Page 8 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Argentina

6  HOW T O USE THIS GUIDE
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

This guide helps you to get the most from important sights with maps, pictures
your visit to Argentina. Introducing Argentina and illustrations. Expert suggestions on
maps the whole country and sets it in its restaurants, accommodation, shopping
historical and cultural context. It contains and entertainment are in Travelers’ Needs.
features on topics including music, dance, The Survival Guide has tips on everything
sports and wildlife. Each of the six regional from how to get around the country to
chapters, plus Buenos Aires, describe personal safety.

Buenos Aires BUENOS AIRES AREA B Y AREA  83
SAN TELMO AND LA BOCA Sights at a Glance lists the
The centre of Buenos Aires has The first European to arrive in what is now Argentinians choose to live in the smarter chapter’s sights by category:
northern barrios of Recoleta, Palermo, and
Buenos Aires, Pedro de Mendoza, made
landfall in San Telmo in 1536, and between
Belgrano. Although they may claim that their
been divided into five sightseeing the 16th and mid-19th centuries this was souls lie in the southern barrios, porteños Historic Streets and Buildings,
the main residential district for colonial
tend to avoid the run-down La Boca; visitors
should exercise caution in these localities.
officials and their staff. La Boca, farther
The area is most famous for its color ful zinc
south, rose to prominence in the 19th
areas. Each area has its own century, when Genoese settlers began to shacks and its soccer team, Boca Juniors. Museums and Galleries, Parks
build their homes along the dockside.
Both San Telmo and La Boca lay claim to
Now, the great majority of middle-class
being the cradle of tango in the 1880s.
chapter which opens with a list Sights at a Glance Museums and Gardens etc.
Historical Sites, Streets,
and Plazas
4 Museo de Arte Moderno
of the sights described. All the 1 Plaza Dorrego 5 Museo del Cine Pablo Ducrós
Hicken
2 El Zanjón and Casa Mínima
3 Canto al Trabajo
e Museo de Bellas Artes de La
Boca Benito Quinquela Martín
7 Parque Lezama
sights are numbered and plotted 8 Museo Histórico Nacional r Fundación Proa Area Map
9 El Galpón de Catalinas
0 Museo Histórico de Cera
C A L L E CH I LE
q Puente Transbordador Nicolás
Avellaneda
on an Area Map. Information on w La Vuelta de Rocha CALLE ESTADOS UNIDOS C DEFENSA ND E NC IA
AVE NI DA IN D EP E
t La Bombonera
y El Caminito
C CHACABUCO A L L E C A R LO S C A L V O
C C A L L E A Z O P A R D O AV E ING H U ER G O AVE ALICIA MOREAU DE JUSTO 1All the major sights are
Places of Worship
each sight is easy to locate within 6 Iglesia Ortodoxa Rusa P I E D R A S A V E S A N J U A N C A L L E P E R Ú C A L L E H U M B E R T O 1 º AVE PASEO COLÓN numbered on a map.
C
C A L L E A Z O PA R D O
the chapter as it follows the C A L L E CALLE CHACABUCO C O C H A B A M B A PARQUE C BALCARCE A V E N I D A B R A S I L AUTOPISTA 25 DE They are also shown on
AVEN I D
CA L L E DE FE N S A
LEZAMA
numerical order on the map. AV E CA CALLE PERÚ SE R O S C A L L E B O L Í V A R A JU A N DE G AR AY AVENIDA ALMIRAN CALLE GUALEGUAY MAYO the Buenos Aires Street
CALLE D’ESPÓSITO
CALLE VICTORIA
AVE M GARCÍA
CALLE JUAN M BLANES
CALLE CNEL T ESPORA CALLE IRALA CALLE ESPINOSA TE BROWN CA LLE AR IS T ÓB U LO DEL VA LL E C A L L E P I N Z Ó N
AVE P GALDÓS
C PI Y MARGALL C A LL E NE CO C H E A
C A L L E P I E D R A S
See also Street Finder map 1 C BRIANO 20 DE SEP C A L L E E S T É V E Z Finder (see pp130–5).
C A L L E W V I L L A FA Ñ E
A locator map shows where CALLE DEL VALLE IBERLUCEA C A L L E P A L O S CALLE MARTÍN RODRÍGUEZ AV E A LM IR A NT E BRO W N CALLE C A FFE R A TA C ALL E NE C O C HEA CALLE BRANDSEN AVE PEDRO DE MENDOZA
C CABOTO
C OLAVARRÍA
C BR IN
you are in relation to other 0 meters 700 700 CALLE IRALA Estación La Boca A V E S U Á R E Z C LAMADRID
0 yards
AVE DON PEDRO DE MENDOZA
areas of the city centre. C A L L E M A G A L L A N E S La Vuelta de
Rocha
CALLE CAR
C A L L E S A L V A D O R E S
ROCHA C GARIBALDI
CALLE LOS F MELO
100  BUENOS AIRES AREA B Y AREA REC OLE T A  101
Tango dancers on colorful El Caminito, La Boca For keys to map symbols see back flap
Street-by-Street: Recoleta 8 Biblioteca Nacional
Designed by three prominent local
Recoleta stretches from downtown Buenos Aires to Calle architects, the Biblioteca Nacional
took almost 30 years to complete.
