Okay, I'm back from Mexico City and planning the next voyage, which, sad to say, allows us only a couple of days in Buenos Aires and a couple in Santiago, Chile. I have read the recent Buenos Aires trip report (thank you caplanco!). Since I have so little time, I invite you to suggest the absolute BEST thing to see in each of my cities (mid-November, 2005). Unfortunately, I can't afford good restaurants, so don't bother about food - my husband and I into incredible architecture, splendid natural views, art museums, opera/music/ballet performances, in countries where those are not too expensive, and we swing dance if we can find pleasant, non-competitive venues. C'mon, folks, what are the number-one things to do in Buenos Aires and Santiago when you don't have the luxury of time to savor everything?
I can give you some information about Santiago. First off, Chile is not as inexpensive as you might anticipate. Getting around is cheap if you use the subway but otherwise you'll find most items about 2/3 the cost of the US. You'll probably find cheaper if you do venture away from the more 'tourist' places. We didn't.
I loved the Museo de Arte Precolombino. This museum is devoted to pre-Columbian art work from throughout Central and South America. It is very well presented but not extremely large. We had some knowledge of the different cultures which we found very helpful. There are good text in English but I found I wanted more information than was provided. It took us about 2 hours to complete the visit.
I also recommend visiting La Chascona. This is the poet Pablo Neruda's Santiago house. The tour was very good and informative. It is a bit more expensive but well worth it.
The architecture is so-so. Santiago is a recent city and mixture of different styles. Nothing really stood out for us. I would recommend visiting the Plaza de Armes. We enjoyed sitting around watching the artists and families. The buildings that surround it are quite diverse from modern shiny office buildings, old churches and historical buildings. I'd also recommend the Bellevista barrio/neighborhood for architecture.
Other places to see are the Mercado Centrale. This is the fish market. It is also interesting to go a couple of blocks away and check out the flower and vegetable market. Very different. We also enjoyed visiting the parks, Cerro Santa Lucia and Cerro San Cristobal.
We visited in November 2003. It is a good time of the year. It can be a little warm. It was very smoggy when we arrived but we got lucky and a good wind came in and blew the smog out one day.
You can check out the notes from my Chile trip at my blog. I also have a photo album on Slow Trips
Museo de Arte Precolombino sounds like my kind of destination. As I travel, I am learning more and more about art, history, culture, and find very few museums give enough background information (The Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City is an exception), and in fact many -even some very great - museums label objects poorly, or hang paintings so high they can't really be seen! I will check your blog and photos, thank you!
Right on - so far our plan is to do the tours of precisely those districts outlined in frommer's (or is it fodor's?), but A) what is microcentro? B) what would you consider the hightlight of of San Telmo district?
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