Colonia Del Sacramento is a historic town located on the mouth of Uruguay River. It is one of the most visited towns in Uruguay due to wealth of its history and tranquility that could be found wandering around its cobblestone streets.
Many travelers spend a day in Colonia while traveling between Buenos Aires and Montevideo.
Getting There?
Colonia Del Sacramento has frequent bus service from the capital city Montevideo. Click here to know prices and schedule.
From Buenos Aires Colonia is accessible by ferry.
Getting Around?
There could be no better way to explore the town than by walking through the cobble stoned streets.
What To See?
Two days in town would offer enough time to visit the major attractions.
The Historic Quarter: Uruguay’s most appreciated heritage treasures, the historic quarter’s streets are the narrow alley paved entirely in cobblestones with a drainage channel down the middle, no pavements and lined on either sides with mud and stoned houses of the historic quarter of the town. Colonia was recognized as a world heritage city by UNESCO in 1995 because of the historic quarter. Walk to the most famous and widely photographed street “La Calle de los suspiros” (Street of sighs) .
Puerta De la Ciudadela: Also known as the Portón de campo, the “Citadel Gate” was one of the entrances to the city during the Portuguese domination. The Citadel contains remains of the former wall and a wooden draw bridge over a moat together forming a notable center ofistorical and architectural interest.
Ruins and El Faro (The Light House): The light house was built in 1857. It has a distinct structure with a square base and cylindrical tower that reaches to the lantern, it was assembled on one of the ancient towers of the Convent of San Francisco, whose ruins lie at the foot of the lighthouse.
Centro Cultural Bastión Del Carmen: Built in 188o, before functioning as a cultural center this building served as a glue and soap factory, wool laundry and tanning.
Museums:
Portuguese Museum: This is one of the most renowned museums in the town. It exhibits Portugese furniture replicas and uniforms used by their troops. The museum is housed in a typical Portuguese house built in XVIII century with stoned walls and tiled floorings.
Tile Museum: The museum offers a collection of Portuguese, French, Spanish and first tiles made in Uruguay all belonging to 1849-1900 period.
Indigenous Museum: It exhibits pieces belonging to the Charrúa indigenous people and other tribes of the region.
Español: This museum exhibits pieces and stories of the most important facts of the Colonia history and contemporary paintings of Jose Páez Vilaró.
Where To Eat?
Churana: Known for their flavoured dishes. Its located in, Misiones de los Tapes 41, Col Del Sacramento, Uruguay.
El Buen Suspiro: Known for their wines. Its located in, 90, Calle de los Suspiros, Col Del Sacramento, Uruguay.
Meson de la Plaza: Delicious food with an amazing view. It is located in, Vasconcellos 153, Col Del Sacramento, Colonia, Uruguay.
El Torreon: Once a mill now its a great spot to relax while having a beer and watching the sun set on the Rio de la Plata. Its located in, De San Pedro, Col Del Sacramento, Colonia, Uruguay.
Where To Sleep?
Hostel Bon Voyage: One of the best hostels and offers dorms for as low as USD 11.78. Located in Avenida 18 de Julio, Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay.
Celestino Hostel B&B: Offers dorms for USD 13.58. Located in, 18 de Julio 380, Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay.
Hostel El Español: Offers dorms for USD 12.71. Located in, Manuel Lobo 377, Lavalleja e Intedente Suarez, Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay.
Hostel Colonia: Offers dorms for USD 17. Located in, Gral.Flores 440, (entre Lavalleja y Alberto Mndez), Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay.
Never been to Colonia Del Sacramento. Looks like quite an interesting place to visit, got a bit of a vintage look. Great guide!
I never been to this part of the world and would love to visit Uruguay someday. Pebble stones and the street reminds me of the century old city here in the Philippines called Vigan. Very informative article 🙂
I may have an opportunity to visit this area in a few months and my interest is officially piqued! It looks incredible!
I love reading guides on places that are a little off the beaten path. Thanks for the helpful info – I’ll be saving it for my eventual South America trip! 🙂
The place looks quite interesting and definitely worth visiting, I would particularly be interested in the museums and walking around the town and understanding the culture of the place.
This is SUCH a great guide to Colonia Del Sacramento! I love how you broke everything down so clearly for us. I’ve only been to Uruguay once – only to Punta Del Este – and for just a day, but I would love to go back and see more of the country. GREAT post!
So looking forward to visiting Uruguay next year. Will keep this for future reference.
The title of your post got me all excited. I’ve been to Sacramento, California, and thought it was about that. And then I realized it is about Uruguay! That is even better, as I’ve not yet been to Uruguay, but would love to visit. Thanks for the fantastic photos.
Great Post. You rarely hear about Uruguay. Great to discover this hidden marvel.
keep rocking – TT
This seems like a great place en route to or from Buenous Aires. It’s always nice to have a guide for the in between places like this. Thanks for the information!
We spent a couple of days here, and it was certainly a much nicer pace to visit than the few day trippers we saw ducking across from Buenos Aires.
That said, our visit was also the middle of winter, so it was a pretty quiet time of year (we enjoyed it that way).
There is also a pretty decent micro-brewery in town as well 😉