Paysandú and the coastal hot springs

Paysandú is the capital of the department of the same name, on Uruguay’s west coast, on the left bank of the Uruguay River. Across the water lies the Argentine city of Colón, connected to Paysandú by the General Artigas bridge. The city preserves 19th-century buildings and the memory of the siege of 1864–1865, which earned it the nickname "La Heroica."

In the center are the basilica of Nuestra Señora del Rosario y San Benito de Palermo and the Teatro Florencio Sánchez, built by Swiss master builders Bernardo and Francisco Poncini and opened in 1876. Seven blocks from the main square, the old cemetery became the Monumento a Perpetuidad, an open-air museum of mausoleums and sculptures in Italian marble.

To the north, along Route 3, are the Termas de Guaviyú, with hot-water pools fed by the Guarani Aquifer, among yatay palms. Further on, atop the river bluffs, the Meseta de Artigas features the monument to the national hero and the memory of Purificación, the seat of the Liga Federal government between 1815 and 1818.

Paysandú is also the city of the chajá, the meringue, sponge cake and peach dessert created in a local pastry shop in 1927. During Semana de Turismo, as Uruguayans call Holy Week, the city hosts the Semana de la Cerveza, a riverside festival with live shows.

This destination brings together 1 city: Paysandú.