Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
including the excellent
Museo de Arte
Contemporáneo Latinoamericano
(daily
9am-10pm; free).
Germanic, beer-brewing
Villa General
Belgrano
have historically served as
getaways for Argentina's elite. Northwest
of the capital in the
Punilla Valley
,
laidback towns such as
Capilla del Monte
are growing in popularity among
bohemian
porteños
looking for a clean,
green break from city life.
1
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
By bus
Buses for La Plata leave from Retiro bus station
every 30min (1hr 10min; AR$12 one-way).
Destinations
Mar del Plata (12 daily; 5hr); Puerto Madryn
(4 daily; 18hr).
By train
The train journey from Constitución station is
much slower than travelling by bus. Trains leave approxi-
mately every 30min (1hr 30min; AR$4).
Tourist information
There's a tourist o
ce inside the
Pasaje Dardo Rocha cultural centre (daily 9am-5.30pm;
T
0221 427 1535). Many of the best places to eat and
drink are just south of here, around the junction of
avenidas 10 & 47.
CÓRDOBA
Argentina's second-largest city,
unpretentious
CÓRDOBA
boasts some
beautifully restored colonial architecture,
plentiful restaurants and a legendary
nightlife best experienced when the
university students are around. It is
a good base for exploring the province,
though during the city's stiflingly hot
summers you'll soon be lured west to
the Sierras' cooler elevations.
EATING AND DRINKING
Cerveceria Modelo
Diagonal 54, 496
T
0221 421 1321.
Old-school classic restaurant and café housed in a
century-old building with legs of ham hanging from the
ceiling. Serves excellent draught beer; paella and home-
made
pan dulce
(sweet buns) are the house speciality.
Daily 8am-1am.
Vitaminas
Diagonal 74, 1640
T
0221 482 1106. Colour-
ful vegetarian café serving up healthy meals and snacks
including exotic salads and freshly squeezed juices. Mon-
Sat 8am-4pm & 8pm-midnight.
Plaza San Martín and around
Once the bloody stage for bullfights,
executions and military parades,
Plaza San Martín
was converted into
a civilized public square, replete with
fountains and semi-tropical foliage, in
the 1870s. Free tango events are hosted
here most Saturday nights at 10pm.
On the square's western side, the
two-storey, sixteenth-century
Cabildo
was
once the city's colonial headquarters and
has now been turned into the
Museo de la
Ciudad
(Mon 4-9pm, Tues-Sun 9am-1pm
& 4-9pm; free;
T
0351 428 5856). It also
hosts concerts, art exhibitions and, in the
summer, tango evenings.
Alongside the Cabildo is the
Catedral
,
one of the oldest in the country.
Construction began in 1577 but wasn't
completed for another two hundred
years, rendering the cathedral something
of an architectural mongrel, with a mix
of Neoclassical and Baroque styles and
a Romanesque dome thrown in for good
measure. Note the trumpeting angels in
indigenous dress gracing the bell towers.
Córdoba Province
CÓRDOBA PROVINCE
,
700km northwest
of Buenos Aires,
marks Argentina's
geographical bull's-eye. Serene towns dot
its undulating
Central Sierras
, the second
highest mountain range in Argentina
after the Andes, and the region is one
of the country's more affordable travel
destinations, except perhaps in high
season when many city-dwellers flock
to its cool heights. Córdoba Province is
a relaxed place for exploring the great
outdoors - via hikes, horserides or even
skydives
- or just hanging out sipping
mate
with the super-friendly locals.
Most of the action takes place in and
around
Córdoba city
, which has the
country's highest concentration of bars
and clubs outside Buenos Aires. South of
Córdoba city in the verdant
Calamuchita
Valley
, towns such as
Alta Gracia
and
Manzana Jesuítica
he seventeenth-century
Manzana
Jesuítica
(summer Tues-Sun 9am-1pm
& 5-8pm; winter Tues-Fri 9am-1pm &
4-8pm, Sat & Sun 9.30am-12.30pm &
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