A restaurant in front of the plaza dedicated to Father José María Barredo, (Vicarious priest of Colonia).

Going down the Coast Boulevard, you´ll find the Museum of the Glazed Title, which has been recently remodeled after 300 years of watching over the river. Its interior is dressed with Portuguese glazed tiles, also found in some of the moors in the historical barrio. The city structure responds to a military configuration, narrow streets covered with cuneiform stones develop a sketch that contrasts with the classical plane of checkerboard characteristic of Spanish cities.

During your walk down the coastline, you can enjoy the magical Afro rhythm of drums and candombero groups that dance with their epoch dresses. Another great attraction is the Iglesia Matriz (Matrix Church), witness of a great many battles, the most antique in Uruguay, constructed in 1680 and located in Vasconcelos street behind one of the six fortifications that protected the city: The Bastion de San Juan.

The Spanish viceroy, Ceballos, installed a military camp with an establishment provided with a hospital and a chapel, and he named that land Real de San Carlos, in honor to the person sitting on the throne: Carlos III. With white beaches and leafy groves, the place became a great tourist attraction in the beginning of the century, especially with the construction of a sports complex and the big Casino hotel, which held a hippodrome, fronton, and a great bulóf the architect Paez Vilarò governmental order.

When arriving to Colonia de sacramento (Sacrament City District), you immediately breath, not only the stimulating breeze of Río de la Plata , but also the history contained in the moors of its typical Brazilian and Spanish architecture.

With its strategic geographic position, it permitted the European powerful nations to take over the South of Uruguay and the thick river, in the XVI and XVII centuries. A city founded in 1680 by Don Manuel Lobo, it became the only Portuguese city in the river coasts.

Its narrow streets paved with stone in the historical center, its houses made of stone or brick with roofs two and four pendants, invite us to walk around and enjoy the impacting simplicity in its architectonic lines.

In front of the Plaza Mayor stands the San Francisco Javier convent dating back to 1682. Its ruins serve as a base to a lighthouse built in 1857. Also next to the Plaza is the Municipal Museum, which exhibits documents of interest of the Real de San Carlos, the ruins of the House of the Viceroy, the Portuguese Museum, XVIII century and the house of the architect Paez Vilaró.

Views of the coasts of Río de la Plata. The Casco Viejo (The Old Helmet, historical barrio) occupies a surface of approximately 12 hectares in the western utmost of the city.