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Puerto Madero and Costanera Sur |
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“Puerto Madero” (Port Madero), inaugurated in 1887, was projected to cover the exportation needs of boats from abroad. The intense business movement of the period exceeded its capacity and this port finally ended to be used only for fluvial traffic.
Located behind the area of Retiro, Puerto Madero is made up of docks and jib cranes. When the eighties came, a group of specialists dreamt of recycling the port and since then, the project “Puerto Madero” took shape.
Nowadays, Puerto Madero is a very fashionable area, with smart buildings and crystal towers situated along a beautiful promenade and ships sailing through the coast.
This neighborhood has a special feature: its streets, avenues, paths and squares have the name of approximately twenty five distinguished women.
Today, in its four docks, surrounded by a magnificent promenade, there are sixteen buildings with top-level restaurants, offices, apartments, eight movie theaters and trendy nightclubs such as “Opera Bay” and “Asia de Cuba”.
In Dock 1 there are office buildings, apartments and also a movie theater complex.
In Dock 2 there is the main building of the “Universidad Católica Argentina” (Argentine Catholic university), where thousand of people study different university courses. The buildings were recycled but they carefully keep the original English industrial architecture of the 20th century, with the typical visible bricks and cast iron girders. The “Porteño Building” stands out: it is a huge recycled building that was built in 1902 and was declared Historical National Landmark.
In Dock 3 there are offices, shops and luxurious apartments with garage, indoors swimming pools and gym. It presents four buildings, named: “Dock 5”, “Dock 6”, “Lofts de Madero” and “Paseo del Puerto”.
Dock 4 hosts the Yacht Club Puerto Madero moorings as well as offices, shops, the central office of Fortabat Collection, Telecom’s smart building and the complex Opera Bay with its different restaurants and dance floors.
The gastronomic offer is very varied: steak, pasta, seafood and haute cuisine. Besides, it counts with fast food restaurants.
The Yatch Club Argentino has its own moorings here, in a strategic place inside this attractive and modern neighborhood near the intersection of Intendente Carlos Noel Av. and Cecilia Grierson Blvd. Its modern architectural style joins a lighthouse tower with a building with a terrace with a magnificent view of the River Plate.
This new neighborhood called “Puerto Madero” was created in 1991, recovering the old port area. From the promenades at both margins of the channel, you will see the different shops and apartments and offices, many of them recycled.
From this place, you get to the wonderful “Costanera Sur”, which is an old resort inaugurated in 1918 and used to be a fashionable outing during the decades of the thirties, forties and fifties. After a complete remodeling of the area, it is regaining popularity and it represents an ideal place to enjoy lunch outdoors and admire the River Plate’s wideness.
You will find here the famous “carritos” (carts where food, especially meat, is sold): you can taste the typical “choripán” (hard pork sausage sandwich) and eat barbecued meat. Another attraction of the area is the Nature Reserve, where you can go for a visit during the day or at night in a visit with a tourist guide.
Puente de la Mujer (Bridge of the Woman)
This is a work by the Spanish Santiago Calatrava, inspired by tango, and it is a pedestrian bridge that joins the east and the west of Dock 4. Its mast represents the man, and it supports the woman, represented in the main curvature of the bridge.
This is a very original bridge and, apart from being the only pedestrian way of communication between the east and west margins, it is very picturesque and can be admired from the different bars, nightclubs and restaurants of the area.
Buque Museo Fragata Presidente Sarmiento (Museum Boat “Fragata Presidente Sarmiento)
Near the “Puente de la Mujer” (Bridge of the Woman), in Dock 3, the famous Training Ship of the Argentine Navy is situated. It came from England in 1898. The boat bears the name of the founder of the Naval Academy, Don Domingo Faustino Sarmiento. For more than three decades, this boat was the training ship of naval cadets and between 1899 and 1938 it sailed from all over the world. She was visited by renowned emperors, kings, presidents and diplomats.
This magnificent frigate stopped sailing in 1961: until this year, it had sailed more than 1,000,000 miles.
You can visit it from Mondays to Fridays from 9 am to 8 pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am to 10 pm. Children under 5 have free access. Tel: 4334-9386.
Buque Museo Corbeta Uruguay (Museum Boat “Corbeta Uruguay”)
This old and picturesque boat, located in Dock 1, arrived to Argentina in 1874. It was built in England and it was the oldest corvette of the Argentine Navy used as a training ship, from 1877 to 1880.
In 1903 she sailed to Antarctica in a Swedish rescue expedition commanded by Nordenskjöld.
You can visit it from Mondays to Sundays from 10 am to 9 pm. Children under 5 have free access. Tel: 4314-1090.
Yacht Club Puerto Madero
In front of Dock 4 you will find the Yacht Club Puerto Madero.
It counts with top-level facilities to moor pleasure and sport boats. The premise of the yacht club is spacious and glazed, offering a wonderful panoramic view to the docks and buildings. Besides, it counts with halls for events and parties.
