Part of the city's central business district, alongside Centro and Ciudad Vieja, the 18 de Julio Avenue that runs through the area is home to commercial spaces, office buildings, entertainment venues, and educational centers.

The area to the east of the demarcation was called "Cordón", from which the name of the neighborhood comes, because the land marking work was carried out using laces (Spanish: Cordones).

[6] In the square there is a monument to the Thirty-Three Orientals, copy of a painting by national painter Juan Manuel Blanes on painted ceramic tiles, a bronze mounted statue of Juan Antonio Lavalleja, the monument to a fireman holding a baby, as well as a bronze statue of Albert Einstein discussing with the Uruguayan philosopher Carlos Vaz Ferreira, both seated on a bench.

[7] Cordón is home to different buildings of architectural importance, such as the National Library, the University of the Republic, the Alfredo Vásquez Acevedo Institute and the headquarters of the Banco de Previsión Social.

[9] Since the mid-2010s, the area of the neighborhood with its epicenter on Bulevar España between Eduardo Acevedo and Pablo de María streets, has been the location of numerous breweries, bars, boutique restaurants, cafes, and nightclubs, as well as clothing stores and design.