San Isidro

Just to the north of Buenos Aires city, 22km away, San Isidro is an attractive small town with a lovely setting on the coast, easily reached by the Tren de La Costaor local train from Retiro. It's an appealing place to come for an afternoon, for a stroll along the historical old quarter by the river, or to shop in the converted old railway station. This is the most sought after residential area in greater Buenos Aires, and there are lots of bars and places to eat along the coast, with pretty green spaces for walking or relaxing. The tourist information office www.san isidro.gov.ar, is staffed by extremely helpful bilingual staff.

Start your tour of San Isidro at the Tren de la Costa train station, nicely renovated, and now housing shops where you can pick up good handicrafts as well as clothes and accessories. Walk up into the pretty main Plaza Mitre, filled with shady mature trees and fragrant flowers in summer, and where there is a handicrafts market every weekend. From here, have a look at the old Municipal buildings, before walking along Beccar Varela street to look at the aristocratic houses. This was historically the site of country houses for the aristocracy in the late 19th century, and there are a number of fine colonial buildings including several country houses (quintas). Quinta Pueyrredónhouses the Museo Pueyrredón, containing artefacts from the life of General Juan Martín Pueyrredón. The main shopping street, with lots of locutoriosand places you can download and print photos, as well as the conventional shops, is Belgrano, between Avenida del Libertador and Avenida Centenario, the busy main road into Buenos Aires city.

The Ribera, the area by the coast stretching southeast of the centre, is green and peaceful, with plenty of park areas where you can sit gazing out at the great view of the Río de la Plata. There are marinas for yachts and windsurfing, and the Club Náutico San Isidro, reached from Mitre. There are also plenty of places to eat along here as this is a popular upmarket nightspot for Porteños, all along the coast road southeast of the centre of San Isidro from Primera Junta southeast to Paraná. It's worth strolling onto the viewpoint from the Mirador de Roque Sáenz Peña, for the views over to Buenos Aires. Further southeast, there's a small nature reserve right on the Río de la Plata, the Reserva Ecológica Municipal www.geocities.com/riberan which hosts an impressive array of bird life, with over 200 species. Access is from the coast road, Camino de la Ribera, via Vicente López.

Another interesting example of country houses which can be visited is the French- inspired Villa Ocampo www.villaocampo.org. Built in 1891, this beautiful house with galleried verandas and attractive gardens was the home of the famous Argentine writer Victoria Ocampo, where she frequently entertained illustrious visitors from Argentina's literary world. 

San Isidro is most famous for the Hipódromo San Isidro, its magnificent turf racecourse. Built in 1935, this immense race course is one of the best known in South America. Races are run every Wednesday, and some Saturdays or Sundays from 1500-2000. Beyond the compact town centre, the residential area is huge and sprawling, and is the place to live if you're a wealthy Porteño. Naturally, nearby is where you find Argentina's biggest shopping mall, the disarmingly immense Unicenter Shopping, at Paraná and the Ruta Panamericana . Don't even attempt to get there by bus: take a taxi, ask the driver to collect you at a pre-determined time and allow at least half a day. All the main brands are here, as well as a good range of restaurants in the Patio de Comidas.