovely ‘runseeing’ tour of the Old Town. Rodó Park and Parque del Prado are the verdant running highlight in a city that does not have a lot of parks. For neighborhoods, there are some lovely side streets with nice homes coming off the water in Carrasco, and the Shangrila area near Roosevelt Park and the airport. The beaches in Montevideo are also great for running — we recommend Pocitos Beach, and the longer stretch from Playa Buceo to Playa Honda. The park & athletics complex around the soccer stadium boasts numerous paths and a running track. We also have links to our running guides for the popular resorts of Piriápolis and Punta del Este (100 & 130 km to the east).
Within Montevideo, there’s a decent bus system. There are some local trains and three trail lines that go out to the nearer suburbs. Note there’s a ferry to Buenos Aires that runs 3 times a day and takes 2.5 hours.
