Pinamar

Top local-brand boutiques compete for space with family-run shops along the otherwise unattractive main street, Avenida Bunge, which is usually packed with browsing teens during peak season. Pretty redbrick summerhouses with well-kept lawns line the sandy, unpaved streets that make up the rest of the town; many follow curving lines inspired by the shapes of sea animals.

The beach has pale sands, though to get a view of the dunes Pinamar was once famous for you need to go much farther north or south of the main drag. Some of the best sands in the area are in Ostende, a small town that is officially 5 km (3 mi) south of Pinamar, but effectively one of its suburbs—the half-hour walk along the beach from Pinamar is a pleasant way to reach it.