South America From Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is a must-see on your MSC South America cruise to Argentina. Its heart is the spacious, palm-dotted Plaza de Mayo, the ideal place to begin a tour of the area and explore its historical and political connections; its mismatched medley of buildings includes the famous Casa Rosada, or government house.
An amble westwards from the plaza will take you along Avenida de Mayo, the city’s major boulevard, offering an impressive display of Art Nouveau and Art Decoarchitecture. At its western end, Avenida de Mayo opens onto the Plaza del Congreso, presided over by the Congreso Nacional building, the seat of the federal parliament.
Casa Rosada, a typically Argentine blend of French and Italian Renaissance styles, stands on the site of the city’s Spanish fort, begun in 1594 and converted in 1776 to the viceroy’s palace. In 1862, President Bartolomé Mitre moved the government ministries to the building, remodelling it once again.
The final touch was added in 1885, when the central arch was added, unifying the facade. Behind the Casa Rosada, the Plaza Colón features a gigantic Argentine flag and a Carrara marble statue of Christopher Columbus, looking out to the river and towards the Old World.
MSC South America cruises also offer excursions to the north of Buenos Aires, where the four residential barrios of most interest to visitors – Retiro, Recoleta, Palermo and Belgrano – each retain a distinctive character. Nearest to the centre, Retiro and Recoleta – known jointly as Barrio Norte – have chic streets lined with boutiques, art galleries and smart cafés. Recoleta is associated primarily with its magnificent cemetery where, among other national celebrities, Evita is buried.
Both barrios also share an extraordinary concentration of French-style palaces, tangible proof of the obsession of the city’s elite at the beginning of the twentieth century with established European cities

As you approach the low-lying, whitewashed colonial port of Vila do Abraão in Ilha Grande with your MSC cruise ship, the mountains rise dramatically from the sea, and in the distance there’s the curiously shaped summit of Bico do Papagaio (“Parrot’s Beak”), which rises to a height of 980m and can be reached in about three hours.

There’s really very little to see in Abraão itself, but it’s a pleasant enough base from which to explore the rest of the island. Ilha Grande comprises 193 square kilometres of mountainous jungle, historic ruins and beautiful beaches, excellent for some scenic tropical rambling. The island is a state park and the authorities have been successful at limiting development and maintaining a ban on motor vehicles.
Ilha Grande offers lots of beautiful excursions along well-maintained and fairly well-signposted trails, but it’s sensible to take some basic precautions. Carry plenty of water with you, and remember to apply sunscreen and insect repellent at regular intervals. According to legend, the pirate Jorge Grego was heading for the Straits of Magellan when his ship was sunk by a British fleet.
He managed to escape with his two daughters to Ilha Grande, where he became a successful farmer and merchant. However, in a fit of rage, he murdered the lover of one of his daughters, and shortly afterwards, a terrible storm destroyed all his farms and houses. From then on, Jorge Grego passed his time roaming the island, distraught, pausing only long enough to bury his treasure before his final demise.
If there is any treasure today, though, it’s the island’s wildlife: parrots, exotic hummingbirds, butterflies and monkeys abound in the thick vegetation.

Copacabana is dominated to the east by Sugar Loaf Mountain and circled by a line of hills that stretch out into the bay as you’ll see when you’re cruising the Atlantic Ocean with MSC Cruises.

The town’s expansion as a residential area has been restricted by the Morro de São João, which separates it from Botafogo, and the Morro dos Cabritos, a natural barrier to the west. Consequently, Copacabana is one of the world’s most densely populated areas as well as a frenzy of sensual activity.
Of course, Copacabana hasn’t always been as it is today, and traces remain of the former fishing community that dominated the area until the first decades of the twentieth century. Each morning before dawn, the boats of the colônia de pescadores (the descendants of the fishermen) set sail from the Forte de Copacabana, returning to the beach by 8am to sell their fish from stalls at the southern end of the beach. Rio’s sophisticated beach culture is entirely a product of the twentieth century.
The 1930s saw the city’s international reputation emerge and “flying down to Rio” became an enduring cliché, celebrated in music, film and literature. Nonetheless, Rio’s beaches are first and foremost the preserve of cariocas: rich or poor, young or old, everybody descends on the beaches throughout the week, treating them as city parks. Copacabana is amazing, the over-the-top atmosphere apparent even in the mosaic pavements, designed by Burle Marx to represent images of rolling waves.
The seafront is backed by a line of prestigious, high-rise hotels and luxury apartments that have sprung up since the 1940s. Some fine examples of Art Deco architecture are scattered around the bairro.

