Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tourist office
( 438333;
www.necochea.tur.ar
; cnr Avs 2 & 79; 8am-9pm Dec-Mar,
10am-4pm Apr-Nov)
On the beach; also at the
bus terminal
(Av 58, btw Calle 47 & Av 45;
mid-Dec-Mar)
.
Getting There & Away
The
bus terminal
(Av 58, btwn Calle 47 & Av 45)
is 3.5km from the beach; taxis to the center
cost AR$25 to AR$30, or take local bus 513 (AR$3), marked 'playa'. Destinations in-
clude Buenos Aires (AR$312, seven hours), Mar del Plata (AR$64, 2¼ hours), Tandil
(AR$69, three hours) and Bahía Blanca (AR$175, five hours).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Bahía Blanca
0291 / POP 291,000
Grandiose buildings, an attractive plaza and boulevards lined with shade trees lend oft-
overlooked Bahía Blanca the feel of a cosmopolitan city in miniature. Its chief advantage
is as a resting point during overland trips from Buenos Aires to Patagonia, but it's not en-
tirely without interest.
The hordes of sailors who dock here, at what is now South America's largest naval
base, attest to Bahía Blanca's militaristic beginnings. In an early effort to establish milit-
ary control on the periphery of the pampas, Colonel Ramón Estomba situated the pom-
pously named Fortaleza Protectora Argentina at the natural harbor of Bahía Blanca in
1828.
Sights
Downtown attractions worth a look are the city's neoclassical performing arts center,
Teatro Municipal
(Alsina 425)
, and the
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo
(
459-4006;
Sarmiento 450;
9am-8pm Tue-Fri, 4-8pm Sat & Sun)
, showcasing local and national
artists.
On weekends an afternoon
artisans market
takes over Plaza Rivadavia, opposite the
Municipalidad.
Museo del Puerto
MUSEUM
( 457-3006;
www.museodelpuerto.blogspot.com
;
cnr Guillermo Torres & Cárrega; voluntary
donation requested;
9am-noon Mon-Fri, 4-8pm Sat & Sun)
In the Ingeniero White neighbor-
