San Antonio de Areco

San Antonio de Areco is where Argentina keeps its gaucho tradition most deliberately alive. The town grew on the pampas in the eighteenth century and became associated with the writer Ricardo Güiraldes, whose novel Don Segundo Sombra drew on local figures, and the estate that inspired it is now the Museo Gauchesco, with saddles, silver, ponchos and criollo craft in a colonial-style compound. Workshops of silversmiths and leatherworkers still operate around the plaza, making mate gear, knives and belts by hand. The Pulpería La Blanqueada, a nineteenth-century country store and bar, has been preserved. Each November the Día de la Tradición brings riders from across the province for parades, riding skills and folk music.

What you actually see

• The gaucho museum - saddles, silver and criollo craft on the Güiraldes estate.
• The silversmith workshops - mate gear and knives made by hand near the plaza.
• La Blanqueada pulpería - the preserved nineteenth-century country store.
• The November festival - the Día de la Tradición with riders and folk music.

When to go

November for the Día de la Tradición, the town's biggest event, booking well ahead. Otherwise year-round, with spring and autumn most pleasant. Weekends bring day trippers from the capital; weekdays are quiet.

Honest expectations

Outside the festival the town is small and can be seen in a few hours, and some workshops keep short hours. Estancia day visits nearby are aimed at tour groups and priced accordingly. Summer heat on the open pampas is heavy.

Nearby

Buenos Aires lies southeast; the pampas estancias spread around the town.