Info and things to do for new-comers to Cordoba!

I just had a new member ask me for suggestions on things to do and see around Cordoba. I typed a pretty detailed message in response, so I figured I would post the message in this forum since it may benefit other members who may be new to the area. Please feel free to share your own favorites and suggestions in this thread--everyone is welcome to add helpful info!

If you are close to the city center (known here as "Nueva Cordoba") there are tons of places to go!

If you enjoy city parks, Parque Sarmiento is the largest and most popular park in Nueva Cordoba. They have a carnival inside the park and a zoo, ponds you can take paddle boats on, and places to go running or sit around and enjoy scenery. If you look at a map you can see how big it is. Near the intersection of Av. Leopoldo Lugones and Av. Amadeo Sabattini (the more northern end of the park), there are several sets of stairs that, from the top, there is a great view of the city. Also near the park are two great art museums--Museo Superior de Bellas Artas Evitas and Caraffa Fine Arts Museum.

For shopping, there is Patio Olmos (shopping mall) that has a food court and theater, and it's located at the corner of Av. Velez Sarsfield and Bv. San Juan. There are also small shops all throughout the city, especially near El Paseo del Buen Pastor. Also in Buen Pastor square, there is a beautiful cathedral and a nice water fountain that has light/music shows at night. There is a restaurant/bar that I like in that area called Black Sheep that is good for a night out.

Night life, there are places all over! But a couple of my favorites besides Black Sheep are X-Bar (best mojitos in town!) near the corner of Av. Marcelo T de Avear (also known as "la cañada") and Bv. San Juan. There are also many other bars right near that intersection too that play dance music and have good night life. There is another really good bar I like called Milk Bar but I'm not sure of exact street names. I think it's near the intersection of Obispo Trejo and Laprida.

As for traveling, I haven't been many places yet in Argentina, but since I just came back from Mendoza, I highly recommend it. Especially if you like wine, since it appears to be the wine capital of the country and you can go on wine tours, go trekking, visit hot springs in the mountains, and much more. Closer to Cordoba, there is Carlos Paz which is maybe a 45 minute drive, and it's a really nice little city where people go for weekend or day trips. You can take a boat out on the large lake they have and go swimming. It's pretty nice.

Hope this helps!