Sights in Argentina
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Monumento a la Independencia
From the plaza, a staircase climbs to the Monumento a la Independencia, a vulgarity produced by local sculptor Ernesto Soto Avendaño. The sculpture exemplifies indigenismo, a widespread tendency in Latin American art that romantically but patronizingly extols the virtues of native cultures overwhelmed by colonialism.
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Museo Molino de San Francisco
Chilecito founder Don Domingo de Castro y Bazán owned this colonial flour mill, whose Museo Molino de San Francisco houses an eclectic assemblage of archaeological tools, antique arms, early colonial documents, minerals, traditional wood and leather crafts, banknotes, woodcuts, early cell telephones and paintings.
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Cerro de La Cruz
West of town, near the end of Av Antártida Argentina, a wide dirt path called the Vía Cristi winds its way up the small Cerro de La Cruz with impressive sculptures, bas-reliefs and mosaics vividly depicting the Conquest of the Desert, Mapuche legends, Christian themes and indigenous history. To get there, follow the cross.
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Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays
Escape the din of Plaza Italia inside this lush botanical garden, designed by renowned landscape architect Carlos Thays and opened in 1898. It blooms with over 3000 tree and plant species, Roman-style sculptures, floating lily pads on still ponds and an antique iron-and-glass greenhouse originally shown at the 1900 Paris Exhibition.
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Bird and Mammal Watching
The best places for bird and mammal watching are near the stream courses in the early morning or late afternoon. From the ranger station at Mesada de las Colmenas, follow the steep, rugged trail down to a beautiful creek marked with numerous animal tracks, including those of large cats. The descent takes an hour, the ascent twice that.
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Convento de San Bernardo
Only Carmelite nuns may enter 16th-century Convento de San Bernardo, but visitors can approach the blindingly whitewashed adobe building (consider sunglasses) to admire the carved, 18th-century algarrobo door. The church, too, is open for visits before Mass early weekday mornings, Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings.
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Casa del Obispo Colombres
In the center of Parque 9 de Julio (formerly Bishop Colombres’ El Bajo plantation), handsome 18th-century Casa del Obispo Colombres is a museum dedicated to the sugar industry, which the active cleric (an important figure in the independence movement) effectively set up. The information panels are translated into English.
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Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes
This museum is worth a visit for its brilliantly inventive juxtapositions of fine art – and there are a couple of exceptional European paintings here – with contemporary artworks from the MACRO collection. A St Andrew by Ribera, for example, is beautifully matched with a haunting photo portrait by Pierre Gonnord.
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Museo de Ciencias Naturales e Historia
The natural-history section of the Museo de Ciencias Naturales e Historia focuses on fauna and the geology and mineralogy of the province. The museum also has an excellent serpentarium (with demonstrations of venom extraction), an aviary and an aquarium. Its historical section stresses prehistory, the Jesuit missions and modern colonization.
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Hotel Eden
Take a guided tour of the once-extravagant, now- decaying Hotel Eden, built in 1897, where the guest list included Albert Einstein, the duke of Savoy and several Argentine presidents. Inside the hotel is the Miniature Train Museum, a strangely captivating museum devoted to, you guessed it, very small trains.
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Museo del Paraná y Las Islas
Thanks to the romantic, engaging murals of local painter Raúl Domínguez, this museum, on the 1st floor of the waterfront Estación Fluvial, is worthwhile. Life on the islands of the Paraná so enchanted Domínguez that he created this small museum, filling it with photographs, artifacts, historical documents and his own paintings.
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Plaza del Congreso
Plaza del Congreso sees a daily parade of children sprinting toward the carousel, and dog walkers trying to keep up with their charges. Permanent fixtures include the Monumento a los Dos Congresos, which, with high steps symbolizing the Andes and a fountain representing the Atlantic Ocean, honors the congresses that led Argentina to independence.
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Jardín Zoológico
Artificial lakes, pleasant walking paths and over 350 species of animals entertain the crowds at this relatively good zoo. Most of the enclosures offer decent spaces, and some buildings are impressive in themselves – check out the elephant house. An aquarium, a monkey island, a petting zoo and a large aviary are other highlights.
