The first suburb you come to after crossing Avenida General Paz is
Vicente López , a prosperous area of cobbled streets sloping down to the waterfront, lined with lush trees, pretty villas and well-tended gardens. It's especially worth a visit for the curious
Museo Fundación Rómulo Raggio at Gaspar Campos 861 (Thurs-Sun 4-8pm; $2, free on first Sat of month; free guided tours; tel 011/4796-1456;
ffrraggio@smsi.com.ar ). An eclectic arts centre, it offers classes in tango, tae kwon do and ceramics in a purpose-built workshop, alongside Palacio Lorenzo Raggio, a splendid but heavily remodelled Neoclassical villa, partly inspired by Vaux-le-Vicomte chateau near Paris. The villa itself houses one of the biggest private collections of Argentine paintings and sculptures, while classical recitals and avant-garde plays, sometimes in English, are regularly held in the adjoining auditorium. The museum is two blocks west of Estación Vicente López on the commuter-line from Retiro and can be reached by
buses #161 and #168 - get off at Avenida Maipú and Gral Las Heras and walk four blocks east.
Some 2km north, up the inland highway Avenida Maipú and riverside Avenida del Libertador, is Olivos , where the heavily guarded parkland surrounding the neocolonial presidential palace stretches for over 1km between the two avenues. Just over 1km northeast of the residence is the Puerto de Olivos , an exclusive marina and yacht-club, where you can stroll and admire the boats. Catamarans head upstream from here to Tigre, leaving from the southern end of the harbour (Dec-March Sat 4pm, Sun & public holidays 3pm & 5pm; $6 return). Expensive parrilla restaurants Nelly and El Muelle , on the harbour-front, both offer succulent steaks, while the sailing-club, Club Nautico Olivos , 200m east of Olivos' commuter-line station, is open to everyone for a drink, but you must be smartly dressed. The Tren de la Costa 's Borges station is three blocks west of Club Nautico Olivos .
