Fray Bentos is in the Río Negro department of Uruguay, at the border to Argentina.

Understand

The factory area

The town of Fray Bentos has historically been a very important center of meat and meat extract production, as reflected in the world heritage listed plants located here.

Get in

You can get in by bus from Montevideo. There are about 12 daily buses, the ride taking 4-7 hours depending on the route. As this is the southernmost road bridge between Uruguay and Argentina, you'll pass near the city if you travel between these two countries overland.

See

• 1 The factory of Liebig's Extract of Meat Company. The UNESCO World Heritage listing "Fray Bentos Cultural Industrial Landscape" comprises the premises of the former Liebig's Extract of Meat Company, founded in 1863. From 1899 onwards the Anglo Meat Packing Plant functioned here. Closed in 1979, the area is nowadays a museum. In its heyday it was one of the largest industrial plants in all of South America and attracted many of the region's European immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (updated Jul 2015)

Go next

• Argentina
• Colonia