It might not have a Machu Picchu or an Iguazu Falls, but Uruguay is my favourite South American country, said Julia Buckley in The Times.
A place where it's exceptionally easy for visitors to find "cat- in-the-Sun contentment", a trip here is less about "bucket-list sightseeing" and more about enjoying "bucket-list bliss". Uruguay has gentle, green landscapes and huge Atlantic beaches. Montevideo, its capital, is "simpler, daintier, less highly strung" than its giant neighbour, Buenos Aires. And it has beautiful resort towns, excellent restaurants, and – the focus of my latest visit – remarkable wineries. These are not as famous as Argentina's or Chile's, but they are quite as good, and several have attractive hotels, allowing for a "heavenly" wine-lovers' tour of the country.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Further along the Atlantic coast lies José Ignacio, an "upmarket" beach resort that is a "foodie heaven" (don't miss the tapas bar Solera; its owner has created a map of the country's wineries – see mapadelvinouruguay on Instagram). In the hills to the north, there's another "top-notch" winery restaurant, Viña Edén, and a great vineyard hotel, the Luz Culinary Wine Lodge – a "dreamy" place with eight rooms and a "baguette-slim" infinity pool.
-
Political cartoons for November 8Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include narco boats, and the new Lincoln monument
-
Why Trump pardoned crypto criminal Changpeng ZhaoIn the Spotlight Binance founder’s tactical pardon shows recklessness is rewarded by the Trump White House
-
Sudoku medium: November 8, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
6 homes with fall foliagefeature An autumnal orange Craftsman, a renovated Greek Revival church and an estate with an orchard
-
Bugonia: ‘deranged, extreme and explosively enjoyable’Talking Point Yorgos Lanthimos’ film stars Emma Stone as a CEO who is kidnapped and accused of being an alien
-
The Revolutionists: a ‘superb and monumental’ bookThe Week Recommends Jason Burke ‘epic’ account of the plane hijackings and kidnappings carried out by extremists in the 1970s
-
Film reviews: ‘Bugonia,’ ‘The Mastermind’ and ‘Nouvelle Vague’feature A kidnapped CEO might only appear to be human, an amateurish art heist goes sideways, and Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’ gets a lively homage
-
Book reviews: ‘Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity’ and ‘Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice’feature An examination of humanity in the face of “the Machine” and a posthumous memoir from one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, who recently died by suicide
-
The dazzling coral gardens of Raja AmpatThe Week Recommends Region of Indonesia is home to perhaps the planet’s most photogenic archipelago
-
Salted caramel and chocolate tart recipeThe Week Recommends Delicious dessert can be made with any biscuits you fancy
-
6 trailside homes for hikersFeature Featuring a roof deck with skyline views in California and a home with access to private trails in Montana
