The city of San Miguel de Tucumán, known simply as Tucumán, lies almost equidistant
between Catamarca and Salta on a broad plain just east of the massive Sierra de Aconquija.
It's the largest and most important city in the north of the province, though it has suffered economically during the recession. Visually, the city lacks Salta's style or architectural splendour, despite being one of the first cities to be founded by the Spanish, and few of its colonial buildings remain. However, it's a busy centre with plentiful restaurants and a huge park designed by architect Charles Thays. There are few attractions for visitors, and it's overwhelmingly hot in summer - the siesta is strictly observed from 1230 to 1630 - but it does have a couple of good museums and lively nightlife.
Getting around
The plaza is the city's heart along with the busy pedestrianized shopping streets to the north and west. It's an easy place to get around on foot, but taxis are cheap and reliable. There are several good accommodation options, but if this is a strategic stopover for you, it be better to retreat to the cooler mountains of Tafí del Valle, as the
do at weekends.
Best time to visit
The city's big festivals are the
, 9 July, when Tucumán is capital of the country for the day. On September 24, the city celebrates the day Belgrano won the Battle of Tucumán, with a huge procession. September also sees the
Tucumán Empanada Festival
. Summer is best avoided because of the heat, especially January and February.
Background
Tucumán was an important city in Spanish colonial times. Founded in 1565 and transferred
to its present site in 1685, it was a strategic stop for mule trains on the routes from Bolivia to Buenos Aires and Mendoza. With a colonial economy based on sugar, citrus fruit and tobacco, it developed an aristocracy distinct from those of Buenos Aires and Córdoba. The city was the site of an important battle during the Wars of Independence. Belgrano's victory here in 1812 over a royalist army ended the Spanish threat to restore colonial rule over the River Plate area. Tucumán's wealth was derived from sugar, and it remains the biggest industry, though lemons have also become vital exports in recent decades. The province has suffered badly during the recession, with rising unemployment and child poverty. The town has consequently a rather neglected air.
Sights
in the city's commercial centre, with many tall palms and mature trees gives welcome shade in the sweltering heat. At night it's full of
eating ice cream from one of the many
. Among its attractive buildings are the ornate
(1910), with tall palms outside and art-nouveau balconies. Next door is a typical
(sausage house),
, a series of skinny rooms off open patios, whose collection of china and paintings belonging to a wealthy Tucumán family gives you a flavour of 19th-century life. Across the road, the
(1891) has a rather gloomy interior, but a picturesque façade and tiled cupola. On the south side of the plaza, the neoclassical
(1852) has a distinctive cupola, but a disappointingly bland modern interior, the ceiling painted with rainbows and whales.
South of the plaza, on Calle Congreso, is the Casa Histórica. Rooms are set around two attractive patios, filled with old furniture, historical documents and some fine Cuzqueño school paintings. The highlight is the actual room where the Declaration of Independence was drafted, with portraits of the Congressmen lining the walls. Next to it is a room full of interesting religious artefacts.
It's also worth visiting the small Museo Anthropología, with it's fine collection of artefacts from the pre-Hispanic cultures of the Calchaquí valleys. The Museo Folklórico Provincial has an impressive collection of silverwork from Peru and musical instruments in an old colonial house.
Tucumán's enormous park, Parque Nueve de Julio, east of the centre, is a much-used green space, designed by French landscape architect Charles Thays who also designed the Parque Tres de Febrero in Buenos Aires. With many subtropical trees, it was once the property of Bishop Colombres who played an important role in the development of the local sugar industry, and whose handsome house is now the Museo de la Industria Azucarera with a display on sugar-making. The park also has a lake and lots of sports facilities.
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This is edited copy from Footprint Handbooks. For comprehensive details (incl address, tel no, directions, opening times and prices) please refer to book or individual chapter PDF
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