View from the famous Casapueblo, the whitewashed cement and stucco buildings near the town of Punta Del Este, Uruguay.

© Ivo Antonie de Rooij/Shutterstock

Uruguay

Wedged like a grape between Brazil’s gargantuan thumb and Argentina’s long forefinger, Uruguay has always been something of an underdog. Yet after two centuries living in the shadow of its neighbors, South America’s smallest country is finally getting a little well-deserved recognition. Progressive, stable, safe and culturally sophisticated, Uruguay offers visitors opportunities to experience everyday ‘not made for tourists’ moments, whether caught in a cow-and-gaucho (cowboy) traffic jam on a dirt road to nowhere or strolling with maté-toting locals along Montevideo’s beachfront.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • A visitor looks at a painting by Colombian artist Fernando Botero during an exhibition of painters from Uruguay, Mexico and Colombia at the Museum of Visual Arts in Montevideo on March 22, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Miguel ROJO (Photo credit should read MIGUEL ROJO/AFP/Getty Images)

    Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales

    Montevideo

    Uruguay’s largest collection of paintings is housed here in Parque Rodó. The spacious rooms are graced with works by Blanes, Cúneo, Figari, Gurvich,…

  • (GERMANY OUT) Punta Ballena (bei Punta del Este):Hotelanlage "Casa Pueblo"- 02.1997 col (Photo by Lothar M. Peter/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

    Casapueblo

    Punta del Este

    Gleaming white in the sun and cascading nine stories down a cliffside, Uruguayan artist Carlos Páez Vilaró’s exuberantly whimsical villa and art gallery…

  • La Mano en la Arena

    La Mano en la Arena

    Punta del Este

    Punta’s most famous landmark is this monster-sized sculpted hand protruding from the sands of Playa Brava. Constructed in iron and cement by Chilean…

  • 'Parilla' Barbeque Restaurant In The Mercado Del Puerto, Montevideo, Uruguay. (Photo by: Julio Etchart/Majority World/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

    Mercado del Puerto

    Montevideo

    No visitor should miss Montevideo’s old port market building, at the foot of Pérez Castellano; the building's impressive wrought-iron superstructure…

  • Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay, South America

    Museo del Gaucho

    Montevideo

    Housed in the ornate Palacio Heber, this museum eloquently conveys the deep attachments between the gauchos, their animals and the land. Its superb…

  • (GERMANY OUT) Teatro Solis (Solis Theatre), Uruguay's oldest theatre, built in 1856, located in Plaza Independencia. (Photo by Rolf Schulten/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

    Teatro Solís

    Montevideo

    Just off Plaza Independencia, elegant Teatro Solís is Montevideo’s premier performance space. First opened in 1856, and completely renovated during the…

  • A display of vintage tools at the museum of the Marfrig plant in Fray Bentos, Uruguay, May 8, 2009. The plant, part of the Brazilian Marfrig group, is the last link of a chain which began in 1862 when German Georg Giebert founded the Liebig's Extract of Meat Company to produce corned beef and extract of meat. In 1924 the plant was acquired by British investors and became the "Frigorifico Anglo". During both world wars the plant supplied the allied armies with countless cans of corned beef and nowadays the plant employs 125 people and exports 10 pounds (4,5 kg) corned beef cans --up to a total of 500 tons a month-- to the United Kingdom. AFP PHOTO/Miguel ROJO (Photo credit should read MIGUEL ROJO/AFP/Getty Images)

    Museo de la Revolución Industrial

    Uruguay

    Possibly the words 'tour an old meat extraction plant' don't appear on your list of must-dos for Uruguay, but Museo de la Revolución Industrial highlights…

  • View of the Palacio Salvo in Montevideo, Uruguay, on May 29, 2008. The Palacio Salvo, built in 1928 and designed by Italian architect Mario Palanti, has now set up as a symbol of the country's prosperity years in the 20th century. AFP PHOTO/Miguel Rojo MORE IN IMAGE FORUM / AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL ROJO (Photo credit should read MIGUEL ROJO/AFP/Getty Images)

    Palacio Salvo

    Montevideo

    On the east side of the Plaza Independencia, the 26-story structure with the crazy beehive hairdo is Palacio Salvo, the continent's tallest building when…

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