Introducing Punta del Este

OK, here’s the plan: tan it, wax it, buff it at the gym, then plonk it on the beach at ‘Punta.’ Once you’re done there, go out and shake it at one of the town’s famous clubs.

Punta del Este – with its many beaches, elegant seaside homes, yacht harbor, high-rise apartment buildings, pricey hotels and glitzy restaurants – is one of South America’s most glamorous resorts and easily the most expensive place in Uruguay. Extremely popular with Argentines and Brazilians, Punta suffered a period of decline during the Uruguayan and Argentine recessions, but has come back with a vengeance.

Celebrity-watchers have a full-time job here. Punta is teeming with big names. Early sightings in 2008 included Ralph Lauren, soccer star Zinedine Zidane and Metallica’s lead singer James Hetfield. And then of course there’s the ongoing speculation about when exactly Shakira will marry at her nearby estancia…

Surrounding towns caught up in the whole Punta mystique include the famed club zone of La Barra to the east and Punta Ballena to the west.