HOW TO SELL BUENOS AIRES
BUENOS AIRES Beguiling
BY STEVE HARTRIDGE First-time visitors to Argentina's
capital – who can now take advantage of British Airways' new direct service from London-Heathrow – might at first think they had flown 14 hours to a city that set out to impersonate a capital that's much closer to home. Landmarks include the tree-lined
Avenue de Mayo, modelled after Paris’s grand boulevards, and the wide Avenue 9 De Julio, which leads to the Obelico, built in 1936 to commemorate the 400-year anniversary of the city’s initial founding. You could – almost – be on the Champs- Elysées, looking towards the Place De La Concorde and the Luxor Obelisk. In fact back in 1870 whole districts, such
as Palermo and Recoleta, were built in the grandiose style of a Parisian arondissement by the city's upper classes, who took up residence in the north of the city to escape a Yellow Fever epidemic. Yet Buenos Aires is a city of many
layers and hidden depths, which are best discovered by exploring its distinct neighbourhoods. Like trendy Palermo Soho, with its upmarket boutique shops and courtyard restaurants, or Puerto Madera, a restored port area that fell into disrepair in the 1990s but is now home to five-star hotels – like Faena – restaurants and exclusive Tango clubs. In the more down-at-heel Boca, on
General information
HOW TO GET THERE: British Airways flies daily direct to Buenos Aires from London-Heathrow, departing 21.55 and arriving 07.35 the following day. The return flight leaves Buenos Aires at 13.25 and arrives in London at 06.40 the following day. Tickets start at £821.63, including taxes and charges.
www.britishairways.com
WHERE TO BOOK IT: Rainbow Tours Latin America 020 7666 1260
www.rainbowtours.co.uk The new 10-day Buenos Aires and Patagonia private tour includes three nights in Buenos Aires, with a tango show and orientation tour, three nights in El Calafate in the far south, and two days in Bariloche in the country’s Lake District. From £2,750pp, with flights.
52 January 2012 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
colourful Caminito Street you can while the afternoon away at a parrilla, eating various barbecued meats while watching – what else? – Tango. Or simply enjoy a cup of the national drink at a sidewalk cafe. Yerba mate is a herb-based drink usually sipped through a metal straw. The tea-like virtually caffeine-free beverage is said to be an anti-oxident and digestive. A list of 'must do' attractions will include the extraordinary cemetery – more a small village – in Recoleta, where the city’s wealthiest and most powerful have grandiose mausoleums topped by Art Nouveau, Gothic and neo- Classical art. Eva Peron, or ‘Evita’, lies here, in a relatively modest site under the family name, Duarte. May Square, in the central Monserrat district, is where Buenos Aires had its second founding in 1850. Today it's where Falkland Island war veterans unfurl their banners in the hope of a ‘fairer’ state pension. Overlooking May Square is the pink Casa Rosada, the presidential palace, from where Eva Peron said 'goodbye' to her adoring followers. Fine Argentinian wine, particularly Malbec, flows freely in fabulous restaurants across the city. One of the city’s ‘hot’ districts is back-in-favour San
BUENOS AIRES
Top Selling Tips... • Do the Tango..... Catch a Tango show. You can watch this free, al fresco, in Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo, or as part of a dinner show at a nightspot like Rojo Tango, linked to the Faena hotel, where diners sit close to the stage and the dancers.
• Place a steak..... Enjoy an Argentinian steak! The country has a worldwide reputation for incredible meat: tuck into the biggest T-bone you’ll ever eat at Bistro Cabernet in Palermo Soho – for around £12
• In the frame..... Discover a neighbourhood off the tourist trail, like Villa Crespo, and learn some photography tips along the way, by spending an afternoon with new tour company Foto Ruta
www.foto-ruta.com
Telmo, whose narrow streets are home to some of the city’s most fashionable restaurants, like Aldos where you can choose from over 500 wines and enjoy a three-course meal for around £20. There’s a modest but interesting Falklands War memorial, ironically close to the Torre De Los Inglesis (English Tower) but it’s not marked on most city touring maps.
From The Front Line Simon Forster, Latin America product manager Rainbow Tours “Buenos Aires is one of the few cities in Latin America which can be sold as a standalone destination and not just part of a regional tour. The best way to sell it is to include free days that encourage people to explore different areas like the port district of La Boca, trendy Palermo, Puerto Madero, the artisian architecture of Recoleta and the Art Déco cafes and restaurants of Retiro.”
Steve Hartridge's Buenos Aires' itinerary was organised by luxury travel specialists Dehouche.
www.dehouche.com
Clockwise: Recoleta Cemetery; colours and characters in La Boca; Tango dancing in Plaza Dorrego, San Telmo
STEVE HARTRIDGE
STEVE HARTRIDGE
STEVE HARTRIDGE
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