The Luxury Travel Magazine
The Luxury Travel Magazine
Argentina stirs the senses in ways both expected and surprising — with its vivid cultural life, sweeping natural vistas, and the unmistakable roar of a football crowd. In the city of Córdoba, that energy finds a focal point in the suburb of Chateau Carreras, where the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes rises from a quiet tangle of leafy streets and local cafés.
Chateau Carreras, northwest of the city centre, isn’t a place that announces itself loudly. Its charm lies in the contrast: a residential calm disrupted now and then by the electricity of matchday. At the heart of it is the stadium, originally built for the 1978 World Cup and still one of Argentina’s premier sporting arenas. Renamed in honour of local football legend Mario Alberto Kempes, it seats 57,000 and regularly draws fans from across the country for high-stakes fixtures — from Copa América matches to top-tier rugby clashes.
For thos looking for rugby this weekend, to watch a game here is to step inside something larger than sport. The crowd doesn’t just cheer — it sings, it swells, it lives every play with a fervour that can feel almost operatic. Whether it’s a local derby or an international showdown, the atmosphere pulls you in and doesn’t let go. For travellers with even a passing interest in football, a visit to the Kempes offers more than entertainment. It’s a way into the country’s psyche.
And yet the stadium is just one thread in Argentina’s larger narrative. This is a country where extremes meet — glaciers in Patagonia, subtropical rainforests in Misiones, Iguazú Falls , red-rock deserts in Salta. Córdoba itself bridges old and new, European and indigenous, sacred and rebellious.
In the capital, Buenos Aires, tango spills onto cobbled streets, bookstores double as cafés, and dinner rarely begins before ten.
Food here is a serious affair. It’s not just the asado — though the smoky, wood-fired grills are an art form in themselves — but the wine, the empanadas, the sheer joy of a long meal shared slowly and enjoyed in good company. Order a glass of Malbec in Mendoza or sample a family recipe in a Córdoba home kitchen and it becomes clear: Argentina’s generosity runs deep.
And wherever you go, from the peaks of the Andes to the football terraces of Córdoba, you’re likely to be met with a warmth that goes beyond the expected. Hospitality here is not performative. It’s personal, unguarded, and often unforgettable.
The Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes may be where you hear Argentina’s voice at its loudest — but its story, textured and vivid, is playing out everywhere.
