Expats-Welcome
Home

1 - Political status
2 - Geographical situation
3 - Economy
4 - Agriculture
5 - Industry
6 - Other sectors
7 - Population
8 - Language
9 - Religion
10 - Weights, measures & voltage
11 - Money
12 - Main towns
13 - Climate
14 - Insects
15 - Working
16 - Formalities
17 - Health
18 - Transport
19 - Time differences
20 - Telephone
21 - Airport
22 - Car rental
23 - Hotels and restaurants
24 - Your suitcase
25 - Banks
26 - Schools
27 - Guides
28 - Observations

18 - Transport There are 11,097 kms between Paris and Buenos Aires.
The flight time is approx. 14h10.

Air France does daily flights (return flights from 5000 FF).
Most of the European companies, KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa etc have regular flights to Argentina.

Internal transport
Aerolineas Argentinas has daily flights to all the airports in the country.
They offer a "Visit Argentina" pass, which is valid for 30 days and costs approx. 3750 FF (Tel 01 53 77 15 00)
The railway network covers a large part of the country with 30,000 kms of railway line.
There is also a good bus network going from Buenos Aires.

19 - Time differences
Argentina is 4 hours behind France in the winter and 5 hours behind in the summer.

20 - Telecommunications and press
To phone Argentina dial : 00 54 + the town or regional code + the n° of your correspondent.
Buenos Aires : 11, Mendoza : 261, Cordoba : 351, Ushuaia : 2901

To phone France from Argentina dial : 00 33 + the number of your correspondent.

International communications are expensive. Arrange rather to be called from France and check your telephone bill before you leave your hotel, "mistakes" can happen!
The mobile phone is a real virus in Argentina. You can rent one from your hotel.

Television/Radio
The television is cabled by satellite and you can receive TV5. Argentinian television broadcasts its programmes on 5 national channels and on several cable networks.

There are also several radio stations :
Antena Uno : Santa Fe.
Cadena Top 40 : a station for young people, Buenos Aires.
Contemporanea : La Plata.
Continental : Buenos Aires.
Doble U 955
FM 100 : Buenos Aires.
FM 92.1 : Buenos Aires.
FM ABC : Salta.
FM Aspen : Buenos Aires.
FM Ciudad : Buenos Aires.
FM Del Lago : Buenos Aires.
FM Hit : Buenos Aires.
FM Kristal : Bariloche.
FM Lider : Buenos Aires.
FM Marin : Buenos Aires.
FM Marina : Miramar.
FM News : Buenos Aires.
FM Palermo : Buenos Aires.
FM Succes 103 : Olavarria.
FM Vida : Rosario.
La Red : Buenos Aires.
LT 24 Radio San Nicolas : Buenos Aires.
LU2 Radio Bahia Blanca : Bahia Blanca.
LV3 Radio Cordoba : Cordoba.
NRG Energy : Buenos Aires.
Power FM : Cordoba.
Radi Atlantica : Mar del Plata.
Radio 10 : News, Buenos Aires.
Radio 2 : Rosario.
Radio America : Buenos Aires.
Radio Cultura : Buenos Aires.
Radio Del Plata : Buenos Aires.
Radio Mitre : Buenos Aires.
Radio Rio Cuarto : Rio Cuarto.
Radiofonica : adult station, Buenos Aires.
Rock and Pop : Buenos Aires.
Universidad 580 : Cordoba.
Vox FM : Cordoba.

News (medium wave) :
MITRE 790 khz
CONTINENTAL 590 khz
RIVADAVIA 630 khz

Music (FM)
NOSTALGIE 106.7 FM
News in French, from Monday to Friday at 9h00, 13h00, 17h00, 20h.
Every Monday: sports news at 13h30 and 20h30.


The Press
French newspaper are not distributed much. The main sales points are in the airports and sometimes in the bigger towns. The bookshops 'Edicial' and 'Ateneo' in Buenos Aires sell French newspapers and magazines.

