The Short Version
An Afternoon in the Centre
Salto's museums are in the centre, a few blocks apart, and you can walk between them in an afternoon. There are three: the Gallino art collection in a 1920s mansion, the family house of Horacio Quiroga, and the Teatro Larrañaga, which can be visited as a museum during the day and is a working theatre at night.
All three open Monday to Friday only. That makes museums a weekday plan, with the weekend for the hot springs. Entry is free at the Gallino and at the theatre.
The hours below come from the Intendencia's Agenda Salto, October 2026. They change with the season, so it is worth checking on the day.
Where and When
The Three Museums
| Museum | What is there | Open | Address | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Museo de Bellas Artes y Artes Decorativas María Irene Olarreaga Gallino | Figari, Petrona Viera, Cúneo and other Uruguayan painters, with sculpture, decorative art and contemporary and local work, in a 1920s mansion with the city's first lift. | Mon–Fri 8am–7pm | Uruguay 1067 | Free |
| Museo Casa Quiroga | The family house of Horacio Quiroga: first editions, letters, one of his bicycles and his mausoleum, plus a room devoted to the poet Marosa di Giorgio. | Mon–Fri 8am–6pm | Av. Seregni and Maciel | Not listed |
| Teatro Larrañaga | The theatre, opened on 6 October 1882 and a national historic monument since 1988, visited as a museum during the day. In the evening it is a theatre again: what is on is in the agenda on saltouruguay.com. | Mon–Fri 8am–6pm | Centre | Free |
Hours and entry: Intendencia de Salto, Agenda Salto, October 2026. Collections: the Intendencia's Museos de Salto guide (2024).
With Children
Two Wet-Day Places
The children's library of the Biblioteca Municipal Felisa Lisasola, at Artigas and 25 de Agosto, reopened on 5 October 2026 after a refurbishment. Open Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm, to anyone who wants to read or join an activity. Families and groups can arrange a visit on +598 4733 5220 or +598 4732 4180. Source: Radio Libertadores, 6 October 2026.
Salto Grande's free science museum of renewable energy, beside the dam on Route 3: hands-on stations, a full-scale model of the fish passage, a dome cinema and workshops for children. Open every day. Hours and details on the Salto Grande page.
Plan It
How to Fit Them In
All three close on Saturday and Sunday. Morning in the hot springs, a museum or two after lunch, and the theatre in the evening if there is something on.
The Gallino and the theatre are a few blocks apart in the centre. Casa Quiroga is on Av. Seregni at Maciel; if it is too far to walk, taxis are metered and cheap (fares on saltouruguay.com).
Museums are the city's answer to a rainy afternoon; with children, the library and Energimundo above. The Journal note Salto When the Weather Turns puts them together with the covered pools and the dam.
The Central Cemetery, an open-air museum of Italian marble, and the brick vaults of Eladio Dieste on the Dieste walk. Further out, the dam and its free visits.