Mar del Plata Argentina
Frequently Asked Questions
In the large fishing port south of the city, a few kilometres from downtown. Taxis and shuttles cover the distance in about ten minutes.
Not as far as downtown : you need a shuttle or taxi. The fishermen's banquina, however, is right at the edge of the port area, and once in town the Rambla and Bristol beach are very walkable.
At the banquina, inside the port area itself. The colony dozes among the trawler hulls, indifferent to photographers, while the boats land hake and squid under the cries of the gulls.
Rabas, fried squid rings served in a cone from the banquina huts, eaten standing in front of the boats. The port restaurants also serve the day's fish and seafood.
The paved promenade above Bristol beach, the symbolic heart of the city. Two stone sea lions frame the esplanade in front of the Casino Central and the former Hotel Provincial, designed in the 1930s by the architect Alejandro Bustillo.
A medieval folly perched on its rock since 1904, spanning the promenade south of the centre. It frames one of the most photographed views on the Argentine coast.
Stella Maris and Loma Alem line up Norman style villas, stone chalets and well kept gardens. The Tanque de Agua tower, a neo Gothic water tower open to the public, offers one of the best panoramas over the rooftops and the ocean.
The timber house of the great figure of Argentine letters, now a cultural centre set in a park. It is the stop for lovers of art and literature.
Alfajores marplatenses, which the city claims are made better here than anywhere in the country, and churros filled with dulce de leche, a speciality of the downtown confectioners.
The austral summer, December through March, when millions of Argentines come down from Buenos Aires and the beach disappears under striped tents. Off season, walkers have the horizon to themselves.
