Teatro Colon - found
at the intersection of Cirrito and Tucuman, this theatre
is a world-class opera house that opened in 1908 with
a presentation of Aida. It seats 2500 spectators and
offers standing room for another 1000. There is also
a museum featuring instruments, costumes and photographs
of performers.
Open from Monday to Friday,
noon to 6pm. Dress is formal
Museo de Arte Moderno - Open daily except Monday from
noon to 8pm, the museum is found in the Centro Cultural
San Martin at Avenida Corrientes 1530 on the 9th floor.
With works by Picasso and Dali, among others.
Museo Historico Nacional - This museum
offers a historical account of Argentina from the
time of its independence until the present day. It’s
open on Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Sun from 2pm to 6pm.
La Boca - Buenos Aires’ most colourful neighbourhood.
It’s a great place to go for excellent Italian
cuisine and has become an artsy suburb.
San Telmo - Just a few blocks south
of Plaza de Mayo lies the artist’s quarter,
what some believe to be
Buenos Aires’ most interesting feature.
Avenida Sante Fe - The most fashionable
shopping area in Buenos Aires.
Recoleta - Northwest of downtown, this is another
very fashionable area. Visit the fine arts museum,
called Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, and the city’s
gardens of Plaza Alvear and
Plaza Francia. The latter hosts the largest crafts
fair in the city every Sunday
Tango - Go to the neighbourhoods of either San Telmo
or Boca to try your hand at this national dance.
Theatre - the Teatro General San Martin at Avenida
Corrientes 1530 offers excellent, and often free,
performances.
Córdoba
Argentina's second city, Córdoba long rivaled
Buenos Aires for political, economic and cultural
supremacy; indeed, while Buenos Aires languished through
neglect in the 17th century, Cordoba was the country's
architectural treasure house. Today, a fine collection
of colonial buildings is concentrated in its compact
centre. They include the old market, the Iglesia Catedral
(featuring a Romanesque dome) and the Jesuit Iglesia
de la Compañía. The Museo Histórico
Provincial Marqués de Sobremonte is one of
the most important historical museums in the country.
Iguazú Falls
Situated in the Parque Nacional Iguazú near
Puerto Iguazú, these spectacular falls lie
just east of the confluence of the Iguazú and
Paraná rivers. At least 5000 cubic m (176,570
cubic ft) of water per second plunge the 70m (230ft)
into the abyss below. If they look familiar, it's
because they were the supporting actors in the film
The Mission; appropriately, the area has historic
ruins of Jesuit missions which also draw many visitors.
San Ignacio Miní, built in a style of architecture
known as 'Guaraní baroque', is especially popular.
The surrounding park is home to 55,000ha (135,850ac)
of pristine subtropical rainforest, with abundant
wildlife and plant species.
Mar del Plata
Summer means the beach to the inhabitants of Greater
Buenos Aires, and Mar del Plata is most often the
beach they have in mind. Situated 400km (228mi) from
the capital on the northern Atlantic coast, beaches
in this area sprawl for 8km (5mi). Sophisticated mansions
from the area's heyday as an upper-class resort mingle
with the newer, more modest resorts catering to middle-class
porteños. Sea lions keep an eye on the fishing
activities around the wharves, and a replica of the
grotto of Lourdes is a kitsch paradise.
Pampas
The unrelentingly flat Pampas is Argentina's agricultural
heartland and home of that symbol of romantic nationalism,
the gaucho. Comprising the provinces of Buenos Aires,
La Pampa and major parts of Santa Fe and Córdoba,
its varied environments include forested hills, extensive
grasslands and flamingo-flecked salt lakes. The Parque
National Lihué Calel is a popular detour, with
wildlife including puma, guanaco, rhea, native hares
and a variety of wild chinchilla called a vizcacha.
The cities of La Plata, Luján (whose basilica
to La Virgen de Luján receives 4 million pilgrims
a year), Rosario and Santa Fe are worth seeing for
their many museums, churches and faded colonial buildings.
Andean Northwest
Home to abundant natural attractions and atmospheric
relics from the pre-Columbian and colonial past, this
is the more 'traditional' part of Argentina. It includes
the provinces of Jujuy (with numerous wildlife reserves),
Salta (with the best preserved colonial city in the
country, hundreds of archaeological sites, subtropical
forests and polychrome desert canyons), Tucumán,
La Rioja, Catamarca and Santiago del Estero.
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