Buenos Aires can not be called a city of contrasts,it is strikingly consistent with the patterns of European cities. This is the first thing that surprises visitors, and all tourists recognize the capital of Argentina as the most European city in Latin America. Buenos Aires is famous not only for this - it is one of the world centers of football, opera, fashion. This is an alpha city, with a key value for a huge region of the Earth, it plays a significant role in the politics, economy and culture of the planet.
This is a multinational, noisy, colorful andatmospheric city with spacious clean streets (in most areas), countless coffee shops, clubs and restaurants, flowering trees and green parks. It is compared to Paris, but there is something in it from both Madrid and London. And the motley port quarters, roasting on Asado coals, the popular Mate tea and passionate tango dancers in the evening streets will not forget that Buenos Aires is a Latin American city.
Buenos Aires was founded twice:in 1536 and 1580. The first settlement lasted five years, but because of the lack of food and the constant raids of Indian tribes, the residents moved higher along the river, and the Indians burned the village. The renewed city was part of Peru - the Vice-Kingdom of the Spanish Empire, and in 1776 became the capital of the Spanish colonial possession of Rio de la Plata. During the May Revolution of 1810, the governor of the Spanish Crown was removed and the first national government was formed, and six years later the country was declared independent.
Buenos Aires has always been a strange waypolitically and economically little dependent on other territories of the country and, unlike the rest of Argentina, developed very actively, but separately. Since 1880 it is still a separate administrative district, not part of the province of the same name, with the right of self-government obtained in 1994.
Валюта страны — аргентинское песо (ARS), consisting of 100 centavos. As of January 2018, the exchange rate was 5.12 US dollars per 100 pesos. But in Argentina the “black” exchange of dollars is flourishing, at the rate of which, in the same time period, one dollar cost 19.48 pesos. This circumstance, which is attractive for tourists, creates conditions for cheap goods and services in the country.
From the middle of the 19th century, financial and culturalBuenos Aires' potential increased and exceeded other cities in Latin America. This explains the mass migration of that period of immigrants from Spain and Italy. According to the census of 1895, of the 649,000 residents of the city, only 320,000 people were indigenous. After that, until 1950, over 5 million immigrants from European and Asian countries moved to Buenos Aires.
This has caused the appearance and culturecities are not like other Latin American populated areas. Buenos Aires and today is considered a multinational center, where side by side representatives of Arab, Jewish, German, Slavic, English, Armenian and even Japanese, Chinese and Korean communities. And the descendants of Italian, French and Spanish immigrants disappeared among the indigenous population of the capital and in the same way call themselves porteno, that is, the inhabitants of the port.
According to the latest census, held in 2015, the number of residents of Buenos Aires was approximately 14,576,300 people, which accounted for 33.573% of the total population of Argentina.
The capital of Argentina is located on the westside of the largest bay of La Plata, formed by the mouth of the Parana River in the central-eastern territory of the country. The area where Buenos Aires is located belongs to the steppes of the subtropical belt (pampas) with a flat, non-elevated landscape, which, in combination with the numerous rivers and lakes of this region, caused frequent flooding of the city. To avoid this, the beds of some small rivers have been changed since 1908, and on the site of one of them, Juan B. Justo Street is now laid.
The country is characterized by a humid and warm climate of the southern hemisphere subtropics. The mild, rainy winter in Buenos Aires lasts from the beginning of June to August with an average temperature of +10 ... + 13 aboutC. A long, sweltering summer with heavy showers is not particularly hot, and the average temperature of December - February is kept at +24 degrees.
Direct flight Moscow - Buenos Aires is not yetexists, the best option would be to fly with Air Europe or Aeroflot with a transfer in Madrid. The flight will take 20-37 hours and will cost approximately 73,000 rubles. Landing will take place at the international airport of the Minister of Pistarini in Eseis, a suburb of Buenos Aires, by whose name everyone simply says about the airport: “Eseis.”
There is another option.You can fly through Casablanca to Sao Paulo (Brazil), which will cost $ 500 cheaper. After wandering around Sao Paulo until the evening, you should take the regular bus at Tiete station (departure at 22:00). The road to Argentina to Buenos Aires will take about 30 hours, but the picturesque road passes by Iguaçu waterfalls and other interesting places. The bus will take you directly to the city’s Retiro station.
In the capital from the airport can be reached in several ways:
No guidebook is able to listall places of Buenos Aires, worthy of a visit, because everywhere are only major attractions. Inspection of the city, as a rule, begins with the main city square, Plaza de Mayo (Recoleta district), which since 1942 has been recognized as a historical monument. The center of Mayo Square is occupied by the Renaissance fountains of 1670. On the east side is the pink building of the presidential residence in the neoclassical style. Interesting architecture and interior of the palace, which can be carefully considered during the excursions (weekends).
