WHILE THERE ARE plenty of buses Tilcara – Jujuy and Tilcara - Humahuaca, there are only three direct buses from Tilcara to Salta(Balut, three and half hours without stopping at Purmamarca, 46 pesos). These are at 0315, 1205 and mid-afternoon.
The Salta bus station is brand spanking new, and from there it’s a short walk through pleasant gardens and past a picturesque boating lake to the centre of town.
We stayed at the Hotel del Antiguo Convento on Caseros. Beautiful, quiet, clean, great location just a short walk from the main plaza and a good selection of restaurants and handicrafts shops ranging from bargain to luxury. There’s a “bank zone”, so no shortage of ATMs and unofficial money changers on the streets.
Caseros continues from the hotel past the main square and becomes a good pedestrianised shopping street. Just past the main square, on your right, is a big gift shop with an extensive range of football (mainly Boca, River and Independiente, but not exclusively) memorabilia that is better priced than in BA. Also on Caseros, a block before the main square, also on your right, is El Solar del Convento, the best restaurant we came across in Argentina(recommended by one of the staff in the aforementioned gift shop). It was the first time I’d seen a menu offering half-size steaks – still enormous by European standards – but it was the quality that impressed right through from the starter to the home-made flan dessert.
The opposite end of the spectrum can be sampled at the other end of town(near the railway station) on Balcarce, where a few blocks are dedicated to trendy bars, nightclubs and restaurant folkloric(Gaucho) shows. It’s pot luck whether the show you choose will be better than the others, but obvious clues can be found in (a) the size of the stage(we saw one barely big enough for a solo guitarist), and (b) the cover charged(varies between 10 and 20 pesos per person). We opted for El Viejo Estacion. The show featured spectacular dancing with flags and bolas and a great live band. Total bill for two courses, bottle of decent Malbec and covers was 200 pesos, but there’s nothing to stop you ordering just a couple of starters and bottle of beer.
The bars around the main plaza are great places to watch the world go by, but inevitably you pay a premium the closer you are to the cathedral.
We took the teleferico up to the top of San Bernardo hill (10 pesos each way) which gives great views of the town and the distant Andes. The restaurant there does good, simple dishes and has a surprisingly decent, if limited, wine list. We feasted on empanadas, salad, beers and bottle of Torrontes for about 100 pesos and enjoyed the views for a good couple of hours.
Despite loving train journeys as much as the next incorrigible romantic(and being a weatherbeaten veteran of several spectacular rooftop train rides across South America), I gave the “Train to the Clouds” a miss after learning that the journey costs more than US$100 per person and, despite covering barely 100 miles, lasts from 7 am until midnight(which means most of your return journey is in complete darkness!).
The Salta bus station is brand spanking new, and from there it’s a short walk through pleasant gardens and past a picturesque boating lake to the centre of town.
We stayed at the Hotel del Antiguo Convento on Caseros. Beautiful, quiet, clean, great location just a short walk from the main plaza and a good selection of restaurants and handicrafts shops ranging from bargain to luxury. There’s a “bank zone”, so no shortage of ATMs and unofficial money changers on the streets.
Caseros continues from the hotel past the main square and becomes a good pedestrianised shopping street. Just past the main square, on your right, is a big gift shop with an extensive range of football (mainly Boca, River and Independiente, but not exclusively) memorabilia that is better priced than in BA. Also on Caseros, a block before the main square, also on your right, is El Solar del Convento, the best restaurant we came across in Argentina(recommended by one of the staff in the aforementioned gift shop). It was the first time I’d seen a menu offering half-size steaks – still enormous by European standards – but it was the quality that impressed right through from the starter to the home-made flan dessert.
The opposite end of the spectrum can be sampled at the other end of town(near the railway station) on Balcarce, where a few blocks are dedicated to trendy bars, nightclubs and restaurant folkloric(Gaucho) shows. It’s pot luck whether the show you choose will be better than the others, but obvious clues can be found in (a) the size of the stage(we saw one barely big enough for a solo guitarist), and (b) the cover charged(varies between 10 and 20 pesos per person). We opted for El Viejo Estacion. The show featured spectacular dancing with flags and bolas and a great live band. Total bill for two courses, bottle of decent Malbec and covers was 200 pesos, but there’s nothing to stop you ordering just a couple of starters and bottle of beer.
The bars around the main plaza are great places to watch the world go by, but inevitably you pay a premium the closer you are to the cathedral.
We took the teleferico up to the top of San Bernardo hill (10 pesos each way) which gives great views of the town and the distant Andes. The restaurant there does good, simple dishes and has a surprisingly decent, if limited, wine list. We feasted on empanadas, salad, beers and bottle of Torrontes for about 100 pesos and enjoyed the views for a good couple of hours.
Despite loving train journeys as much as the next incorrigible romantic(and being a weatherbeaten veteran of several spectacular rooftop train rides across South America), I gave the “Train to the Clouds” a miss after learning that the journey costs more than US$100 per person and, despite covering barely 100 miles, lasts from 7 am until midnight(which means most of your return journey is in complete darkness!).
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