• Spend the day parasailing, windsurfing, waterskiing, sport fishing or lounging on Punta del Este's long sandy beaches, then party with the rich and famous at Punta's glitzy casino and chic nightclubs.

• Attend a concert, play, or tango performance at Teatro Solís (website: www.teatrosolis.org.uy) or one of Montevideo's dozens of other nightspots.

• Savour the enormous racks of roasting meat and vegetables at Montevideo's Mercado del Puerto, a popular lunch spot in an old covered market by the waterfront, where businesspeople rub elbows with tourists, and street performers provide entertainment on weekends.

• Get lost in a sea of street vendors at Montevideo's Tristán Narvaja market, just east of downtown. Every Sunday several city blocks are filled with stalls selling everything from antiques to jewelry to live birds.

• For an unforgettable slice of Montevideo life, take a weekend stroll along the Rambla (riverfront promenade), where you'll find joggers, windsurfers and throngs of sociable locals cradling thermoses of mate as they chat with friends on the beach.

• Join the frenzy of dancing and drumming in the streets every February during Montevideo's exuberant Afro-Uruguayan Carnival

• Attend a football match or visit the Museo del Fútbol in the Estadio Centenario, the Montevideo stadium where Uruguay's national team won the first World Cup in 1930.

• Trek over sand dunes to see the lighthouse and abundant marine life at Cabo Polonio on the Atlantic coast.

• Ride a horse, stargaze by the outdoor barbecue and get a taste of gaucho life at one of Uruguay's tourist estancias. Two of the best are San Pedro de Timote (website: www.sanpedrodetimote.com.uy) and La Sirena (website: www.lasirena.com.uy).

• Observe the rich array of bird life at one of eastern Uruguay's coastal lagoons, including Laguna de Rocha near La Paloma, Laguna de Castillos near Barra de Valizas, and Laguna Negra near Punta del Diablo.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.