Along the perimeter of the square are administrativeand federal buildings. Interesting will be: the colonial architecture of the Town Hall and the Cathedral. The historic center is replete with old buildings and monuments. In the extensive area of Recoleta there are many tourist sites, two of which are never neglected by tourists: the National Museum of Fine Arts and Recoleta Cemetery, where many famous Argentines are buried, and most of the monuments and crypts are true works of art.
The entrance to most of the capital’s museums is free,other payment is symbolic. This is a great opportunity to see an excellent selection of world masterpieces that showrooms in Buenos Aires are rich in. In the storerooms of the National Museum of Fine Arts there are more than 12,000 exhibits. 700 of them, with constant updates, are exhibited for permanent exposure in 24 viewing rooms. Here you can see works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Goya, Renoir, Degas, Picasso, Rodin, El Greco, Toulouse-Lautrec, Clay and Argentine great masters.
Buenos Aires has many government museumsor dependent on special funds. These are the Historical Museum, the Museum of Cinema, Latin American, the Museum of Colonial and Contemporary Art, ethnographic and others.
Столица славится своими театрами, в Буэнос-Айресе there are over 300 of them. Many of them are located in old buildings, such as the Municipal Theater, which has been listed in the list of urban architectural sights since 1958.
But one, the Opera Theater "Colon" ("Flowerbed"), opensince 1908, deserves special attention. This is the main opera venue in Latin America and one of the seven most important in the world. Tickets for premieres and significant performances are bought up long before the performance, and not only by the Argentines. Among the music and opera performers, the acoustics of the hall is recognized as ideal. Here are the opera contests, festivals, performances of world importance. The voices of all modern opera stars sounded on the stage of this theater; here Chaliapin, Caruso, Pavarotti once sang.
The theater building is located on Avenida on July 9, aloneof the broadest avenues of the world. The last restoration of the theater (2006–2010) cost 100 million pesos. The building and interior decoration are made in the style of the late Renaissance. It is not necessary to take a ticket to the play to see the magnificence of the gilded decoration of the theater with luxurious marble staircases, classical columns, sculptures and paintings. There are daily guided tours in Spanish and English. The cost of tickets for the performance varies considerably depending on the audience seats and the value of the performance.
Старинный народный танец аргентинцев — танго — It was modernized in Buenos Aires and since the beginning of the last century it was first introduced outside the country. Initially, tango conquered Paris, then London and Berlin, and soon all of Europe danced, and then America. Tango culture means not only dance, but also music and song. But the dance itself has been declared by the Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO as part of the world's intangible cultural heritage. The cult figure in the history of tango - singer and musician Carlos Gardel, and every year on his birthday, December 11, in the Argentine capital celebrates Tango Day. And since 1999, the annual tango festival takes place from August 14 to August 31 in Buenos Aires.
Dance performers can be seen on the streets intourist spots of the city. But the best dancers present their art in specialized restaurant-type establishments with an evening program of tango shows, of which there are quite a lot in the city. Such shows are designed for every taste: classical dance performance, modernized or stage productions, like a musical. According to reviews, in Buenos Aires, the best tango shows can be seen at Faena Hotel & Universe. In his "Cabaret" dancers are exclusively professional performers of the highest class. These are exclusive performances and one of the most expensive in the capital.
Do not visit such attractionsBuenos Aires, as the area of La Boca - it means not to see the city. Camino’s main street, with its adjacent quarters, is also an open-air art gallery. Here I play musicians, couples perform tango on the pavement, artists paint and sell their works, merchants offer numerous souvenirs, here you can find a lot of wonderful handicrafts. Life is in full swing around the clock.
Once upon a time there were barracksblack slaves, then shop for salting fish and tanning, here also appeared the first port. And since the end of the nineteenth century, when a wave of immigrants rushed into the country, the poorest immigrants from Italy settled here. They created a special image and spirit of the quarter. The local peculiarity of motley colorful houses traditionally formed during this period. Residents did not have enough money to paint the whole house, and therefore they painted either the windows or the doors, one wall, and after a while another. But the colors often did not match, and they were painted with what they would have to. Over time, contrasting walls, windows and doors became a local feature.
It is worth remembering that Caminito is a tourist partLa Boca. The rest of the area does not apply to prosperous. Therefore, in the evening you should not go far from busy streets and better look after your wallet.
For tourists around the city run double-decker withopen top buses. Their path passes through the most interesting metropolitan areas through the 25 most significant points-stops. Having left on any of such points, it is possible to walk, and then at a stop to get on the same bus and follow further. Once bought a ticket is valid all day.
