Lying on the shores of the Rio de la Plata estuary, the Puerto de Montevideo is Uruguay's main city and capital. The Puerto de Montevideo handles almost all of the country's foreign trade, including its exports of meat, hides, and wool. The hub of the country's international transport network, it contains not only the port but an international airport and the crossroads of four railroads. In 2004, over 1.2 million people lived in the Puerto de Montevideo.

In addition to being a trade center, the Puerto de Montevideo supports many industries. It contains plants that process wool and pack and prepare meats. It also has factories that manufacture textiles, matches, soap, shoes, and clothing. The State's Administracion Nacional de Combustibles, Alcohol y Portland operates railway shops, cement works, oil refineries, and the electric power system, all located in Montevideo.

Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, Governor of Buenos Aires, founded the town of Montevideo in 1726 to stop the Portuguese advance from Brazil. The city began as a Spanish garrison. When the Spanish Crown granted the Puerto de Montevideo the right to be the region's only slave port, the Puerto de Montevideo experienced its first economic boom.

In 1776, it became Spain's main naval base in the South Atlantic with power over the Falklands and the Argentine coast. Near the end of the colonial era, the Puerto de Montevideo's merchants had a big part to play in Uruguay's independence. The Puerto de Montevideo became Uruguay's capital in 1828.

In the early 19th Century, Spanish, British, Argentine, Brazilian, and Portuguese armies occupied the Puerto de Montevideo. Both population and trade declined in those years. Even when Uruguay won its independence in 1830, stability was out of reach.

Under the influence of Brazilian, Argentine, and local groups, the Puerto de Montevideo was besieged and blockaded by a combined Uruguayan-Argentine army from 1843 until 1851. British and French forces helped the city's defenders. Despite these problems, the Puerto de Montevideo flourished and was the most important port in the Rio de la Plata region.

During World War II, the Puerto de Montevideo was a neutral port. In 1939 after the Battle of the Rio de la Plata (the first major naval battle of the war), the German Graf Spee retreated into the harbor, and the captain scuttled the ship rather than have it fall into Allied hands. Two days later, he committed suicide. In 2006, the ship's figurehead was salvaged.

Today, the Puerto de Montevideo is the only place where Uruguayans can get higher education at the 1849 University of the Republic (Spanish) . The Uruguay Workers' University (Spanish), opened in 1878, offers vocational training.

The Administracion Nacional de Puertos (ANP) is the port authority for the Puerto de Montevideo. The ANP develops, manages, and maintains the Puerto de Montevideo with a high priority on customer service and efficient and effective operations. In order to encourage the growth of the ports under its jurisdiction, the ANP maintains an organizational "open door" policy, focuses on the relationship between the port and the community, remains flexible in regulatory processes, and ensure that port staff is well-trained and highly-qualified.

In 2008, over 5.2 thousand vessels called at the Puerto de Montevideo. Many of these (1827) were fishing vessels under the Uruguay flag and flags of other nations (525). The Puerto de Montevideo also received 819 container vessels, 288 cabotage vessels, 245 petroleum vessels, 223 general cargo vessels, 113 barges, 111 bulk vessels, and 101 cruise ships carrying 122 thousand cruise passengers.

The Puerto de Montevideo handled a total of almost 9.1 million tons of cargo, including 5.7 million tons of containerized cargo, 2.5 million tons of bulk cargo, and 967.3 thousand tons of general cargo. Of the total 9.1 million tons, 3.5 million tons were imports, and 5.6 million tons were imports.

The Puerto de Montevideo operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with dependable quality services. Its access to interior lands is facilitated by river, road, and rail with Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia. The Puerto de Montevideo's access channel has two sections, one to the south that is 9 kilometers long and one to the west-southwest that is 15 kilometers long.

The Puerto de Montevideo is protected by two breakwaters. The west breakwater is 1300 meters long and protects the southwest are of the port, and the east breakwater is 900 meters long that protects the port from winds from the south and southeast. There is also a 200-hectare anchorage area outside the Puerto de Montevideo.

The Puerto de Montevideo has 13 wharves with a total length of almost 3.8 thousand meters and alongside depths of five and ten meters. The Muelle de Escala is 288 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters and handles containers. The adjacent container terminal covers 10 hectares of land area. The Muelle Fluvial, adjacent to the container terminal, is 353 meters long with alongside depth of five meters. The wharf is reserved for the use of Uruguay's Navy.

The Puerto de Montevideo's Muelle Maciel, which is 382 meters long with alongside depth of five meters, serves the Passenger terminal and ships serving the Montevideo-Buenos Aires route.

Cabecera Muelle A in the Puerto de Montevideo is 50 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters. Muelle A has two berths of a total 303 meters in length and alongside depth of 10 meters.

Muelle Central in the Puerto de Montevideo's Basin 1 is a total of 492 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters, and it contains three berths handling containers and roll-on/roll-off vessels carrying vehicles.

Muelle Central in the Puerto de Montevideo's Basin 2 is a total of 392 meters long, and it handles solid bulk and containerized cargoes. It also has a cold store that handles frozen goods and chilled fruit. Muelle Central, Basin 2, has two berths. Berth 8 is 327 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters.

Muelle Mantaras supports the Fish Terminal that serves national fishing vessels, and it has a 600-meter extension and a warehouse of 15 thousand square meters.

The Puerto de Montevideo's Terminal Maritima la Teja para Oil, on the north side of the bay, serves the state oil company and the La Teja Refinery. The terminal has capacity fir 300 cubic meters per hour.

The City of Montevideo (Spanish) is a popular tourist destination and a busy port for cruises. It contains beautiful colonial period buildings and even more beautiful beaches. The Ciudadela Gateway, the entrance to the old city (Ciudad Vieja), is the only remaining section of the old city wall. The Puerto de Montevideo boasts many churches, museums, theaters, and an exciting nightlife where crowds do the tango far into the night.

The Puerto de Montevideo has a wonderful subtropical climate with mild winters and hot humid summers. Its springs are spiced with thunderstorms and Tropical cyclones. Temperatures range from an average high of 29�C (84�F) in January to an average low of 8.3�C (47�F) in July.

Visitors to Uruguay will not want to miss a trip to the Puerto de Montevideo's Ciudad Vieja. Surrounding the Plaza Independencia, the old town recalls Old World Europe, with a blend of Spanish, Art Deco, and Italian architecture. Iron gates and old-fashioned street lamps line streets that hold wonderful restaurants, antique shops, and many other attractions. Old town is also near the popular Mercado Puerto (Port Market).

The Museo Historico Nacional (National History Museum) fills four different historic homes in Ciudad Vieja. The restored buildings were once the homes of Uruguay's most famous politicians and military leaders. The Museo Romantico contains paintings and antiques. The Casa Rivera was home to the first president, and the Casa Garibaldi was home of a famous navy commander. The 18th Century Casa Lavalleja is the former residence of national hero General Juan Lavalleja.

The Puerto de Montevideo's Museo del Gaucho y de la Moneda celebrates the history and lifestyle of the Uruguayan cowboy. The museum contains many artifacts related to the cowboy's life and times as well as several fascinating educational displays, including one that tells the story of the country's currency.

La Rambla in the Puerto de Montevideo is a 22-kilometer waterside roadway where people fish, bike, socialize, and enjoy marvelous views of the harbor and city (particularly at sunset). The promenade runs along the Puerto de Montevideo's Rio de la Plata beach that runs from the Ciudad Vieja to the chic neighborhood called Carrasco.

Travelers who want to visit the Puerto de Montevideo can find a long list of scheduled cruises on the Cruise Compete website.