With its 500kms of beaches, its luxuriant countryside and its historical treasures, Uruguay is the little known jewel of South America. This small country offers a digest of European culture as seen in the architecture of its capital, Montevideo, while paying tribute to its African heritage through the longest carnival in the world. Both European and Latino, rustic and glamourous with its sophisticated beach resorts, Uruguay beguiles the visitor with its emphasis on simplicity, sobriety and, above all, its worship of the good life.