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CabildoCity/Region: Buenos Aires
Opposite the Casa Rosada on the Plaza de Mayo is the resplendent former Spanish town hall, the Cabildo, a fascinating old colonial building fronted by arches that once encircled the plaza, back during the May Revolution in 1810. The guards outside the building are members of the revered Regimiento de Patricios, which was formed in 1806, and the changing of the guard every hour is a popular attraction. They still wear their traditional uniforms, designed nearly 200 years ago. The interior houses
a small museum, which displays some interesting architectural relics, religious icons as well as watercolor paintings by Enrique Pellegrini.
Address: Calle Bolívar 65
Phone Number: (011) 4334 1782
Transport: Metro to Plaza de Mayo, Catedral or Bolívar
Hours: Tuesday to Friday 12.30am to 7pm, Sunday 2pm to 6pm
Admission: $1
Casa RosadaCity/Region: Buenos Aires
One of the world's most famous balconies juts out of Argentina's Presidential Palace, known as the Casa Rosada. The pink building has been the scene of many a political rally, particularly during the regime of the notorious and tragic Juan and Eva Peron. The Italian style building, fronted with palm trees and fountains, was painted pink when it was converted from a Customs and Post Office building into the presidential palace. President Sarmiento decided to appease opposing political parties by merging red and white into a pink color scheme for the palace. Today the building houses a small basement museum displaying some presidential artifacts. Each evening a small platoon of mounted grenadiers emerge from the guardhouse to lower the flag on the Plaza, adding a touch of pomp and ceremony to the pretty building.
Address: Hipólito Yrigoyen 219, Plaza de Mayo
Phone Number: (0)11 4344 3802
Transport: Metro to Plaza de Mayo
Hours: Museum: Monday to Friday 10am to 6pm, Sundays 2pm to 6pm. Guided tours are available
Admission: Free
Catedral MetropolitanaCity/Region: Buenos Aires
Other important buildings around the Plaza de Mayo include the Neoclassical Catedral Metropolitana, which houses the tomb of General José de San Martin, the revered hero who liberated Argentina from the Spanish. The cathedral was periodically rebuilt and renovated since the foundation stone was laid in the 16th century. The current structure was finally completed in the mid-19th century. The interior has recently been renovated and the gilded columns, Venetian mosaic floors, and silver-plated altar are in pristine condition.
Address: San Martín and Rivadavia streets, Plaza de Mayo
Phone Number: (0)11 4331 2845
Transport: Metro to Bolívar, Catedral, or Plaza de Mayo
Admission: Free
La Recoleta CemeteryCity/Region: Buenos Aires
An unlikely tourist attraction, La Recoleta Cemetery is well worth visiting to see its magnificent display of monuments and the ostentatious tombs of Argentina's rich and famous. One of the more modest, but by far the most celebrated, is the grave of Eva Peron. Every day thousands of visitors come to leave flowers at the door of the Duarte family mausoleum, where she is buried. Forty years on, Evita remains both the most revered and reviled figure in Argentina. Love her or loathe her, her spirit lives on in La Recoleta.
Address: Calle Junín, Plaza Francesa
Hours: Open daily. Guided tours are available
Admission: Free
Plaza DorregoCity/Region: Buenos Aires
Plaza Dorrego lies in San Telmo, the bohemian artists' quarter and the birthplace of tango. The tiny square is surrounded by elegant houses, now mostly converted into antique shops and bars whose tables overflow onto the street. On Sundays the plaza is the setting for the ancient antique market, the Feria de San Pedro Telmo. Though you are unlikely to discover any bargains you may find an interesting souvenir or two. The stallholders pack up their wares at 5pm and the square becomes the setting for informal tango dances. This is as popular with the locals as tourists and even the inexperienced may be tempted to try it out. There are numerous museums nearby the plaza worth visiting, including the Museo Histórico Nacional and the Museo de Arte Moderno.
Teatro ColónCity/Region: Buenos Aires
The Teatro Colón opened in 1908 is the second largest performing arts theater in the southern hemisphere, second only to the Sydney Opera House in Australia. It was designed by Italian architect Francisco Tamburri and is an Italian Renaissance-style building with a seating capacity of 2,500 (although more people have been squeezed in at a time). It has hosted many international performers including Nijinsky, Pavlov, Pavarotti and Domingo. Guided tours take visitors to the theater's workshops, rehearsal rooms and auditorium and stage.
Address: Cerrito 618
Phone Number: Guided tours: (0)11 4378 7132/3, ticket office: (0)11 4378 7344
Website: www.teatrocolon.org.ar
Transport: Metro to Carlos Pellegrini station
Hours: The theater is currently closed for renovations until May 2008
La BocaCity/Region: Buenos Aires
La Boca ('the mouth') is the most colorful neighborhood or barrio in Buenos Aires, original home of football legend Diego Maradonna and the tango. An assortment of brightly painted low houses made of wood and metal line the streets, including the famed main street Caminito, in this poor but happy area full of artisans, painters, street performers, cantinas and open-air tango shows. The neighborhood was originally settled by Italian immigrants, most of whom came to work in the docks. Today it is frequented by crowds of tourists who come to soak up the atmosphere.
Mar del PlataCity/Region: Buenos Aires
Two hundred and thirty miles (400km) south of Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata is by far Argentina's most popular beach resort. Around three million local tourists holiday here every summer, drawn to its busy beaches and lively entertainment. Visitors can alternate between spending idle days people-watching on the beach or enjoying a spot of culture at one of the city's small galleries. There is also the bustling port to visit with its numerous and colorful traditional fishing boats and noisy colony of sea lions. For a taste of the good life, the Mar del Plata has some excellent bars and restaurants and, at the height of the summer, a non-stop nightlife. Some visitors prefer to travel outside the peak Christmas season when there are shorter queues for restaurants and the like. Even in winter the city doesn't close down, as there are half a million permanent residents.
