Montevideo is flat, has a river-front promenade twenty kilometres long and bike lanes through its best neighbourhoods, which makes it the easiest capital in South America to see from a saddle. Three hours on an electric bike with a guide, stopping at the places that explain the city: Plaza Independencia, the gate of the citadel, the Ciudad Vieja, the Centenario Stadium and the Rambla all the way along.
The tour starts at ten in the morning from the meeting point in Pocitos, a few blocks from the beach, where you are fitted with an electric bike and a helmet and given a few minutes to get used to the motor. Most of the route is on bike lanes and the Rambla, with short stretches on quiet streets; the guide rides at the front and sets the pace of the slowest rider.
It is a first look at the whole city rather than a deep visit to one part of it: the guide stops at the main landmarks to tell their story, and recommends what to come back to on foot during the rest of your stay. It runs every day of the week, in a small group or as a private ride for your party alone, with the guide in English.
Bikes and helmets handed out, a short practice loop and a word from the guide on how the motor works: you pedal, it helps, and the few gentle slopes of the city disappear.
Out onto the bike lane that runs along the avenue towards the centre, with the guide at the front setting the pace of the slowest rider.
The stadium built for the first World Cup in 1930, where Uruguay beat Argentina in the final, and still the home of the national team. A stop outside for the story and the photograph.
The square that joins the old city and the new, with the statue and mausoleum of Artigas in the middle, the Palacio Salvo on one side and the Puerta de la Ciudadela, the last gate of the Spanish fortress, opening onto the pedestrian street of the Ciudad Vieja.
A ride through the old quarter: the cathedral and Plaza Matriz, the Solis theatre, the port market with its grills and the streets of colonial and art-deco facades that are the oldest part of Montevideo.
The return is along the Rambla, the promenade that follows the river for the whole length of the city, past the beaches of Ramirez and Pocitos, with the wind in your face and the river that looks like the sea on your right. Back at the meeting point around one o'clock.
You need to know how to ride a bicycle, and nothing more: the electric motor flattens the city and the pace is easy. Riders must be 16 or older. Wear comfortable clothes and closed shoes, bring sunglasses and sun cream in summer, a windbreaker in winter, and a small bag or none: there is no need to carry anything.
The meeting point is in Pocitos, close to the hotels of the Pocitos and Punta Carretas area and a short taxi ride from the centre; we give you the exact address and the time with your confirmation, and you make your own way there. In heavy rain the ride is moved to another morning of your stay.
No. It is an extra we add to your Uruguay trip: 01Argentina arranges the whole stay — the ferry or flights, your hotel, your transfers and your days — and this is one of the mornings you can add in Montevideo. When you write, we send you the detail for your dates.
Either. It runs as a small-group ride or as a private one for your party alone, at your pace and with the stops you want. Tell us when you write and we quote it both ways.
Yes. The guide rides with you and explains every stop in English.
About three hours, most of it riding, with short stops at each landmark. The city is flat and the bike is electric, so it is a relaxed ride rather than exercise. You should be comfortable on a bicycle in traffic-free lanes and quiet streets.
In the free morning of the day you arrive from Buenos Aires by ferry it does not fit; on any other morning it does, and it pairs well with a free afternoon in the Ciudad Vieja. On the four-day Uruguay package, Colonia and Punta del Este take two full days, so this is the extra for a fifth morning, or for travellers who stay longer in Montevideo.
All year. Spring and autumn are ideal; summer mornings are warm with the river breeze on the Rambla; winter is cool and clear more often than not. The tour runs every day, weather permitting.
Tell us when you are travelling and how many days you have in Montevideo, and we will come back within 24 hours with the whole trip laid out — this extra included if it fits.
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