Local metro (subte) can be safely credited tolist of sights of Buenos Aires. His cars of 1930 are the oldest in the world. But this is not the most convenient transport: the stations are narrow, stuffy and rather littered, and trains can travel at long intervals and crowded with passengers.
The cheapest view of the metropolitan and suburbantransport - buses (colectivos), which run through absolutely all city blocks around the clock with an interval of 5-15 minutes. In Buenos Aires, a system of economical payment card SUBE. This is a local ticket operating in city buses and subways, you can buy it almost everywhere.
The cost of taxi services is paid by the meter anddepends on the night or day rate. Here, tourists who do not speak Spanish can use the old taxi driver’s Paseo trick: to increase the meter’s readings, passengers are taken to the point by circuit roads. Therefore, it is better to call the car through Remis - telephone service. While catching a taxi in the city, it is worth becoming like the locals: standing at the curb, you should not swing your arms, but simply, waiting for a free (glowing inscription libre) black and yellow car, sign to show the driver that they want to go with him. Sit on the right rear seat and name the destination.
Argentines are known to be theirs.world palm among meat consumers. It is not surprising if we consider that the country is the largest exporter of beef in the world, and this type of meat is probably the most delicious here. Local wine and big juicy steak are the favorite food of the population of Buenos Aires. This is reflected in the local cuisine, which, under the influence of Italian, Spanish and French, is practically no different from European.
Асадо (Asado), или парильяда, стало кулинарной business card of Buenos Aires and Argentina. This is grilled on coals with large pieces of meat from completely different parts of the carcass, as well as the internal organs of the animal and various sausages. Mostly beef is cooked here, but it can also be pork, lamb, and chicken. The name of the dish depends on which part of the carcass meat is taken from. Parilla (parilla) is an oven in which a similar dish is prepared, and at the same time it is the name of the restaurant where it is served. A great choice of absolutely amazing asado is known to places along Lavalle Street in Recoleta district.
Restaurants in the city are incredibly many, becauseresidents of the capital prefer not to cook at home, but to have breakfast, lunch and dinner in numerous cafes and restaurants. Therefore, prices are low. There are practically no pompous restaurants with exorbitant prices. In addition to meat, many in Buenos Aires and vegetarian establishments. You should definitely visit the Britanico, a historic bar where, since its opening (1928), neither the interior nor the tradition have changed, since this is an indispensable condition for all owners of the establishment.
By the way, in Argentina they make great wine, especially red (vino tinto), which you should definitely try here and buy a bottle home in one of the wine shops located in the center.
Unfortunately, the beaches of Buenos Aires do not boastcan. As a result of the activities of the port and pollution by sewage, La Plata Bay became unsuitable for navigation. Moreover, the city is located on the shore of the estuary, that is, the bay formed by the mouth of the river, and not by the ocean. The nearest ocean beach will have to drive about five hours. The public beaches of the capital are deserted places, great for jogging, walking, riding, often adjacent to golf courses. Here you can sunbathe, have fun playing sports, but not swim.
In Buenos Aires and Argentina, in general, are not indifferent tofashion This is not surprising: Fashion Week has been held here twice a year for 16 years. International designers come from all over the capital to showcase their spring-summer and autumn-winter collections. Therefore, in the shops and shopping galleries of the city sold a lot of designer clothes and accessories.
The most luxurious and expensive shopping center -Galerias Pacifico (corner of Cordoba and Florida) is filled with many of the most famous brands and a lot of all kinds of things. The prices here are high, but you don’t have to go shopping at Galerias Pacifico: its stunning interior is worth your time to visit and some photos to remember. The area of Calle Florida and the streets of Calle Florida, Avenida Santa Fe are the most expensive stores in Buenos Aires, where world brands and jewelry are represented.
But the huge complex of the town of MalvinasArgentina in the vicinity of Buenos Aires offers buyers a trading platform of 150 thousand square meters, where the same European brands are much cheaper. The complex works from ten o'clock in the morning to ten in the evening, but twelve hours for local shopping will not be enough.
July 9 - the name of the prospectus, as well asthe largest shopping area in the world, shopaholics beckoning to itself, but it will take more than one day to go around all its shops. Prices and goods are very different and will satisfy any need.
But what will please both men and women isSunday tour of Dorrego Square, where you can spend the whole day at the San Telmo Fair. It presents everything from designer linen to the pride of the capital's musicians - handmade guitars. Jewelry and leather products, glass, crystal and woolen things from vicuna, poncho, shawls, woven rugs, utensils for a mat and a lot of different things - truly incredible expanse for those who want to buy gifts and souvenirs. Prices are low. Especially you should look at the antique and jewelry items: you can often buy inexpensive completely unique items.
Before departure from the Argentine capital should be postponedsome money and go to the airport early. Here is the largest duty-free zone with the richest stores, which will take at least three hours to inspect.
