Tourism in Mar del Plata.
Image courtesy of Francisco de Paula Sogel at Flickr.com
Mar del Plata is considered to be the main tourist attraction for people to visit when they come to Argentina. Located right on the Atlantic Ocean coast and 400 km from Buenos Aires, this city’s populations of 650,000 inhabitants becomes more than 8’000,000 during the tourist season. The temperature during winter can go down to 53 degrees Fahrenheit and during the summer up to 74 degrees.
The place is a paradise of beaches, cliffs, large fields, lakes, big trees and waterfalls. The sandy beaches are perfect for walking along, riding a horse and even for a nice bicycle ride on the sand.
Activities like parasailing, skydiving, bungee jumping and other aerial extreme sports are very popular here among tourist due to the beautiful views one can enjoy from those vantage points.
Aquatic sports like surfing, windsurfing, jet skiing, scuba diving, boat rides and other activities as such are what most people engage on throughout the whole year. Those who seek for peace and quiet will find the beautiful waves and ocean sounds perfect to soothe their body and mind.
Places of interest
Juan Carlos Castagnino Museum.
This rustic style mansion holds around 450 pieces of art by different international as well as local artists. The collection is made of paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures and engravings. Close to 130 of these paintings, were made by Juan Carlos Castagnino, the person whom the museum is named after. Many of its personal letters and photographs are also kept here and exhibited to the public.
The place is located on Stella Maris Hill and it was built in 1909 but remodeled in 1919 to maintain its classic early century style. Belgium Designer Gustave Serrurier-Bovy created the art noveau décor that decks the rooms and it’s accented by the original furniture as well as an iron stairwell clad with flowers and geometric designs, stained glass windows and beautiful lamps. According to many experts, the internal décor itself is already considered part of one of the best collections of this type art in the whole world.
Mar del Plata Aquarium.
Swimming surrounded by swarms of fish, scuba diving with sharks, playing with dolphins and many more, are some of the activities you can enjoy at this beautiful park. Located at Punta Mogotes, the place has an amazing view of the area and a large collection of marine mammals, penguins and many other exotic birds.
The sea lion shows and the many activities for children are a perfect experience to enjoy with the entire family. The Aquarium also has a 3D theater with seating for up to 266 people. All of the animals you can see here were taken from the sea to rehabilitate and then returned to the ocean once they are well.
La Perla – North Coast.
Image courtesy of Kafeole at Flickr.com
This neighborhood is a must-see for all tourists due to all the variety of activity one can enjoy here. The coastal landscape shares the land with natural reserves and residential homes. Plaza España can also be found a couple of miles down the road at Patricio Peralta Ramos Ocean Boulevard and Avenida Libertad, right in from of La Perla Beach. The beach is the perfect spot to enjoy the waters, great food and fun activities.
Those who are into history can see the “Instituto Saturnino”, a Neo-byzantine temple right on Jujuy Street, and the “Oratorio de la Inmaculada Concepción”, an old orphanage dating to the beginning of the century. These buildings are considered architectural patrimony of Mar del Plata.
The main square had many uses in past times; it was once a bullfighting arena and a cycling track. Today it is simply a plaza visited by those who come to see the Lorenzo Scaglia Municipal Natural Science Museum and the monument to the acclaimed writer, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, created in 1974 by the artist Heidelberg Ferrino due to the bicentennial celebration.
El Paraíso Zoo – Sierra de los Padres.
The place opened on March 24th of 1994. On top of being a zoo, is also a botanical garden. It has more 120 different species of trees creating a micro-weather that allows for guava trees and other tropical fruits to grown here. The zoo is divided into three areas: An educational farm that shows how domestic animals have been used through time to help man settle, find nourishment and protection from the elements; the second area holds indigenous animals that are characteristic to the region, like monkeys, leopards, toucans, parrots, turtles, flamingos, llamas and more; the third area has animals that are considered exotic in this part of the world, like lions, African jackals, lions, peacocks and more.
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