21 - Airports
There are two airports in Buenos Aires : Ezeiza for most of the international flights, which is about half an hour out of the centre of town and the Aeroparque Jorge Newbery.
Several other towns have their airports :
Bahia Blanca : Comandante Esport Airport
Bariloch, Comodoro, Cordoba, Esquel,
Jujuy : Dr Horacio Guzman International Airport
Mar del Plata, Mendoza, Neuquen, Rio Grande, San Martin de Los Andes, Trelew, Tucuman, Ushuaia

22 - Car rental
Avis has an agency in all the main towns.
The telephone number of the central reservation office is :
54 11 4300 8201 (for national reservations) and 0001 800 456 4284 (for international reservations)
Some other agencies :
Bahia Blanca : 54 291 4501221
Bariloche : 54 2944 431648
Buenos Aires : Ezeiza Int. Airport 54 11 4480 9387, Jorge Newbery airport 54 11 4776 3003, town 54 11 4326 5542
Cordoba : airport 54 351 47550815
Mendoza : airport 54 261 4203178
Rio Grande : airport 54 266 4969568
Tucuman : airport 54 87 317575
Ushuaia : 54 2901 422744

All Avis cars are completely equipped, have done less than 15,000 kms and have an average age of 3 months. The vehicles are carefully prepared and checked between each rental using a procedure containing 7 obligatory control points. The cars are rented with a full tank.
Renting from Avis automatically means that the car passengers, renter and/or driver are covered by a third party insurance as well as an insurance covering repatriation and the immobilization of the vehicule in case of an accident.

You can reserve a car :
- from your travel agent
- from the international reservation centre at 0 820 05 05 05
- or from any Avis agency
Avis has an interactive network worldwide, a client can reserve a car instantly from anywhere in the world.

We recommend that you pay your rental using your accredited Avis card or with another credit card accepted by Avis : American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Diners.
Through a simple free membership system, Avis gives identity and/or payment cards, which are a real help for a rapid and efficient service.

REASSURING : No on-line payment, you can pay Avis directly at the agency when you return the car
RAPID : Avis has the quickest car rental reservation service on the web
ECONOMICAL : The cheapest rates on the market are available on the Avis microsite
COMPLETE : You can rent a car anywhere in the world.
The Avis network : 5000 agencies in 172 countries, is now on-line!
EFFICIENT : Find your town (you don't have to fill in the country), enter the date and click on estimate
PRACTICAL : You only have to fill in 4 boxes and you will receive an e-mail confirming the reservation.
You can even rent a vehicle at the last minute just round the corner or ... on the other side of the world.

Be careful : in Argentina you drive on the left.

23 - Hotels and restaurants
Some hotels :
(count about 450F for a decent room. The rates are very high.)

Buenos Aires
Sheraton, 34 kms from the airport
International Iguazu (in a national park, opposite the waterfall), 7 kms from the airport
The Hyatt International Park, in the centre of town
Gran Hotel Argentino, la 9 de Julio, Carlos Pellegrini, tel 325 95 91 - with a view on the biggest avenue in the world.
Hotel Alvear Palace, Alvear 1891, tel 804 40 31 - one of the oldest palaces in the Recoleta district.

Some Restaurants in and around Buenos Aires

Belgrano, Palermo

COSTA PATAGONICA, Alvarez Thomas 1899 (angle Los Incas) : Oysters and shellfish
MUSEO RENAULT, Av Figueroa Alcorta 3301 : Fashionable decoration and ambiance A typical Japanese restaurant on the mezzanine
FREUD y FAHLER, Gurruchaga, 1750 : Very elaborate Mediterranean cuisine in an old renovated warehouse in Old Palermo.

Nitas
INDOCHINE, Báez, 165 : Exotic and creative
LA FONDA DEL POLO, Báez, 301 : Parrillas

Costanera
RODIZIO, Costanera norte.R. Obligado and Pampa : Meat on skewers specialities
TAGO MAGO, R.Obligado et J. Salgurero, Costa Salguero : The waiters do improvised shows. In superb surroundings on the banks of the Rio.
RENA MORA, Costanera Norte Punta Carrasco : Spanish restaurant. Tapas, paëllas. Flamenco shows.