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Museo y Mercado Provincial de Artesanías
Promoting handicrafts from throughout the province, the Museo y Mercado Provincial de Artesanías is a likable little place. Ask the curator to explain things to you; you’ll be amazed at the intricacy of some of the work, like the hats made from tightly woven palm fibers. In December there are folk music performances in the garden.
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Manzana Jesuítica
Córdoba’s beautiful Manzana Jesuítica (Jesuit Block), like that of Buenos Aires, is also known as the Manzana de las Luces (Block of Enlightenment), and was initially associated with the influential Jesuit order.
Designed by the Flemish Padre Philippe Lemaire, the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús dates from 1645 but was not completed until 1671, with the successful execution of Lemaire’s plan for a cedar roof in the form of an inverted ship’s hull. Lemaire, unsurprisingly, was once a boat builder. Inside, the church’s baroque altarpiece is made from carved Paraguayan cedar from Misiones province. The Capilla Doméstica, completed in 1644, sits on Caseros,…
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Museo de Bellas Artes
Salta's fine art museum is lodged in the Arias Rengel family's two-story colonial mansion, with its 2m (6.6ft) thick adobe walls. It displays both modern painting and sculpture, and has far more interesting work than the contemporary arts museum. The interior patio features a sculpture garden and a wooden staircase that leads to a hanging balcony.
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Arte X Arte
Art-gallery lovers shouldn’t miss this large exhibition space, which takes up 1800 sq meters (not bad for an alternative gallery). Anyone can just enter and see what’s on display, which can range from photography to digital art to video installations. It’s all contemporary, and there’s a library and auditorium as well. Closed December through March.
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Museo de Escultura
Museo de Escultura is an open-air workshop on the north side of Parque 2 de Febrero. Several of the most impressive sculptures created for every Bienal festival are on display here, and this is where, during the Bienal, and quite frequently at other times, you can catch sculptors at work. At last count, there were 462 sculptures decorating the city streets.
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Termas de Río Hondo
Termas de Río Hondo's main attraction is its thermal springs, and even the most basic accommodation has hot mineral baths. Very much a destination for Argentine tourists, Río Hondo is not as interesting for international visitors. That said, you'll be comfortable in the off-season with bargain-basement prices, as competition between hotels is hot.
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Casa Natal de Sarmiento
Casa Natal de Sarmiento is named for Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, whose prolific writing as a politician, diplomat, educator and journalist made him a public figure within and beyond Argentina. Sarmiento’s Recuerdos de Provincia recounted his childhood in this house and his memories of his mother. It’s now a museum.
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Manzana de Las Luces
The Manzana de las Luces (Block of Enlightenment) was once the meeting place of Argentina’s intellectual heavyweights. The intriguing complex, connected to nearby buildings by a series of underground tunnels that were rediscovered in 1912, includes a university built by Jesuit missionaries in the early 1700s and the Iglesia de San Ignacio, BA’s oldest church.
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Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano Isaac Fernández Blanco
This neocolonial-era mansion turned museum holds some gorgeous pieces of silverwork, religious paintings, Jesuit statuary and antiques. There’s been no effort to place items in any historical context, but everything is in great condition, and an attractive garden provides a peaceful sanctuary. Call ahead for tours in English, German or French.
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Iglesia de Santo Domingo
On the south side of the plaza Indepencia, the Iglesia de Santo Domingo and its convent date from the 1930s, but reproduce the Moorish style of the 17th-century building they replaced. Take a peek at the striking algarrobo (carob tree) doors of the attached Archivo Histórico Provincial around the corner on San Martín.
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Aquarium Mar del Plata
Located 10km south of the center, near the lighthouse, is Mar del Plata’s aquarium. Animals on display include penguins, flamingoes, crocodiles and lots of fish. There are sea-lion, dolphin and water-skiing shows, along with a cinema. You can also swim with sharks (among other watery creatures) and sit on the beach. Get here on bus 221 or 511.
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Museo del Tango
Located below the Academia Nacional del Tango is this tango museum – for fans of the dance only. Just a couple of large rooms are filled with tango memorabilia, from old records and photos to historic literature and posters. Tango shoes are also featured, but the highlight has to be one of Carlos Gardel’s famous fedora hats. Enter via Av Rivadavia.
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