Austria, but its heart is to be found in the cluster of leafy When it finally opened in 1992, it
plazas and public buildings that surround the barrio’s was hailed as a Brutalist master-
famous cemetery. The area has grand apartment buildings stand at this spot.
piece. The Peróns’ house used to
built in the early 1900s and boasts Café La Biela, one of the
smartest and most famous confiterías in town. Also located
here is the natio nal fine arts museum, a lively cultural Locator Map
center, five-star hotels, and a beautiful old church. The
capital’s early 20th-century Francophile aspirations are
All pages relating to Buenos evident in the barrio’s architecture and in the name of the 3 . Cementerio de la Recoleta
best-known green space in the area – Plaza Francia.
Aires have the same colored This labyrinthine necropolis is the G U I D O
resting place of many presi dents,
mili tary heroes, and well-known
patrician families.
thumb tabs. N E W T O N A G Ü E R O
V I N C E N T E L Ó P E Z A Z C U E N A G A
Street-by-Street Map Plaza Francia
Surrounded by a French-style
residential area, this dra matic
monu ment to Liberty was
2This gives a bird’s-eye view of the 1 Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar J U N I N L E V E N E presented to the nation by
France in 1910.
Consecrated in 1732, this Spanish-style church
houses a superlative Baroque altar featuring a
heart of each sightseeing area. wrought-silver frontal. A V E P U E Y R R E D Ó N
2 Centro Cultural
Recoleta
This sprawling complex,
also known as Centro
Cultural de Buenos
Aires, is dedicated to Café A V E D E L L I B E R T A D O R
promoting contem- La Biela
porary Argentinian A V E F I G U E R O A A L C O R T A
music, theater, and film. A L V E A R 7 . Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
Formerly a water-pumping station, this Neo-Classical
Alvear building houses Argentina’s most important collec tion of
art. As well as a strong perma nent dis play, there are many
A suggested route for a walk covers the Palace Hotel P O S A D A S temporary exhibitions.
most interesting streets in the area. 0 meters 100
0 yards 100
Plaza Intendente Alvear
6 Palais de Glace Named for the mayor who gave
Opened by the aristocrat Baron de Marchi in Key the capital a major overhaul a
the 1920s, the one-time ice rink and ballroom Suggested route cen tury ago, this sloped plaza is
is now an excellent arts-focused exhibition now the site of one of the most
center. Legend has it that tango star Carlos popu lar weekend arts and
Gardel was shot here by a jealous rival. handicraft markets.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p279 and pp289–90
74  BUENOS AIRES AREA B Y AREA PLAZA DE M A Y O AND MICROCENTRO  75
Stars indicate sights that
q Café Tortoni r Plaza del
Ave de Mayo 825. City Map 3 D5. Congreso
Tel (011) 4342-4328.  Piedras. Hipólito Yrigoyen. City Map 2 C5. no visitor should miss.
Open 8:30am−10:30pm daily.  Congreso. Palacio del Congreso:
Closed 25 Dec & 1 Jan. Academia Tel (011) 4010-3000 (ext. 3885).
Nacional del Tango: Ave de Mayo Open for guided tours only, in
833. Tel (011) 4345-6967. English 11am & 5pm Mon–Fri.
Open 2:30–7:30pm Mon–Fri. ∑ congreso.gov.ar
∑ cafetortoni.com.ar
Argentina’s government is
Opened in 1858, Café Tortoni modeled on the bicameral
is named after a bohemian system of the US, and the
drinking den on the famous domed Palacio del Congreso
Boulevard des Italiens in Paris shares its architecture with the
and is probably the oldest and A quiet evening outside the brightly lit Teatro Avenida white Greco-Roman Congress
grandest café in the city. At structure in Washington, DC.
the end of the 19th cen tury, operate on a drop-in basis. and the number of Spanish One of the last buildings of this Detailed Information
its basement was a popu lar The Academia is home to a tapas bars and restaurants that type to be erected in Buenos Inside the Cámara del Senado (Senate) of the Palacio del Congreso
meeting place for La Peña, a self-styled World Tango lie on or just off the avenue. Aires before the strong wave
group of local writers and artists Museum that opens daily. Among the Teatro Avenida’s of fashionable Francophile for presidents lying in state. famous and revered Argentinian
led by the painter Benito many past glories was a run of architecture took over, the Out on the plaza, the exuberant thinker, lawyer, and journalist, 3on Each Sight
Quinquela Martín. Soon many plays by Federico García Lorca, Congreso (as most porteños call centerpiece is the Monumento who was also one of the leading
of the city’s great est young w Teatro Avenida who lived at Avenida de Mayo the building) is a solid-looking a los Dos Congresos, built lights in the Revolución de
talents, includ ing Jorge Luis Ave de Mayo 1220. City Map 3 D5. 1152 between 1933 and 1934. granite-and-marble guardian of to commemo rate the first Mayo of 1810 (see p55).
