Argentina - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 65

A robust tourist industry has grown
around the gaucho tradition: silver and
leather handicraft workers peddle their
wares in the town's shops, historic
estancias (ranches) accommodate visitors
in the surrounding countryside and an
annual gaucho festival draws massive
crowds every November. While bicycles
rule the streets here, you'll also spot
beret-clad estancia workers on horseback,
trotting about the cobblestones.

life of author Ricardo Güiraldes, whose
classic novel, Don Segundo Sombra (1926)
- set in San Antonio de Areco - served to
elevate the mate -sucking, horse-breaking,
cow-herding gaucho from rebellious
outlaw to respected and romantic
national icon. Demonstrations of gaucho
feats are held every year in the Parque
Criollo during November's week-long
Fiesta de la Tradición celebrations.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
By bus The bus station ( T 02326 453 904) is at General
Paz & Av Dr Smith, a six-block walk from the town centre
along C Segundo Sombra. There are buses to and from
Buenos Aires (every 1-2hr; 2hr) and Rosario (6 daily; 4hr).
Tourist information The tourist o ce, which loans
bicycles, is a short walk from the main square towards the
river at the corner of Arellano & Zerboni (Mon-Fri 8am-7pm;
Sat & Sun till 8pm; T 02326 453 165, W visiteareco.com).

1

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
The leafy town centre is laid out in
a grid fashion around the main square,
Plaza Ruiz de Arellano , and is full of
genteel, slightly decaying, single-storey
nineteenth-century buildings, many of
them painted a blushing shade of pink.
On the south side of the square is the
plain white Iglesia Parroquial San Antonio
de Padua , the town's first chapel, dating
from 1728. A sculpture of San Antonio
graces the exterior. One block north,
in a refurbished former power plant at
Alsina 66, is the Centro Cultural Usina
Vieja (Tues-Sun 11am-5pm; AR$5),
home to the Museo de la Ciudad ,
with nineteenth-century objects and
temporary art exhibitions that depict life
in rural Argentina.
Just north of town, across the Río
Areco, lies Parque Criollo , home to the
Museo Gauchesco Ricardo Güiraldes
(Wed-Mon 11am-5pm; guided visits Sat
& Sun 12.30pm & 3.30pm; AR$12). Set
in a replica nineteenth-century estancia ,
the museum has a collection of gaucho
art and artefacts and pays homage to the

ACCOMMODATION
While San Antonio de Areco can easily be visited on a
day-trip from Buenos Aires, you might well be charmed
into staying the night. Book ahead at weekends (the town
is a popular destination for porteños ) and well in advance
for the Fiesta de la Tradición in November, or contact the
tourist o ce, which can arrange homestays with families.
Club River T 02326 453 590. This campsite is 1km west of
town a long Zerboni. The price is for two people. Camping
AR$80
Hostal de Areco Zapiola 25 T 02326 456 118, W hostal
deareco.com.ar. Centrally located in a pink colonial build-
ing, this B&B has a nice sunny garden an d offers decent
doubles with private bathrooms. AR$340
Hostel Gaucho Zerboni 308 T 02326 453 625, W hostel
gaucho.com.ar. Decent, centrally located option with
friendly staff and fr ee acce ss to the a ll-import ant barbecue
equipment. Dorms AR$65 , doubles AR$310

ESTANCIAS
Reflecting Argentina's changing economic climate, many of the country's estancias - vast
cattle and horse estates once lorded over by wealthy European settlers - are staying afloat
by moving into the tourism market and converting into luxury accommodation. For anyone
with latent aristocratic or cowboy aspirations, estancias offer the chance to milk cows, ride
horses, go fly-fishing, play polo or simply tuck into a juicy slab of steak plucked straight off
the asado while swanning poolside with a glass of Malbec.
Running the gamut from simple family farmhouses to Pampas dude ranches and
ostentatious Italianate mansions, estancias are a character-filled throwback to the Argentina
of yesteryear. For a list of estancias offering accommodation in and around San Antonio de
Areco, see W visiteareco.com or W sanantoniodeareco.com. For more information on
estancias in other parts of Argentina, visit W estanciasargentinas.com, W estanciastravel.com,
W estanciasenargentina.com or W ranchweb.com.