Museums in Uruguay
18 museums in Uruguay. Most visited: Museo de la Memoria.
Top museums in Uruguay
Museo de la Memoria
Memorial museum · 15,590 visitors a year
Remembering those who died or were "disappeared" during Uruguay's dictatorship of 1973 to 1985 is the purpose of the Museo de la Memoria in Montevideo, often called MUME. "Disappeared" is the term...
Cinemateca Uruguaya
Music, film or theatre museum
The film archive of the Cinemateca Uruguaya is a declared national historic monument. By the end of the twentieth century it held more than 11,000 films, over 2,000 of them Uruguayan works. Cine...
Museo de UTE
Science and technology museum
An incandescent lamp from 1879 is among the oldest pieces at the Museo de UTE, a technology museum that traces part of Uruguay's electrical history. Run directly by the Uruguayan company UTE, it...
Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Uruguay
Natural history museum
Opened in 1838, the National Museum of Natural History (Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, or MNHN) is Uruguay's oldest scientific institution and holds one of the oldest natural history collections...
Museo Torres García
Art museum
The Museo Torres García is devoted to a single artist, the painter Joaquín Torres García. Its walls show his unusual portraits of historical icons alongside cubist paintings often compared to...
Museum of Pre-Columbian and Indigenous Art
The indigenous cultures of different parts of Latin America are the subject of the Museum of Pre-Columbian and Indigenous Art, in Spanish the Museo de Arte Precolombino e Indígena. This ethnographic...
National Museum of Visual Arts
Art museum
The largest collection of Uruguayan artworks belongs to the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales, the National Museum of Visual Arts, which opened on 10 December 1911 in Parque Rodó, Montevideo. The...
Vilamajó House Museum
Historic house, palace or castle
The first modern dwelling in Uruguay to open as a house museum, the Vilamajó House Museum (Museo Casa Vilamajó) occupies the home that the architect Julio Vilamajó built for his family in Montevideo...
Museums by city in Uruguay
Uruguay’s museum scene is closely tied to Montevideo, where many of the country’s major collections sit within easy reach of one another. On Mooseum, visitors can explore places that reflect the capital’s cultural identity, from the Juan Manuel Blanes Museum and the Montevideo Center of Photography to the Carnival Museum and Cinemateca Uruguaya. Together, they offer a clear introduction to Uruguayan art, urban history, film culture, and everyday life.
Beyond the capital, museum visits in Uruguay often connect with sculpture parks, contemporary art foundations, and coastal cultural routes. The Fundacion Pablo Atchugarry and the Atchugarry Museum of Contemporary Art, in the Maldonado department near Punta del Este, show how strongly visual art is linked to landscape here. Mooseum helps visitors navigate these different settings, whether they are planning a city itinerary in Montevideo or adding museums to a broader trip along the southern coast.
Uruguayan museums also address subjects that are deeply specific to the country, including democratic memory, popular festivities, and changing social norms. Museo de la Memoria examines the civic and political history of the recent past, while the Montevideo Cannabis Museum looks at regulation and culture through a local lens. Using Mooseum, travelers can discover museums that go well beyond fine art, and build visits around the themes that matter most to them.
Map of museums in Uruguay
Museums in Uruguay: questions
- How many museums are there in Uruguay?
- Mooseum lists 18 museums in Uruguay. Montevideo has the most, with 13.
- What are the most visited museums in Uruguay?
- By annual visitors reported on Wikipedia: Museo de la Memoria (15,590).
- What kinds of museums are in Uruguay?
- Of the 11 whose type we know, the most common are art museums (4), ethnographic and open-air museums (1), historic houses, palaces and castles (1) and memorial museums (1).
- Strong concentration of museums in Montevideo, especially for art, photography, film, and civic history
- Important spaces for recent history and human rights, including Museo de la Memoria
- Distinctive museums dedicated to carnival, cinema, and cannabis culture in the capital
- Contemporary art and sculpture are well represented in Maldonado through the Atchugarry institutions
- Collections often reflect Uruguay’s blend of European influences, local traditions, and modern social history
- Many museums in Montevideo keep shorter hours on weekends and may close one day a week, so check schedules in advance on Mooseum or official sites.
- If you are staying in Ciudad Vieja, Centro, or Parque Rodo, several museums can be combined in a single day using local buses, taxis, or on-foot routes.
- Summer brings more visitors to coastal areas such as Maldonado and Punta del Este, so book ahead for major art venues and allow extra travel time.
- Some public museums in Uruguay offer low-cost or free entry on selected days, but temporary exhibitions and film screenings may require separate tickets.
All museums in Uruguay
Every museum in Uruguay listed on Mooseum. Search by name or type.
| Name | Type | Website | Links | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Art museum | macamuseo.org |  | — | |
Ethnographic or open-air museum | museodelcarnaval.org | | — | |
Cinemateca UruguayaThe film archive of the Cinemateca Uruguaya is a declared national historic monument. By the end of the twentieth century it held more than 11,000 films, over 2,000 of them Uruguayan works. Cine... | Music, film or theatre museum | cinemateca.org.uy | | — |
— | www.fundacionpabloatchugarry.org | | — | |
Art museum | blanes.montevideo.gub.uy | | — | |
— | www.museocannabis.uy | | — | |
— | cdf.montevideo.gub.uy | | — | |
Transport museum | museo.fau.mil.uy | | — | |
Museo de la MemoriaRemembering those who died or were "disappeared" during Uruguay's dictatorship of 1973 to 1985 is the purpose of the Museo de la Memoria in Montevideo, often called MUME. "Disappeared" is the term... | Memorial museum | mume.montevideo.gub.uy | | — |
Museo de UTEAn incandescent lamp from 1879 is among the oldest pieces at the Museo de UTE, a technology museum that traces part of Uruguay's electrical history. Run directly by the Uruguayan company UTE, it... | Science and technology museum | museos.gub.uy/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=148:museo-de-ute | | — |
— | www.salto.gub.uy/resultado-busqueda/item/408-museo-del-hombre-y-la-tecnologia | | — | |
Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de UruguayOpened in 1838, the National Museum of Natural History (Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, or MNHN) is Uruguay's oldest scientific institution and holds one of the oldest natural history collections... | Natural history museum | www.mnhn.gub.uy | | — |
Museo Torres GarcíaThe Museo Torres García is devoted to a single artist, the painter Joaquín Torres García. Its walls show his unusual portraits of historical icons alongside cubist paintings often compared to... | Art museum | www.torresgarcia.org.uy | | — |
Museum of Pre-Columbian and Indigenous ArtThe indigenous cultures of different parts of Latin America are the subject of the Museum of Pre-Columbian and Indigenous Art, in Spanish the Museo de Arte Precolombino e Indígena. This ethnographic... | — | www.mapi.org.uy | | — |
— | museodelmar.com.uy | | — | |
National Museum of Visual ArtsThe largest collection of Uruguayan artworks belongs to the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales, the National Museum of Visual Arts, which opened on 10 December 1911 in Parque Rodó, Montevideo. The... | Art museum | www.mnav.gub.uy | | — |
— | www.cementeriobritanico.com.uy/en | | — | |
Vilamajó House MuseumThe first modern dwelling in Uruguay to open as a house museum, the Vilamajó House Museum (Museo Casa Vilamajó) occupies the home that the architect Julio Vilamajó built for his family in Montevideo... | Historic house, palace or castle | www.fadu.edu.uy/museo-casa-vilamajo | | — |