Iguazú National ParkCity/Region: The North
The Iguazú National Park is a huge subtropical rainforest covering 135,000 acres and is home to thousands of different species of flora and birds, including parrots and hummingbirds. It is most famous for the Iguazú Falls, declared a National Heritage Site by UNESCO. The deep flowing waters of the river tumble down 275 falls, the most famous of which is Devil's Throat. On the border with Brazil, it drops 230ft (70m), almost twice the height of Niagara Falls. As well as enjoying the stunning views from the series of platforms, visitors can enjoy kayaking and other watersports on the river. The Iguazú Falls were one of the locations used for the film The Mission and, appropriately, Jesuit Mission ruins remain nearby.
Website: www.iguazuargentina.com
Hours: Daily 7.30am to 6.30pm (1 October to 31 March); 8am to 6pm (1 April to 30 September)
Admission: $30 (adults); $15 (children 6-12 years); other concessions available
CórdobaCity/Region: The North
Founded in 1573, Córdoba is Argentina's second largest city and although there has been massive development in recent years, much of the old colonial vestiges remain. A fine collection of churches and colonial buildings survive from this period including the 17th century Town Hall (El Cabildo), the Romanesque Iglesia Cathedral and the Jesuit Iglesia de la Compañía, the oldest surviving church in Argentina, dating from 1622. The Museo Histórico Provincial Marqués de Sobremonte is one of the most important historical museums in the country. The Jesuit influence is clear within the scenic mountain interior, which is scattered with colonial churches, hermitages and interesting towns. Many are well prepared for tourists, with hotels, restaurants and festivals keeping alive the Jesuit and gaucho traditions.
MendozaCity/Region: The North
The Mendoza Province rests at the foot of the Andes and is Argentina's main wine-producing region, peppered here and there with wine farms offering tours and tastings. The city of Mendoza, a low-rise city since 1861 when it was almost destroyed by an earthquake, is characterized by wide, leafy boulevards and a massive network of canals. Well worth seeing is the Enoteca Giol wine museum and if one is visiting in late February, one must not miss the Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia, an annual grape-harvest festival accompanied by concerts and local celebrations. Near the border with Chile lies Mount Aconcagua. At 23,000 feet (6,900m) it is the highest mountain in the Western hemisphere.
The PampasCity/Region: The North
The vast flat plains of the Pampas are Argentina's agricultural heartland and the home of the gaucho (cowboy). Lying southwest of Buenos Aires is the location of Argentina's famous beef and grain industry, the source of the country's wealth. The area is festooned with small agricultural towns, which are home to the majority of Argentina's population, but hold little to interest the tourist. There are however excursions available to different ranches during which one can enjoy a day's horseriding and feasting on 'asado'.
PatagoniaCity/Region: The South
Adventurous travelers are drawn to the savage beauty and rich wildlife of Patagonia. This region of contrasts and extremes runs from the river Colorado, south of Buenos Aires, across to the southern tip of South America. Many people go between July and April to visit the famous wildlife reserve of Península Valdés, where right whales, sea elephants and other rare marine mammals come to breed in their thousands. However those going further south should visit only in the summer months if they wish to avoid temperatures that plummet to -13°F (-25°C). In villages along the valley of the Río Chubut you can explore the cultural legacy of the Welsh pioneers and nearby at Punta Tombo you can see the continent's largest penguin colony. Keen fly-fishermen come from around the world to test their skills in the region's rivers, the best known of which is the Río Gallegos. On the western fringe, along the Andes, you will find the most impressive of Patagonia's great lakes and national parks. The Parque Nacional Perito Moreno, with the aquamarine gem of Lago Belgrano, has excellent trekking possibilities as does the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. Here visitors will find one of the world's natural wonders, the vast Perito Moreno glacier, a great river of ice that breaks off into Lake Argentino.
Tierra del FuegoCity/Region: The South
This island territory at the tip of South America is shared by Chile and Argentina and is a place of staggering scenery. Though further south the region does not reach the extreme temperatures of neighboring Patagonia, but it is still not for the faint-hearted. The principal tourist destination is Ushuaia, in the south, the base for visiting the dramatic Canal Beagle, trekking in the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego and the mountain ranges of southern Tierra del Fuego (with its magnificent scenery of lakes, snow-capped mountains and beechwood forests). There is less reason to visit the north of the island unless you are a keen fly-fishermen heading to the Río Grande, the world's best brown-trout river.
Website: www.tierradelfuego.org.ar
Perito Moreno GlacierCity/Region: The South
Situated in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Los Glaciares National Park, the breathtaking Perito Moreno Glacier is nearly 19 miles (30km) in length and spreads over an area of 97 square miles (250 sq km). The spectacular, blue-white ice formation is one of the only glaciers in the world that is advancing, at a rate of seven feet (2m) per day. Visitors can marvel at the site of enormous chunks of ice breaking off into the water with a deafening crash, creating icebergs and causing large waves. The glacier is also world renowned for its unique rupturing process; at certain periods the glacier's front reaches the coastal border of the lake, blocking off the flow of water from the Andes and causing its waters to rise by about 66 feet (20m). When the pressure is too much, the dam of ice cracks and shatters, sending icebergs downstream. The closest town to this natural wonder is El Calafate in Argentina's Santa Cruz Province.
Address: Los Glaciares National Park
Phone Number: Los Glaciares National Park Administrative Center: (0)2902 491 005
Email Address: parquenacional@losglaciares.com
Website: www.losglaciares.com
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