Copacabana is dominated to the east by Sugar Loaf Mountain and circled by a line of hills that stretch out into the bay as you’ll see when you’re cruising the Atlantic Ocean with MSC Cruises.

The town’s expansion as a residential area has been restricted by the Morro de São João, which separates it from Botafogo, and the Morro dos Cabritos, a natural barrier to the west. Consequently, Copacabana is one of the world’s most densely populated areas as well as a frenzy of sensual activity.
Of course, Copacabana hasn’t always been as it is today, and traces remain of the former fishing community that dominated the area until the first decades of the twentieth century. Each morning before dawn, the boats of the colônia de pescadores (the descendants of the fishermen) set sail from the Forte de Copacabana, returning to the beach by 8am to sell their fish from stalls at the southern end of the beach. Rio’s sophisticated beach culture is entirely a product of the twentieth century.
The 1930s saw the city’s international reputation emerge and “flying down to Rio” became an enduring cliché, celebrated in music, film and literature. Nonetheless, Rio’s beaches are first and foremost the preserve of cariocas: rich or poor, young or old, everybody descends on the beaches throughout the week, treating them as city parks. Copacabana is amazing, the over-the-top atmosphere apparent even in the mosaic pavements, designed by Burle Marx to represent images of rolling waves.
The seafront is backed by a line of prestigious, high-rise hotels and luxury apartments that have sprung up since the 1940s. Some fine examples of Art Deco architecture are scattered around the bairro.

Home to nine of Brazil’s best beaches.
Stop by in Cabo Frio on your South America cruise holiday to Brazil, and pick up a stylish new outfit for the beach.
Situated on the coast of southern Brazil, the port of Cabo Frio is a recent addition to the cruise destinations offered by MSC Cruises. Offering a classic taste of Brazilian life, Cabo Frio is a place full of history, great shopping facilities – especially beachwear – and truly iconic beaches, full of fashionable sun worshippers.
Originally named Santa Helena de Cabo Frio (‘Cape Cold’) by the Portuguese who founded it in 1615, it owes its name to the chilly submarine currents feeding into the coastal waters from the Antarctic. As a tourist destination, the port is certainly one of the best cruise stopovers you’re likely to find.
Next to a wealth of local history and places of archaeological interest, Cabo Frio is also home to nine of Brazil’s best beaches, of which the seemingly endless Forte Beach (named after its ancient defensive fort) is probably the best known. So you’ll want to look your best, and a trip to pick up a little something in the fashionable boutiques on Gamboa Street (known as the ‘beachwear nirvana’), is a must before you hit the beach.
Then later, after you’ve had a thoroughly delicious lounge about in the sun, topping up your tan in your stylish new beachwear, you can head over to one of the colourful beachfront restaurants to try the local speciality, the thoroughly delicious and widely renowned shrimp pasta.

As you’ll be able to appreciate when you cruise the Atlantic Ocean with MSC Cruises, in its position on the southern shore of the magnificent Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro has, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most stunning settings in the world.

Extending for 20km along an alluvial strip, between an azure sea and forest-clad mountains, the city’s streets and buildings have been moulded around the foothills of the mountain range that provides its backdrop, while out in the bay there are many rocky islands fringed with white sand.
The aerial views over Rio are breathtaking, and even the concrete skyscrapers that dominate the city’s skyline add to the attraction. As the former capital of Brazil and now its second-largest city, Rio has a remarkable architectural heritage, some of the country’s best museums and galleries, superb restaurants and a vibrant nightlife – in addition to its legendary beaches. A shore excursion on your MSC South America cruise can be the opportunity to visit the Pão de Açúcar.
The Sugar Loaf Mountain rises where Guanabara Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Its name may simply reflect a resemblance to the moulded loaves in which sugar was once commonly sold. Alternatively, it may be a corruption of the indigenous Tamoya word Pau-nh-Açuquá, meaning “high, pointed or isolated hill”. On the top of Corcoavado Mountain instead the Art Deco statue of Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), arms outstretched in welcome, stands 30m high and weighs over 1000 tonnes. It was supposed to be completed for Brazil’s centenary independence celebrations in 1922, but wasn’t actually finished until 1931.
In clear weather, fear no anticlimax: climbing to the statue is a stunning experience, with the whole of Rio and Guanabara Bay laid out before you.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Ilhabela is one of the most beautiful spots on the Brazilian coast between Santos and Rio. When you step ashore from your MSC cruise ship you’ll feel surrounded by nature.

