Mar Del Plata Travel Guide

Introduction

400km (248 miles) S of Buenos Aires

Argentina's most popular beach resort is a sleepy coastal city of about 700,000 long-term residents -- until mid-December, when Porteños flock here through March for their summer vacation. Nearly eight million vacationers will pass through in the summer season, the vast majority of them Argentines. Although it's not as luxurious as Uruguay's Punta del Este -- the beach favorite of many jet-setting Argentines -- Mar del Plata is closer to Buenos Aires and far cheaper. Its long, windy coastline is known for its crowded, tan-bodied beaches and quieter seaside coves, and beautiful landscapes farther inland, leading to the edge of the grassy Pampas. The resort was at one time very exclusive, but during the Perón era many hotels and high-rises were built for labor unions and the middle class, changing both the social and physical makeup of the city forever. Some of the magnificent French- and Tudor-style mansions, which housed Argentina's summer...