Just a 2-hour boat ride from Buenos Aires across the Rio de la Plata, the pace slows right down at the old port town and UNESCO-protected Colonia del Sacramento. Thick with naval and colonial history, this is a quiet and very pretty riverside retreat after the bustle of Argentina’s capital city.

Because of its strategic position on the Rio de la Plata, Colonia has changed nationalities and hands an incredible number of times throughout its history. Swapped between the colonial forces of the Spanish, Portuguese and English, all of whose cultural influences have been exerted on the town’s architecture and style.

It’s easy to simply stroll around as the fortress walls more or less tell you whether you’ve strayed too far or not, or we can provide an expert guide to take you around whilst going into great detail about the town’s history. But overall Colonia is a wonderfully tranquil place to come for a day trip, with a good number of quaint bars and good restaurants secreted away into former colonial residences.