Punta del Este

Aside from the appeal of its beaches, climate and nightlife, Punta del Este has always attracted affluent South Americans because Uruguay allows nonresidents to hold offshore accounts in U.S. dollars — insurance against periodic economic crises and the roller-coaster values of the Argentine peso and Brazilian real — and to buy dollar-denominated real estate. A stylish but quiet place in the ’40s and ’50s, Punta del Este has become a small city, with a growing number of high-rise apartment buildings downtown. As a result, those in search of tranquility have been moving north along the coast to La Barra and José Ignacio or inland to the lush grasslands of gaucho country.