Uruguay — Where to Go
Top Things to See
• Enjoy the eclectic mix of colonial, European and modern influences in Montevideo; Uruguay’s capital city. Don’t miss the Ciudad Vieja (Old Town), the fascinating Gaucho Museum, the recently opened Carnival Museum and the appealing beach suburbs east of town.
• Soak in the many hot springs near Salto: including the remote and tranquil Termas de Arapey, the family-friendly Termas de Daymán, or the new-agey Termas de San Nicanor.
• Stroll Colonia del Sacramento’s cobblestoned streets and sycamore-shaded plazas, watch the sunset over the Río de la Plata, and enjoy the cozy restaurants and cafes of Uruguay’s oldest city, founded in 1680.
• Visit Carlos Paéz Vilaró’s extravagantly whimsical art studio, Casapueblo (website: www.carlospaezvilaro.com), a nine-story whitewashed masterpiece cascading down the cliffs of Punta Ballena, near Punta del Este.
• Contemplate the international impact of the Oxo beef cube (manufactured in Uruguay and prized by everyone from Edmund Hillary to soldiers in the WWI trenches) at the Museo de la Revolución Industrial; a 19th-century meat processing plant-turned-museum in Fray Bentos.
• Climb into the beautiful hills around Minas, visiting the source of Uruguay’s popular Salus mineral water or basking in the rural tranquility of Villa Serrana; a tiny hilltop village.
• Ride the waves and wander the endless sandy beaches at low-key Atlantic resorts like Punta del Diablo, La Paloma and La Pedrera.
•Sample Uruguay’s fine dairy products in the 19th-century Swiss settlement of Colonia Suiza (The Swiss Colony), west of the capital.
• Get a feel for the historic conflict between Spanish and Portuguese forces at the northern fortresses of Santa Teresa and San Miguel near the Brazilian border.
Top Things to Do
• Spend the day parasailing, windsurfing, waterskiing, sport fishing or lounging on Punta del Este’s long sandy beaches, then party with the rich and famous at Punta’s glitzy casino and chic nightclubs.
• Attend a concert, play, or tango performance at Teatro Solís (website: www.teatrosolis.org.uy) or one of Montevideo’s dozens of other nightspots.
• Savour the enormous racks of roasting meat and vegetables at Montevideo’s Mercado del Puerto, a popular lunch spot in an old covered market by the waterfront, where businesspeople rub elbows with tourists, and street performers provide entertainment on weekends.
• Get lost in a sea of street vendors at Montevideo’s Tristán Narvaja market, just east of downtown. Every Sunday several city blocks are filled with stalls selling everything from antiques to jewelry to live birds.
• For an unforgettable slice of Montevideo life, take a weekend stroll along the Rambla (riverfront promenade), where you’ll find joggers, windsurfers and throngs of sociable locals cradling thermoses of mate as they chat with friends on the beach.
• Join the frenzy of dancing and drumming in the streets every February during Montevideo’s exuberant Afro-Uruguayan Carnival
• Attend a football match or visit the Museo del Fútbol in the Estadio Centenario, the Montevideo stadium where Uruguay’s national team won the first World Cup in 1930.
• Trek over sand dunes to see the lighthouse and abundant marine life at Cabo Polonio on the Atlantic coast.
• Ride a horse, stargaze by the outdoor barbecue and get a taste of gaucho life at one of Uruguay’s tourist estancias. Two of the best are San Pedro de Timote (website: www.sanpedrodetimote.com.uy) and La Sirena (website: www.lasirena.com.uy).
• Observe the rich array of bird life at one of eastern Uruguay’s coastal lagoons, including Laguna de Rocha near La Paloma, Laguna de Castillos near Barra de Valizas, and Laguna Negra near Punta del Diablo.
