Paysandú

Introducing Paysandú

A big (in Uruguayan terms), serious city, Paysandú wakes up every Easter for its annual beer festival, with plenty of live music, open-air cinema and a ready supply of a certain carbonated alcoholic beverage. The rest of the year it’s kinda sleepy, but spasms into life on weekends when everybody’s out and about in the restaurants, bars and discos.

Most of the fun happens down on the riverbanks, with plenty of splashing around during the day and more serious partying at night.

Av 18 de Julio, the main commercial street, runs along the south side of Plaza Constitución. The tourist office (26221; Av 18 de Julio 1226) is opposite Plaza Constitución. Cambio Fagalde is at 18 de Julio 1002. Banco Acac (Av 18 de Julio 1020) has an ATM. If you’re coming from Argentina and need Uruguayan pesos fast, Copay at the bus terminal offers bank rates.

To get to the center from the bus terminal, walk seven blocks north on Zorilla. A taxi should cost around US$2.

The Museo Histórico (Zorrilla 874; admission free; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri) has a great selection of hand-drawn maps, household objects and war etchings. If you thought Windows XP was slow, check out the slide n’ punch ‘writing machine’ – a one-way ticket to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome if you ever saw one.

Last updated: Mar 2, 2009