Cordón
The Vibe
Montevideo's authentic middle-class neighbourhood — 18 de Julio's continuous commercial boulevard, the Universidad de la República's architecture faculty, and the neighbourhood life that tourists never see
Description
Cordón is the neighbourhood at the geographic and social centre of Montevideo — a densely residential district of apartment buildings, family homes, and neighbourhood commerce that stretches along the main arteries of 18 de Julio (the city's main boulevard), Bulevar Artigas, and the streets between them, serving the broad middle-class population that makes up the largest share of Montevideo's resident community. The neighbourhood is not primarily a tourist destination, which is precisely what gives it its value: Cordón is where Montevideo actually lives, and spending time in the neighbourhood provides access to the authentic rhythms of Uruguayan urban life — the daily market on Paullier street, the neighbourhood cafés with their afternoon chess sessions, the kiosks selling La Diaria newspaper and fresh pastries. Cordón is the address of the Universidad de la República's Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism (FARQ) and several other university faculties, which concentrate a large student population in the neighbourhood and give its bar and café scene a youthful, animated energy particularly on weekday evenings. The neighbourhood has been home to several of Uruguay's most important cultural figures: painters, writers, and musicians have traditionally lived in Cordón, and the neighbourhood's secondhand bookshops, record stores, and art supply shops reflect this long association with cultural production. The main commercial artery of 18 de Julio — Montevideo's equivalent of Buenos Aires's Corrientes or Bogotá's Carrera Séptima — runs through the northern edge of Cordón, connecting the Plaza Independencia to the residential neighbourhoods to the east, and providing the neighbourhood with a constant flow of commercial activity, street food, and the continuous pedestrian life of a city that still values walking as its primary mode of urban movement.
Neighborhood Stats
Popular With
- long-stay-visitors
- students
- locals
- culture-seekers
- budget-travelers
- urban-explorers
- backpackers
Key Attributes
- residential
- university-district
- authentic
- middle-class
- 18-de-Julio
- cafés
- secondhand-books
- student-culture
Food Scene
Pizza Piola (18 de Julio, Cordón) is one of a popular Argentine-Italian pizza chain that represents the neighbourhood's casual dining anchor — wood-fired thin-crust pizzas popular with the student and professional population. The neighbourhood cafés of Cordón — particularly those on Paullier and Gaboto streets — serve the traditional Uruguayan breakfast of café con leche and media lunas (croissant-style pastries) in the leisurely manner that reflects the country's characteristic rejection of productivity-at-all-costs. The 18 de Julio pedestrian strip has multiple chivito restaurants — the Uruguayan sandwich (breaded beef, ham, egg, cheese, and vegetables in a bread roll).