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Photo: Carlucha Pérez, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This large monument in the Plaza Independencia pays tribute to José Gervasio Artigas, one of the heroes of the Uruguayan Independence. Under the monument is the mausoleum, which is open on the weekends. It contains an urn with his ashes and two honor guards keeping watch.
The Artigas Mausoleum is a monument to Uruguayan hero José Artigas, located in Plaza Independencia, in the neighbourhood of Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo. It opened in 1977. Artigas's remains are kept in an underground room underneath the statue. The monument is guarded by two traditional guards called "Blandengues de Artigas".
© OpenStreetMap contributors
The square at the end of 18 de Julio Ave., with the latter being the main commercial artery of the city. On the last Saturday of September, all the museums and historical places of interest around the Plaza Independencia open for free to the public. There is also a large "Murga," or a traditional South American parade in which all the Uruguayan political parties take part. The event is known as El Día del Patrimonio, the Day of Heritage. On the middle of the square there is a statue of general José Artigas, and under it, his mausoleum.
A gate to the old town; if you pass through it you're at Sarandí, Montevideo's main pedestrian street. This is one of the few remaining parts of the old city wall.
Estévez Palace
The Palacio Estévez was the office building of Uruguayan presidents until 1985. Today it is a museum of the Uruguayan presidency.
The current presidential office, next to the former. The Executive Tower was first planned as a courthouse in the 1960s, the project was halted several times until the house was finalized as the presidential office in 2009.
Glass-framed office building at the western end of the square with a terrifying number of air conditioning units.
Displaying works by one of the most prominent Uruguayan artists, the painter and sculptor Joaquín Torres García (1874-1949).