Best for Horses, Steak, and Wine
Base camp: Buenos Aires
Argentina’s capital is a lot like Paris, only much cheaper, with better weather (highs of 60 to 80 degrees year-round) and even more innately elegant women. Thanks to the newly recollapsed Argentinian economy, there are dozens of great neighborhoods with cheap lodging, but Recoleta is the most beautiful. (It boasts the extraordinary Recoleta Cemetery, which has blocks of towering tombs and Eva Perón’s final resting place.) Save more cash by renting an apartment with your own kitchen for $230 a week (baapartments.com.ar). Soak up the country’s love affair with horses at the timeless racetrack Hipodrómo Argentino de Palermo ($3;palermo.com.ar); opened in 1876, it still feels like something from another era. Argentines eat more steak per person than anyone in the world; learn why at Cabaña Las Lilas (laslilas.com), where you can gorge on some of the most delicious beef you’ve ever tasted for $20, preferably around midnight, when most locals have supper.
Excursion 1: The Paraná Delta
Roughly 20 miles outside of Buenos Aires, five rivers come together to form a mix of grassland, swamp, and forest, with hundreds of islands begging to be explored. Catch a 60-minute train to Estación Tigre ($1), and walk one block to Estación Fluvial, where you can hire a boat for a tour (from $4). Or just stick around and go swimming, kayaking, wakeboarding, and sculling in a place that feels a world away from the city.
Excursion 2: Parque Nacional Perito Moreno
Barely 1,000 visitors a year dare to visit this remote, often bitterly cold — April through October is particularly rough — and utterly magnificent park in the mountains of Patagonia. Fly Aerolíneas Argentinas to Aeropuerto El Calafate (from $270), rent a car ($70; milletrentacar.com.ar), and drive National Road No. 40 until it intersects with No. 37, which takes you to the park. Be sure to stock up on supplies in advance (including extra gas), as you’ll be staying in your ride or camping. The payoff: plenty of breathtaking glacier-topped peaks (Cerro San Lorenzo stands 12,100 feet), metallic blue lakes, wildlife like condors, pumas, and foxes — and virtually no people.
Can’t Get It At Home: Dulce de Leche Empanadas
Separately, real Argentinian empanadas (small pies stuffed with meats, cheese, etc., from street carts) and dulce de leche (a caramelized sauce of milk and sugar) are delicious. But a warm empanada with this sweet filling? Addictive.
Read Before You Go: El Diego: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Footballer by Diego Maradona. He’s no Borges, but in his rise from poverty, Maradona casts a sharp eye on social strata.
This article is part of our See The World — at 50% Off package.
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November 6th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Hello!
I spent a great time last month in Buenos Aires. I’ve found an apartment for rent in Buenos Aires, near the down town. I suggest that service called ForRent Argentina: Apartment for rent in Buenos Aires . They’ve good prices and quality, with apartments in Palermo and Recoleta.
Bye!
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