Micro-Centro
CLARK'S, Sarmiento 645 : Very elaborate menu (leg of lamb, magret de canard, merluza negra, ...) Sophisticated setting. Special menu after the theatre Colón
PIOLA, Libertad 1078 : Very 'in' pizzeria, with excellent pizzas.

Puerto Madero
PAQUEBOT, Alicia M.de Justo, 1110 : Refined cuisine, fish
EL MIRASOL, Alicia M.de Justo, 202 : Parillas restaurant
CABANA LAS LILAS, Alicia M.de Justo, 516 : Really good meat in a really nice setting. 
 KATRINE, Alicia M. de Justo, 138 : Refined dishes in a refined setting.

Recoleta
LA TASCA DE PLAZA MAYOR, Posadas,1052 : Spanish specialities
MUNICH, R.M. Ortiz 1871 : Classical Argentinian restaurant. Synthesis of Italian, Spanish and Argentinian cooking.

San Telmo
LA CONVENCION, Carlos Calvo 375 : Traditional restaurant
LA VIEJA ROTISERIA, Defensa 963 : Delicious meat
ANTIGUA TASCA DE CUCHILLEROS, Carlos Calvo 319 : Traditional cooking. Home made pasta.

Zone Nord
LA CABALLERIZA, Dardo Rocha, 1740 SAN ISIDRO : Excellent grilled meat
MARAÑA, Primera Junta 702 SAN ISIDRO : Very refined cuisine
ROSA NEGRA, Dardo Rocha, 1918 MARTINEZ : Refined cuisine, very good fish. 

French restaurants in Buenos Aires:
AU BEC FIN, Vincente Lopez 1827 Capital, for big occasions: very refined restaurant.
CHRISTOPHE ,  Fitz Roy 1994 angle Nicaragua Palermo : in the old Palermo district, delicately flavoured food. Good value for money.
GRANDA, Junin 1281Capital : Cyril Cheipe (ex La Bourgogne) manages the kitchen. Traditional cooking. Tray of French cheeses - dish of the day. Better to book.
CALA BISTROT, Soler 4065Capital : Traditional French cuisine. On Thursday evenings an excellent chamber music duo. 
CHEZ BEA, Paraguay 436 : French creperie, Breton welcome and gastronomy assured. Piano bar on Thursday evenings.
LA BOURGOGNE, Ayacucho 2027 : Luxury, and culinary delight.. Only for big spenders!
 

24 - Your suitcase
Take plenty of casual clothes, the climate varies enormously, if you are visiting the country you will need comfortable shoes, a rainscoat or windcheater and a double wardrobe summer and winter.

If you are on business, you should wear a suit and tie if you want to be taken seriously, the Argentinians are very smart.

25 - Information
Public holidays

1st January : New Year's Day
April : Good Friday
1st May : Labour Day
25th May : anniversary of the 1810 Revolution
14th June : Malouines Day
21st June : Flag Day
9th July : Independence Day
16th August : anniversary of the death of St Martin
11th October : Day of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus
8th December : Immaculate Conception
25th December : Christmas

In business relations you should know that Argentinians are very proud.
They appreciate exchanging business cards and other documents.
Argentinia is a very Latin country : personal contact is extremely important. Don't be over-impressed by the positive character of first meetings, what is important is the follow-up.
They have got into the habit of taking rapid decisions, due to the period of hyper-inflation that Argentina went through.

Watch out for taxi drivers who take extra-long ways to get there to make the meter turn.
Life is expensive for a foreign visitor, hotels and restaurants are often extremely expensive.
Don't talk about the military dictatorships or the Falklands war.

Security : not a real problem, but criminality has increased due to the economic crisis

Office opening hours are 9am - 6.30pm.

26 - Banks
The IDB
The InterAmerican Development Bank was created in 1959. The president must be a South American and the vice-president must be an American. The main share holders are the borrowing countries. A country which chooses the IDB lets companies participate in tenders for projects which need financing from the IDB. The companies are then all on equal footing.

