A day trip to Colonia, Uruguay

Colonia from the ferry

Colonia is a sleepy Uruguayan town on the Rio de la Plata, around 3 hours by ferry (or 1 hour by fast ferry) from Buenos Aires.

The ferry trip offers beautiful views of Buenos Aires from the river.

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires from the ferry

Colonia was originally founded by the Portuguese in 1680 and has changed hands many times between the Portuguese, Spanish and Brazilians. This frontier past is the reason for the town's many fortifications in it's Barrio Historico.

Town gate

Cannon on the town walls

The Barrio Histórico from the town walls

Rio de la Plata from the town walls

The Barrio Histórico is a small section of the old town near the harbour. It contains many old buildings and houses along its cobblestone streets.

The lighthouse

Vintage car outside a restaurant

One of Barrio Historico's many squares

A street in the Barrio Historico

Another cobblestone street

Just outside the Barrio Histórico is the main town. In keeping with the Barrio Histórico's aesthetic, the town's streets are lined with trees, keeping the feeling of the narrow streets of Barrio Histórico.

Tree-lined street in Colonia

The main road in the town

The Marina

The Artisan Market

From the town you can walk all the way along the foreshore and enjoy 5 km of riverside beaches until you reach the Plaza del Torro - an abandoned bullfighting ring.

Looking back to Barrio Histórico

One of the many beaches

The abandoned bullfighting ring

The bullfighting ring was built in 1903 but unfortunately it is now is a dire state of disrepair - which means you can only walk around the outside.

After the 10km round trip back to Barrio Histórico, it's only a short walk back to the ferry.

The trip home was dominated by spectacular sunset over the Rio de la Plata.

Sun setting over a Colonia beach

Sunset with Buenos Aires in the distance

Another shot of sunset over Buenos Aires

The return to Buenos Aires at night