Cordoba is the second largest city in Argentina, with about 2 million inhabitants, and is the capital of the Cordoba province. It is located in the heart of the Argentinean territory on the Pampas. The city is surrounded by valleys, formed up by three main mountain groups. It is known for the colonial buildings in the center as well as for the beautiful hills in the surroundings.
The city is called La Docta because of the many universities and scientific institutes. Around 200.000 people study here, which makes the city one of those with the youngest and liveliest appearance in South America. There is much cultural and night life, above all in the Güemes and Alta Córdoba areas and in the red light district, the Ex Abasto, called so because until 1990 there used to be a huge market area (Mercado de Abasto, now in the city outskirts).
The colonial architecture of the city center is now cohabiting with many modern buildings. Although the oldest buildings are found in the surroundings of the Plaza San Martín (microcentro), the most pleasant areas are now the Nueva Córdoba district south of the center and the area around the Cañada, a small colonial canal which crosses the city. These areas show a mix of well-designed modern buildings and old houses, often built in neo-colonial style. The Barrio Güemes, which is protected by municipal laws, is particularly pleasant, with an 19th century atmosphere rather similar to Buenos Aires' "San Telmo" district, but with more movement.
The city district itself covers 529 square km (204 sq mi) and has 1.3 million inhabitants, but there are many satellite towns outside this area. Those west of the city lie in the hills of the Sierras de Córdoba and are residential areas with some tourist interest, such like Río Ceballos, La Calera, and the famous holiday center Villa Carlos Paz near the San Roque dam, which provides the city with potable water and some electricity. North and east of the city, in the plains, there are poor suburbs with a slum-like appearance, like Juárez Celman and Malvinas Argentinas.
The climate in city and surroundings is pleasant the year round. Even in winter there are frequent warm, sunny days, although you must be prepared for cold nights and some chilly, cloudy periods, which never last more than a week or so. In summer, the rainy season (November to March) it is hot and humid and there are frequent inundations because of the bad state of the drainage system. Best time to visit is March to May and August to November, when it's not too hot nor too cool and there is very little rain.
PLACE TO VISIT
Cathedral, Independencia / 27 de Abril.
Iglesia Sagrado Corazón, Obispo Oro / Buenos Aires, in neo-gothic style, well worth visiting.
Iglesia de Santa Catalina de Siena, Plaza Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera
Monasterio de Santa Teresa, Obispo Trejo / 27 de Abril, a interesting pink building
Iglesia de San Francisco, Entre Ríos / Buenos Aires
Compañía de Jesús, Manzana de los Jesuitas, oldest church of Argentina (1671)
Iglesia María Auxiliadora, Av Colón / Rodríguez Peña (gegenüber Plaza Colón), große monumentale neogotische Kirche in Barrio Alberdi
Ex Rectorado de la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba - Obispo Trejo / Caseros, very fine colonial building with a museum and a beautiful patio.
Monument of Myriam Stefford, in the outskirts, on RP5 (Av. Armada Argentina), near the toll station of Los Cedros, a huge obelisk
Parque Sarmiento, Nueva Córdoba, the most popular park of the city, with a zoo, a flower garden and an artificial lake
Parque San Martín, Av. Ramón C. Cárcano, at the Río Suquía, 10 km. west of the city center. Córdoba's greatest park with a ferial complex, a soccer stadium and a (run down) nature reserve.
Isla de los Patos, Av. Costanera / Hualfín (Bo. Alberdi), an island in the Río Suquía with a little park, ideal for families.
Plaza de las Naciones, Av. Sagrada Familia, Barrio Cerro de las Rosas, great picturesque square with a hill
Paseo de las Artes, Belgrano / Fructuoso Rivera, square with well-known art and crafts market and old-style buildings
Córdoba Observatorium, in Barrio Observatorio, one of the world's most important until 1900.
Centro Espacial Teófilo Tabanera, Ruta C-45, Falda del Cañete, 15 km (9 mi) south-west. Argentina's main space center, with a museum.
Observatorio Bosque Alegre, 25 km (15 mi) south-west of the city, now the main telescope.
WHAT TO DO
Cultural life - There are over 50 theaters, and many culture centers and "arte bars", where you can see theater, art exhibitions and different music acts. Every 2 years there is the Festival de Teatro del Mercosur, Argentina's most important theater festival, with many groups of South America.
Sports - In the Parque Sarmiento and Ciudad Universitaria you can do a wide variety of sports, including soccer, basketball, mountain-bike, and hockey.
The Universidad Nacional de Córdoba offers courses in a variety of sports, including climbing and sailing. Secretaría de Educación Física, Av. Valparaíso S/N.
The best-known soccer teams of Córdoba are Belgrano and Talleres, although they actually don't play in the First Division. The first division team, Instituto is less known. In Third Division there are Racing de Nueva Italia and General Paz Juniors.
Córdoba has a very good basketball team, Atenas, which holds the record of championships in Argentina and is known as one of the best outside the USA.
HOW TO REACH
By plane - The International Airport Ingeniero Talavella, also called Pajas Blancas is 10 km (6 mi) north of the center. There are flights to several towns in Argentina, to Santiago de Chile, Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia) and Porto Alegre (Brazil), though now there are much less flights then in the 90s because of the economic crisis. If you come from overseas you must change in Buenos Aires (you can also do it in Santiago de Chile), where you probably will have to change from Ezeiza airport to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (shuttle bus service relatively expensive, more than half the price of a taxi!).
From the airport there is a normal bus to the central area (A5, 1,20 AR$), a minibus service (about AR$ 5 per person) and taxis(about AR$65).
By train - Until the 1980's Córdoba was an important railway center with many connections. Today, the only line left is that to Buenos Aires, via Villa María and Rosario, two times a week. The train is very cheap ($25 for tourist class) in comparison to buses, but the journey is about 5 hours longer because of the deteriorated rails. There is also a daily local train to Villa María ($4). Train station (there were many, but most of them are out of use now) is near the omnibus terminal, on Boulevard Perón, another in the suburb of Barrio Ferreyra (south-east of the city).
By car - The city is connected with most greater towns by good asphalted routes. A motorway to Rosario is being built to connect Córdoba with the Buenos Aires - Santa Fe highway; it's already done until Oncativo and between Carcarañá and Rosario. Another motorway links Córdoba with Carlos Paz. There is a plan to build other motorways to Santa Fe, Tucumán, and Río Cuarto.
By bus - Buses are now the most popular public transport. Ominibus terminal is at the crossing of Boulevard Illía with Boulevard Perón near the Río Suquía. There are direct connections to all greater cities and tourist centers of Argentina, with the exception of Ushuaia (you will have to change in Río Gallegos). Very frequent buses to Buenos Aires and Rosario. Also, the local buses to the suburbs stop here, another stop is at Mercado Sur near Plaza San Martín.
