Piriapolis

Francisco Piria bought this stretch of coast in 1890 and set about building a resort on it more or less single-handed: he laid out the streets, planted the hills, built a castle for himself and then the Argentino Hotel, which opened in 1930 as one of the largest in South America. The town still has that planned feel, a long rambla under the hills with the hotel dominating it, and a chairlift and funicular climbing Cerro San Antonio behind.

Background

The resort was founded on 5 November 1890 under the name El Balneario del Porvenir, meaning Resort of the Future, and it predates the larger Punta del Este. Piria's land reached from Cerro Pan de Azúcar, Cerro del Toro and Cerro San Antonio down to the beach. His castle was finished in 1897, the Hotel Piriápolis followed in 1905 and now serves as the Colonia Escolar de Vacaciones, and the Rambla de los Argentinos, started in 1910, was completed in 1916. The settlement became a village in 1937 and a city in 1960. In 2011 it had 8,830 permanent residents and 8,489 dwellings. Cerro Pan de Azúcar, the third-highest point in Uruguay, rises 10 km outside town.

Source: Wikipedia, "Piriápolis"

What you'll find

• The Argentino Hotel - a vast 1930 hotel on the seafront, still working.
• Piria's castle - the founder's own house on the hillside above the town.
• Cerro San Antonio - the hill behind, climbed by chairlift for the view.
• The rambla - the long seafront promenade under the hills.

When to go

December to March is the season. Outside summer the town is quiet but not closed, unlike the Rocha villages. Winter storms hit the rambla hard.

What to expect

The Argentino Hotel is grand from outside and dated within. The beach is narrow and gets crowded in January. The chairlift is old and closes in wind.

Nearby

Cerro Pan de Azucar is north, and Casapueblo is east.

Key facts