Estatua Luis Viale (Luis Viale Statue)
It is a monument situated in the promenade, in memory of the courage and temperance of a passenger, the business man Luis Viale, who sacrificed his life in the shipwreck of the steamer “América” on the waters of the River Plate at the end of the 19th century. Luis Viale saved the life of a pregnant woman, Mrs Marcó de Pont, giving her his life preserver. The statue is the figure of this gentleman, holding in his right hand a life preserver.
Museo de Telecomunicaciones (Telecommunications Museum)
It is situated in 851 de los Italianos Av., in Costanera Sur, in an area surrounded by parks.
In this museum, inaugurated in 1980, its interior is worth visiting because you can have access to interesting information and see different equipment related to the telecommunication field, from the telegraph to Internet.
The building’s façade, built in 1927, is a mixture of art noveau and art decó styles, a work by the Hungarian architect Kalnay.
It is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 2 pm to 6 pm and the guided visits are at 3 pm. It is closed in January. Tel: 4968-3112/3.
Fuente de las Nereidas (The Nereid’s Fountain)
This magnificent fountain, situated in Costanera Sur, is a work by the Argentine sculptor Lola Mora (1877-1936). It was inaugurated in 1903 and donated by its author. It received harsh criticism from the society of that period, because the society was not used to a woman making a sculpture with so many nude people. Later, it started to be valued because of what represented and finally, in 1918, it was situated in Dr. Tristán Achaval Rodríguez Avenue. It is a monumental work, sculpted in Carrara marble, and the scene is composed by the goddess Venus emerging from the sea, held up by Nereids and Tritons. The goddess Venus represented for the Romans Love and Beauty.
It was declared National Historical Landmark.
Museo de Calcos y Escultura Comparada (Museum of imitations and comparative sculpture)
In front of the Nereids Fountain, in Costanera Sur, you will find this museum, unique in its kind in South America. It functions in the Art College “Ernesto de la Carcova” and it presents representative works of universal sculpture, since it was inaugurated in 1928.
A “calco” is an exact copy of an original model, made up by plaster or other soft material. Many works are represented, its originals being in the Louvre Museum, the British Museum, etc.
The museum is situated in 1701 Dr. Tristán Achaval Rodríguez Av. It is open during the weekends from 2 pm top 5.30 pm.
Monumento Plus Ultra (Plus Ultra Monument)
This monument is a winged figure in bronze; a work by the Spanish José Lorda in commemoration of the triumphant flight of the seaplane Plus Ultra, which crossed successfully the Atlantic Ocean departing from Madrid to the city of Buenos Aires in 1926.
Parque Natural y Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur (Nature and Ecological Reserve “Costanera Sur”)
This nature reserve borders almost the whole of Costanera Dr. Tristán A. Rodríguez Avenue.
It counts with an interpretation center and different paths to walk through the park. You will find an interesting variety of plant and animal species that reproduce the ecological environment typical of the coast area of River Plate. There are pools, swamps, pastures, weeds, willows, alder trees, poplars, ducks, herons, thrushes, earwigs, among more than one hundred species.
Three pools are the most important ones, named: “Laguna de las Gaviotas”, “Laguna de los Patos” and “Laguna de los Coipos”.
The reserve counts with special internal spaces where you can take a rest and admire the beautiful landscape through the different viewpoints.
It is carefully kept by park rangers who belong to the Foundation “Vida Silvestre Argentina”.
You can visit the reserve from Mondays to Sundays from 8 am to 6 pm (in summer it is open until 7 pm). On Saturdays and Sundays there are guided visits at 10.30 am and 3.30 pm. There are also guided visits for children, but they must be accompanied by an adult. It is highly recommended to do the visit with new moon (starting at 8.30 pm) and with full moon, at 8 pm.
The entry is in 1550 Tristán A. Rodríguez Av. Tel: 4315-1320.
Escultura "El Sueño de la Esfera" (Sculpture “El Sueño de la Esfera”)
Eduardo Pla’s sculpture “El Sueño de la Esfera”, unique in its kind and covered entirely with neon, is the first light sculpture in the city of Buenos Aires. It is located in Olga Cossentini and Manuela Sáenz Streets, in front of the Hilton hotel.
Casino Buenos Aires
For the ones who enjoy games of chance, this neighborhood counts with a casino, which is open 24 hs, on board of a boat in the style of the ones which used to sail through river Mississippi.
This majestic casino, located at just 5 minutes from downtown, counts with roulette, blackjack, poker and dice tables, apart from fruit machines.
You can also have a delicious dinner in the restaurant “Sobre Aguas”.
The Casino Buenos Aires, also known as “Casino Flotante” (floating casino), is situated in Elvira Rawson de Dellepiane S/N, in the port of Buenos Aires. Tel: 4363-3100. |
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