Montevideo, Uruguay  

Montevideo, the quiet capital of Uruguay, is making a name for itself in design, fashion, and food. The new Rotunda Estudio—a sleek three-story boutique, design studio, and workshop in residential Punta Carretas—sells capsule collections by emerging local talents alongside its flagship line of minimalist women’s wear. Nearby, Telma stocks sophisticated, loose-fitting dresses, shirts, and shoes, plus prints by illustrator Valeria Rienzi from Good Objects. The city’s gourmands are flocking to supper clubs like Mesabrava, where guest chefs prepare multicourse communal dinners in antiques auction houses and shuttered factories. One of the rising stars of the local culinary scene is Lucía Soria, whose casual spot Jacinto in the historic quarter is all about perfectly cooked market ingredients. And Uruguay’s famously high-quality meats are the focus at Plantado Restaurant, inside the gorgeously decorated Hyatt Centric Montevideo—which also happens to be the city’s best new place to stay. —Paola Singer