Punta del Este
Punta del Este is South America's glamorous summer playground, a chic Atlantic resort city on the slender point where the Rio de la Plata finally meets the open ocean. For a few golden months each year it becomes the place to be on the continent, drawing a stylish crowd to its high-rise skyline, its smart restaurants and its long sweep of golden sand. It is sun-drenched, sociable and effortlessly fashionable, and yet the easy Uruguayan warmth is never far beneath the gloss.
The image everyone carries home is La Mano, the giant concrete fingers rising straight out of the sand on Playa Brava, half buried and reaching for the sky. It has become the symbol of the whole coast, and a photo beside it is a rite of passage. From there the city unfolds: the marina full of yachts and the high-rise towers above it, the calm, family-friendly water of Playa Mansa on the bay side, and the wilder, surf-washed Atlantic of Playa Brava facing the other way, so you can choose your mood simply by crossing the peninsula.
Just beyond the city the coast turns surreal and bohemian. A short drive west brings you to Casapueblo, the dazzling whitewashed cliff-side villa that the artist Carlos Páez Vilaró built by hand, its rounded terraces glowing gold as the sun drops into the sea. East along the shore lie the stylish villages of José Ignacio and La Barra, all barefoot luxury, beach clubs and celebrated restaurants. The whole coast peaks in the Southern Hemisphere summer, from December to February, when the days are long and the evenings never seem to end.
