Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE San Antonio de Areco can be reached by car from Buenos Aires by
driving nor th along R uta 8. The driv e takes about 1 1 / 2 hours. M ost people come b y
bus, however. Chevallier offers hourly bus service from Buenos Aires's Retiro Bus depot
( & 2326/453-904 in San Antonio, 11/4000-5255 in B uenos Aires, or 0800/222-6565
toll-free).
VISITOR INFORMATION The Dirección de Turismo de S an Antonio de Ar eco
tourism information center ( & 2326/453-165; www.pagosdeareco.com.ar) is in Parque
San Martín along the Río Ar eco water front, near the intersection of A venida Zerboni
with Calle Zapiola and Calle Arellano. It is open 7 days a w eek from 8am to 7pm. The
website www.sanantoniodeareco.com also provides more tourism information.
GETTING AROUND Within San Antonio itself , your feet can take y ou most of the
places you need to go. Even the most distant actual attraction, the Museo of the Gaucho,
is only a 15-minute walk from the center of town. Because many people use the town as
a base for exploring other parts of the Pampas, such as the numerous estancias, remises are
a must. Contact the 24-hour Remis Zerboni, Zerboni 313, near Alsina ( & 2326/453-
288 ). The town is also great for bike riding; most hotels pr ovide free bicycle loans.
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WHAT TO SEE & DO
The center of San Antonio de Areco is the leafy Plaza Arellano, surrounded by cobble-
stone streets and o verseen by a statue of J uan Hipólito Vieytes, a local inv olved in the
Argentine war for independence fr om Spain. His memorial sits in an acoustic cir cle, so
talking here is fun, especially if y ou bring kids. The statue faces south to M itre Street,
staring at the chur ch fr om which the to wn draws its name, San Antonio de P adua,
rebuilt in the late 1800s over the original 1730 colonial version. Colonial on the outside,
the interior mix es G othic and neoclassical styles with fr escoes of angels and saints in
niches on the walls, all overseen by a coffered ceiling. On the plaza's north side is the Belle
Epoque Municipal Hall, a long pink building at Lav alle 363 with an attractiv e central
courtyard. Nearby is the Draghi Museum and Shop, Lavalle 387, betw een Alsina and
Arellano ( & 2326/454-219; daily appr oximately 10am-5pm, though technically b y
appointment only). Opened by the late Juan Jose Draghi, a master silversmith who began
his career more than 45 y ears ago making ornamental items for gauchos, it is no w run
by his son M ariano. The museum is itself a wor k of ar t, with its ex quisite stained-glass
ceiling. The museum also has its o wn hotel (p. 184). A few blocks away, you can watch
other silversmiths at wor k in the small Artesano Platero, Alsina at Z erboni, facing the
Parque San Martín ( & 2326/454-843 or 2325/15-656-995 [cell]; www .arecoplateria.
com.ar; daily 9:30am-12:30pm and 3-9pm).
From here, head to Parque San Martín, on the south side of the Río Areco. It's lined
with trees and monuments, and full of vine-covered walkways called glorietas. It's a place
where families picnic and kids play soccer or climb over the small dam constructed in the
river. Two bridges cr oss the par k here, but the most pictur esque is the Puente Viejo,
originally constr ucted in the 1850s as a toll cr ossing. The other end of the riv er has
Parque Criollo, and her e sits the city 's most famous site, the Museum of the G aucho
(aka Museo Ricar do G üiraldes, in honor of the author of Don S egundo Sombr a ),
Camino Ricar do G üiraldes, at S osa ( & 2326/455-839; www.museoguiraldes.com.ar;
Wed-Mon 10am-4:30pm). Written in 1926, the novel immortalized the noble gaucho,
making him an honored part of Argentine history. The museum combines an authentic
1830 pulpería, or countr y general stor e, wher e gauchos gather ed, with a museum
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