What will we visit?
Colonia del Sacramento was founded by the Portuguese Manuel Lobo (Governor of Rio de Janeiro) in 1680 and is one of the few cities in the country that preserves its historic buildings, offering tourists a journey into the past.
We will depart at 9 o'clock in the morning along the port promenade towards the west for 177 km (approximately 2 hours of travel). 10 km before arriving, at Km 167, we will visit the 'Granja Arenas' Museum. This museum has obtained several Guinness World Records due to its large collection of pencils (approximately 18,000). In addition, they exhibit collections of keychains, ashtrays, perfume bottles, and matchboxes. Moreover, the museum has a cheese and sweets factory on the same farm, where visitors can taste their products after the tour.
After the museum, we will continue along the waterfront until we reach the Bullring, inaugurated in 1910 and closed two years later due to being an unappealing spectacle for the people of that time. From there, we will move on to the COLONIA sign, where we will stop to take photos with the Río de la Plata in the background. We will then continue with the tour until we reach the Historic Quarter.
The Historic Quarter, currently considered a UNESCO World Heritage site, stands out as a prow over the Río de la Plata with its cobbled streets and period buildings. You enter the neighborhood through the ancient city gate, where you will find the main square, the famous "Street of Sighs," the lighthouse, the 17th-century ruins of the San Francisco Convent, and various museums (Spanish, Portuguese, tiles, among others).
In the city, you can rent electric carts to explore the historic center more easily. Depending on the weather, from a distance of 50 km, you can appreciate the City of Buenos Aires.
