Along the Interbalnearia
The day begins with an early departure from Punta del Este, a quick fuel stop at ANCAP, and then west on the Ruta Interbalnearia, the old coastal highway that threads the balneários of the Costa de Oro. The road passes through the Peaje Solís toll in under an hour, then continues west through a string of low-key resort towns before reaching Atlântida. Turn north off the highway onto Route 11 and drive about four kilometres inland to the suburb of Estación Atlântida, where the Parroquia do Cristo Obrero sits beside the road looking, from the outside, almost like a low agricultural shed. That impression lasts about three seconds. The church was built between 1958 and 1960 by Uruguayan engineer and architect Eladio Dieste, entirely in brick — walls, floors, roof — but shaped into a double-curved shell that spans 16 by 33 metres without a single interior column, the undulating side walls rising and falling in slow arcs that seem, depending on the angle, to breathe. Dieste later said the church was his "faculty of architecture" — the project that changed the course of his career. UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site in 2021. It is an active parish church, not a museum, so hours can be irregular; worth a quick check before leaving Punta del Este in the morning. Allow 30 minutes.
Continuing west through the Peaje Pando toll, the Interbalnearia becomes increasingly suburban as it feeds into the outskirts of Montevideo. The drive from Atlântida to the city centre takes a little over an hour.