French banks in Argentina
CIC banques, Crédit Lyonnais, Banque Nationale de Paris.

Bank opening hours : from 9 am - 3 pm.

27 - Schools and education
In Argentina the school year starts in March and ends in December.

List of schools (see Useful Addresses in the country further on)

28 - Guides
- Les Amériques latines - Dossier pays/CFCE/63121-1994-110 pages-Price 350F (in French)

-L'Argentine, A.Rouquié. Collection Que sais-je? P.U.F Paris, 1984 (in French)

-Latin America Today - United Nations University Press ONU/78717-1993-347 pages-Price 320F ;

-Directory of members of the French-Argentinian Chamber of commerce and Industry/77703-1994-Price 381F

- Argentine, de P.Kalfon.Le Seuil, Paris 1973. (in French)

-Le Guide Marcus Argentine par Françoise Noël/Benoît Bourdeix/Pierre Antas/Veronica Augé (in French)

-Le Grand Guide de l'Argentine (Editions Gallimard) 175F (in French)

-Le Guide du Routard Chili / Argentine (in French)

- Trekking in Patagonian Andes (Lonely Planet) 140F

- La Patagonie et la Terre de Feu (Peuples du monde) 150F (in French)

29 - Observations
French presence in Argentina
The first French people arrived in Argentina in 1810. Today there are over 14,000 French people, working in a variety of sectors, 67% in the tertiary sectors, 16% in industry and 8% in agriculture.

Among a long list of French companies, there are : BSN, CARREFOUR, DUMEZ, EDF, FRANCE TELECOM, LYONNAISE DES EAUX, PEUGEOT, RENAULT, TOTAL, USINOR.

Local relations
Relations between the French, local and other foreign communities are good.
Relationships are easy to made and build up.
Part of the local population speak French.
French schools in Argentina are also attended by other nationalities as well as by Argentinians.

The ambiance
The expatriate will find a large choice of things to do in Argentina : sport, leisure and culture activities are numerous and varied both directly in the local life which is very lively as well as in French cultural centres which are very well organized.

Tango (where to find it) :
Hotel Savoy : on Sundays in the basements on the Avenida Callao
El Salon Elenico : to listen to old tango, Cannin 1331
El Dorado : dancing, angle Hipolito Yrigoyen and Bernardo de Yrigoyen


Tourism
There are many tourist sites in Argentina and a huge variety of visits to make :

One interesting visit is to Liniers, 20 minutes out of Buenos Aires. This is one of the biggest markets and animal slaughterhouses in the world and constitutes a real voyage to the heart of the Argentinian Pampa. Liniers stretches over hundreds of hectares, guarded by uniformed watchmen. The cattle selected for sale by auction are rounded up by authentic gauchos welded to their 'criollos' horses, a wild race which has been selected for its strength.

Ushuaia is the southernmost town in the world. It is the capital of the Tierra del Fuego, and its pastel coloured houses are dominated by a beautiful mountain. Nature lovers can find there all that they dream of : boat excursions, sea elephants, fishing in the lakes, hiking and walks of all kinds in the National Park of the Tierre del Fuego or near the El Martial glacier.

Shopping
Records : Le Plus Beau Tango du monde : the whole work of Carlos Gardel has been re-edited on CD by El Bandoneon.

Trade Fairs/Congresses/Exhibitions

Buenos Aires

Catering. International Trade Fair of Suppliers for foodstuff companies
Place : Centro Costa Salguero.
How often : Yearly
Products exhibited : Sector-related - agricultural and food products ; material for foodstuff industries, wrapping - packaging; hotel and restaurant business.
Visitors : Professionals.
Organizer : PUBLITEC EDITORA.

Trade Fair for products, equipment and services concerning health
Place: Centro Costa Salguero.
How often : Yearly
Products exhibited : Health.
Visitors : Professionals.
Organizer : MERCO FERIAS SRL.