Of volcanic origin, the island’s startling mountainous scenery rises to 1370m and is covered in dense tropical foliage. With 83 percent of the island protected within the boundaries of the Parque Estadual de Ilhabela, the dozens of waterfalls, beautiful beaches and azure seas have contributed to the island’s popularity.
Old or new, most of the buildings are in simple Portuguese-colonial styles – as far removed from brash Guarujá as you can get. The island is a haunt of São Paulo’s rich who maintain large and discreetly located homes on the coast, many of which have mooring facilities for luxury yachts or helicopter landing-pads.
Almost all of the island’s 30,000 inhabitants live along the sheltered western shore, with the small village of Vila Ilhabela (often referred to as “Centro”) serving as the main population centre. On an MSC South America cruise excursion you can visit Vila Ilhabela, which has a few pretty colonial buildings, dominated by the Igreja Matriz, a little church completed in 1806. Situated on a hill, the white-and-blue wedding cake-like building has a Spanish-marble floor and provides both a cool retreat from the sun and a good view over the area.
Following the coastal road south from Vila Ilhabela along the mainland-facing shore, the beaches are small, but pleasant enough, the calm waters are popular with windsurfers, and bars and restaurants dot the roadside as far as Perequê, the island’s second-biggest town, about halfway south along the island and the location of the port. There are more attractive beaches on the further-flung coasts of the island, most of which can be reached by schooner and/or jeep.

As you sail on an MSC cruise to South America, Montevideo is the port for you. Founded in 1726 as a fortress against Portuguese encroachment on the northern shore of the Río de la Plata, it had an excellent trading position and, following a turbulent and often violent early history, its growth was rapid.

A shore excursion on your MSC South America cruise can be the opportunity to discover Montevideo. It may appear humble at first, but this is a seriously cool, confident city. If you’ve ever seen a fictionalized version of Havana on TV or film, it’s quite possible it was actually shot in Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja, so reminiscent are its streets of those in the Cuban capital.
Dotted among the crumbling houses and cobbled streets are endearingly bizarre (and mostly free) museums and galleries, while the highlight is the glorious Mercado del Puerto. A good place to start a walking tour of the Ciudad Vieja is the Puerta de la Ciudadela, dating to 1746, marking the original site of the Citadel of Montevideo on the Plaza Independencia.
This square commemorates the emergence of Uruguay as a sovereign nation, and a 17m-high statue and mausoleum of José Artigas, the man credited with kick-starting Uruguay’s independence campaign against Spain and Portugal, stands aptly in the centre.
The area around the plaza contains eclectic architectural styles from different periods, from the Torre Ejecutiva where the president performs his duties, to the bulbous tower of the Palacio Salvo, built on the reported site of the first ever performance of tango. Tucked behind the plaza’s south-western corner is the celebrated Teatro Solís, the most prestigious theatre in the country, completed in 1856 and remodelled a few times thereafter.

Buenos Aires is a must-see on your MSC South America cruise to Argentina. Its heart is the spacious, palm-dotted Plaza de Mayo, the ideal place to begin a tour of the area and explore its historical and political connections; its mismatched medley of buildings includes the famous Casa Rosada, or government house.
An amble westwards from the plaza will take you along Avenida de Mayo, the city’s major boulevard, offering an impressive display of Art Nouveau and Art Decoarchitecture. At its western end, Avenida de Mayo opens onto the Plaza del Congreso, presided over by the Congreso Nacional building, the seat of the federal parliament.
Casa Rosada, a typically Argentine blend of French and Italian Renaissance styles, stands on the site of the city’s Spanish fort, begun in 1594 and converted in 1776 to the viceroy’s palace. In 1862, President Bartolomé Mitre moved the government ministries to the building, remodelling it once again.
The final touch was added in 1885, when the central arch was added, unifying the facade. Behind the Casa Rosada, the Plaza Colón features a gigantic Argentine flag and a Carrara marble statue of Christopher Columbus, looking out to the river and towards the Old World.
MSC South America cruises also offer excursions to the north of Buenos Aires, where the four residential barrios of most interest to visitors – Retiro, Recoleta, Palermo and Belgrano – each retain a distinctive character. Nearest to the centre, Retiro and Recoleta – known jointly as Barrio Norte – have chic streets lined with boutiques, art galleries and smart cafés. Recoleta is associated primarily with its magnificent cemetery where, among other national celebrities, Evita is buried.
Both barrios also share an extraordinary concentration of French-style palaces, tangible proof of the obsession of the city’s elite at the beginning of the twentieth century with established European cities