Borges, Roberto Arlt, and Tel (011) 4381-0662.  Lima. Plaza del Congreso to its east. constitutional assembly of 1813 Surrounding the Plaza del All the sights in Buenos Aires are
Alfonsina Storni, as well as Open 1–8pm daily. e Palacio Barolo Inaugu rated in 1906 and and the Congress of 1816. This Congreso is a scattering of
visitors such as Federico García designed by Vittorio Meano, imposing statue of the Republic interesting buildings, many of
Lorca and Luigi Pirandello, were If it were not for the preemin- Ave de Mayo 1370. City Map 3 D5. who was also the architect of waves a sym bolic laurel branch which evoke a more luxu rious
seen nursing a coffee at Tortoni. ence of the Teatro Colón (see Tel (011) 4381-2425.  Saenz Peña. the Teatro Colón, the building and leans on a plow; below and wealthier past for porteños. described individually. Useful
A corner of the café, called the pp78–9), this beautiful theater, 8 4, 5, 6, & 7pm Mon & Thu. & 7 is situated to face the Casa it are two female figures One of the grand est, though
Rincón de los Poetas (Poet’s reopened in 1994 after almost ∑ pbarolo.com.ar Rosada at the other end of performing the patriotic duties gradually falling into disrepair, is
Corner), harks back to those being destroyed by a fire, the Avenida de Mayo, a of bearing the national arms the Confitería Molino (Windmill
days. Tango legend Carlos would get the attention it Incorporating elements of symbolic reminder that power and breaking the chains Café), named for the decorative addresses, telephone numbers,
Gardel also performed here, deserves. Built along French Dante’s Divine Comedy, the does not only belong to of enslavement. windmill adorning its façade.
and the café continues to host beaux-arts lines, with Italianate romantic, Neo-Gothic Palacio presidents but also to the On the smaller plaza to the Crowds of politicians used to
tango and jazz con certs. elements, the theater has a Barolo was built by architect people of the country. Inside east is the far calmer figure of drink their morning coffee here.
Statesmen and visiting digni- magnificent entrance. Mario Palanti. He was the Congreso is a library and Rodin’s Thinker, one of the two The impressive Edificio de la opening hours and other practical
taries such as King Juan Carlos The theater opened in 1908 commissioned by Luigi Barolo several lavish salons, including copies in the Americas, Inmobiliaria, at the far eastern
of Spain and Hillary Clinton with a play by Lope de Vega. – a great admirer of Dante the famous Salón Azúl (Blue who sits beneath the end of the plaza, adds an Italian
have also stopped by. This initiated a steady tradition Alighieri – who arrived from Room), with its colossal shade of the leafy and Oriental dash to the eclectic
The first floor is occupied by of performing Spanish zarzuela his native Italy in 1890 and allegorical statues and an jacaranda, tipa, and archi tecture of the barrio. information are provided for each
the Academia Nacional del (Spanish operetta) works, in made money cultivating and impressive 4,400 lb (2,000 kg) ceibo trees; close After the Plaza de Mayo,
Tango, which has a research keeping with the Avenida de spinning cotton in the bronze chandelier beneath the by is a statue of the Plaza del Congreso, apart
library for tango scholars. Mayo’s status as Buenos Aires’s northern prov ince of Chaco. main cupola. The room has Mariano Moreno from being a popular tourist
There is also a schedule of “most Spanish” street – both in In 1919, work began on this been used over the years (1788–1811), a spot, is one of the regular entry. The key to all the symbols
dance classes held here. The terms of the architecture, which grand 22-story building. It is meeting places for protesters,
classes cover all levels and copies that of the Old World, 328 ft (100 m) high, reflecting student political parties,
the 100 cantos of the Divine striking unions, and, as the used in the information block is
Comedy, while nine literary evidence suggests, innovative
citations carved at the entrance graffiti artists.
hall echo the nine infernal
hierarchies. The first 14 floors shown on the back flap.
of the Palacio are Purgatory,
while the heavens above are
crowned by a spectacular
domed lighthouse. The
number of offices on each floor
equals the stanzas that the
cantos contain. Some of the
details in the building are still
waiting to be decoded, but this
cryptic quality is perhaps what
makes the edifice a true
A lively tango show at the landmark Café Tortoni homage to Dante. The imposing pillared façade and dome of the Palacio del Congreso
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p278 and p288
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