30 - Useful Addresses
Useful addresses in France

Argentinian Embassy
6, rue Cimarosa
75016 Paris
Tel 01 44 05 27 00

Cultural service (which acts as a Tourist Board) Tel 01 47 27 15 11

Librairie hispano-américaine
South American bookshop
26, rue Monsieur le Prince
75006 Paris
Tel 01 43 26 03 79

Maison de l'amérique latine
217, bd Saint Germain
75007 Paris
Tel 01 49 54 75 00

Useful addresses in Argentina

Embassies, Consulates, etc...

French Embassy
in Buenos Aires
Cerrito 1399
1010 Buenos Aires
Tel : (00 54 1) 819 29 30

French Consulate
in Buenos Aires
Avenida Santa Fé 846
4th floor
1059 Buenos Aires
Tel : (00 54 1) 312 24 09

French-Argentinian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Av, Presidente R.Saénz Pena 648,
9° A, (1035) Buenos Aires Argentine
Tel : 00 (54-1) 331 66 50/ 343 22 04/342 99 11
Fax : 00 (54-1) 331 24 94.

Union des Français de l'Etranger (UFE)
Rodriguez Pena, 1832,
1021 Buenos Aires
Tel : 813 78 17

Consulate agencies

8000 Bahia Blanca
Fitzroy 49
Tel : (091) 21681

8332 General Roca
San Martin 37
Tel : (0941) 23406

7600 Mar del Plata
La Rioja 2065, Edificio Marino V
Tel : (023) 40120

3300 Posadas, Ayacucho 1621
Tel : (0752) 26182

5000 Cordoba, Ayacucho 46
Tel : (051) 21 94 03

19000 La Plata, Calle 59 N°626
Tel : (021) 31616

5500 Mendoza, Houssay 818
Tel : (061) 23 15 52

3500 Resistencia
Roque Saenz Pena 453
Tel : (0722) 24480

2000 Rosario, San Luis 846
Tel : (041) 24 84 61

30000 Santa Fe, Bd Galvez 2147
Tel : (042) 55 85 75

4000 Tucuman, Laprida 19
Tel : (081) 21 82 02

4400 Salta, Santa Fé 20
Tel : (087) 31 24 03  

8400 San Carlos De Bariloche
Elfein 13 - 1°A
Tel : (0944) 41960

Comité des Associations françaises d'Argentine
Rodriguez Pena 1832
1021 Buenos Aires
Tel : 331 66 50

Schools

Lycée franco-argentin
Jean Mermoz
Ramsay 2131
1428 Buenos Aires
Tél : (00 541) 781 60 54
Fax (00 54 1) 782 81 49
Teaching goes from pre-school up to secondary 1st and 2nd cycles

College Franco-Argentin de Martinez
Lavalle 1067, 1641 Acassuso
Tel : (00 541) 792 46 28
Fax : (00 54 1) 793 15 56

Union Européen - MERCOSUR
Members of the section who can inform you on different economic sectors.

Banque Supervielle Société Générale Fax : (54 1) 329-8090

Edenor S.A. Fax : (54 1) 348-2149

Paribas Fax : (54 1) 340-5400

Air France Fax : (54 -1) 312-1101

Gec Alsthom Int. de Argentina Fax : (54 -1) 311-4856

B.N.P Fax : (54 -1) 311-1368

Crédit Lyonnais Fax : (54 -1) 334-6936

Service Tichet Fax : (54 -1) 958-2392

Instituto Merieaux Argentina Fax : (54 -1) 33-7715

Total Autral Fax : (54 -1) 325-8273

Saplac Hierromat Fax : (54 -1) 313-2501

Acheco S.R.L Fax : (54 -1) 394-2290

Carrefour Fax : (54 -1) 313-8234

Quillet Fax : (54 -1) 811-7091

CIC Banques Fax : (54 -1) 313-7217

Office du Livre Français Fax : (54 -1) 374-4747

Framat Fax : (54 -1) 312-7993

Prodesca S.A. Fax : (54 -1) 381-8952

La Oxigena Fax : (54 -1) 865-3904

Usinor Sacilor-Matthieu Fax : (54 -1) 792-8970

Peugeot Argentina Fax : (54 -1) 331-0483

Sofregaz Fax : (54 -1) 312-2652