Argentina - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 50

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language. Sip a coffee in the famous
Café Tortoni , visit a dark and romantic
tango hall to watch the nation's famous
sultry dance, or simply walk the streets of
Recoleta and watch the heavily made-up
ladies in their fur coats walking tiny dogs
on Chanel leads. If you grow weary of the
people, noise and buses of the capital you
can head out of the city to the waterways
of the Paraná Delta, the quiet streets of
La Plata or San Antonio de Areco, home
of Argentina's gauchos.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
Jan 1 New Year's Day ( Año Nuevo )
Carnival (varies) Shrove Tuesday and the
day before (usually in February)
March 24 Day of Truth and Justice
April 2 Malvinas Remembrance Day
Easter (varies) Easter Friday is a public
holiday (Easter Thursday is optional)
May 1 Labour Day ( Día del Trabajo )
May 25 May Revolution Day
June 20 Flag Day ( Día de la Bandera )
July 9 Day of Independence ( Día de la
Independencia )
Aug 17 Remembrance of General San
Martín's death ( Día del Paso a la
Inmortalidad del General José de San
Martín )
Oct 12 Columbus Day ( Día de la Raza )
Nov 20 Day of National Sovereignty
(fourth Monday of November; Día de la
soberanía nacional )
Dec 8 Day of the Immaculate Virgin Mary
Dec 25 Christmas ( Navidad )
Note that for some holidays the exact
date may vary slightly from year to year.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
The city's museums and sights are well
distributed between the central areas of
Recoleta, Retiro, Palermo and San Telmo,
and the microcentro lies east of Avenida 9
de Julio between Retiro and San Telmo.
The historic barrio (neighbourhood) of
San Telmo is one of the most interesting
for visitors, on account of its atmospheric
streets, surviving (if often faded)
nineteenth-century architecture, and its
Sunday antiques market. The microcentro
has the greatest concentration of shops
and commerce, but Palermo Viejo should
also be on every visitor's itinerary for its
leafy streets lined with design and fashion
shops, and hip bars and restaurants.

more or less follow shop hours. In the
northeast, bank opening hours may be
more like 7am to noon, to avoid the hot,
steamy afternoons.
In addition to the national holidays
listed above, some local anniversaries or
saints' days are also public holidays when
everything in a given city may close down.
Festivals of all kinds, both religious and
profane, celebrating local patrons such as
Santa Catalina or the Virgin Mary, or
showing off produce such as handicrafts,
olives, goats or wine, are good excuses for
much pomp and partying.

Plaza de Mayo
he Plaza de Mayo has witnessed the best
and worst moments of Argentina's history
- host to founding presidents, devastating
military coups, the fanaticism of Evita,
the dark days of the “Dirty War”, and
desperate crowds after the economic
crisis. It has been bombed by its own
military, filled to the brink with patriots,
and left deserted, guarded by the federal
police, in times of uncertainty, and even
now it is still the spiritual home of the
Madres de la Plaza de Mayo . hese
women, whose grown-up children
“disappeared” during the Military
Dictatorship (1976-1983), marched in
the plaza every week for over thirty years
demanding information about their
children's whereabouts. The huge pink
building at the river end of the plaza
is the Casa Rosada (free tours Sat &
Sun 10am-6pm; T 011 4344 3804,
W museo.gov.ar), home to the offices of

Buenos Aires
With a huge variety of high-class
restaurants, hotels and boutiques, as well
as an eclectic mix of Neoclassical and
modern architecture, BUENOS AIRES is
deservedly known as the “Paris of South
America”. The influence of immigrants
from all over the world, Italian and
Spanish above all, can be seen in its
street names, restaurants, aesthetics and