Colonia del Sacramento

Colonia del Sacramento is the easiest international day trip in the world from a capital city, and one of the loveliest. Just across the wide, brown Río de la Plata from Buenos Aires, in Uruguay, it was founded by the Portuguese in 1680 as a smuggling post and a thorn in the side of Spanish Buenos Aires, and for a century and a half it changed hands between the two empires again and again. That tug of war left a small, fortified old town unlike anything on the Argentine side: Portuguese-style lanes that slope down to the water to drain the rain, low houses of stone and whitewashed adobe with tiled roofs, and Spanish additions in a grid beyond. The Barrio Histórico was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1995, and it is small enough to explore on foot in a few hours. The most photographed spot is the Calle de los Suspiros, the Street of Sighs, a crooked cobbled lane of colonial houses running down to the river. Nearby, the lighthouse rises from the ruins of the seventeenth-century Convent of San Francisco, and you can climb it for views over the rooftops and the river toward the distant skyline of Buenos Aires on a clear day. The reconstructed city gate and drawbridge, the Portón de Campo, mark the old walls; the Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento is among the oldest churches in Uruguay; and a handful of small museums, sold on a single ticket, cover the Portuguese and Spanish periods, tiles, and indigenous history. The real pleasure, though, is slowing down: Colonia is quiet, leafy and unhurried, with vintage cars parked under the plane trees, bougainvillea over the walls and restaurant terraces where you can linger over grilled fish, chivito sandwiches and Uruguayan Tannat wine.

Getting there: fast ferries cross from the Buquebus terminal near Puerto Madero in about an hour and a quarter, with several departures a day; slower, cheaper boats and bus-and-boat combinations also run. Arrive at the port at least an hour before departure, as you clear both Argentine and Uruguayan immigration there, so you need your passport even for a day trip. Fares vary widely by time and class and rise closer to the date, so book ahead for weekends and holidays. The linked Tiqets option is a full-day guided tour of about eleven hours from Buenos Aires including the round-trip ferry, ideal if you prefer to have the logistics handled; check exactly what is included, such as lunch and port transfers, when you book. Uruguay is on the same time as Buenos Aires.

Money and prices: Uruguay uses its own peso, but US dollars and cards are widely accepted in Colonia, and Argentine pesos less reliably. Uruguay has generally been more expensive than Argentina for visitors in recent years, so expect restaurant prices closer to European levels than to Buenos Aires. Most of the old town is free to explore; the lighthouse and the museums charge small fees.

A good day: take the first fast ferry, walk up to the old town in ten minutes, climb the lighthouse while it is quiet, wander the Calle de los Suspiros and the waterfront, and have a long lunch on a terrace. In the afternoon, rent a bike or a golf cart to explore the riverside beaches and the ruined bullring at Real de San Carlos, or simply sit by the water. If you can, stay for the sunset over the river, which is famous, and take an evening ferry back; or stay a night in one of the old town's small inns, which makes the evening, when the day-trippers have gone, even more magical.