If you're only going to be in a city for a short time or you don't have a car, a bus tour is a…read morequick and easy way to cover a lot of ground. The Cordoba tourism office gave us a flyer for this bus tour company, which you'll find right outside on Plaza San Martin -- just look for the red double-decker bus with a McDonald's design. (By the way, even if you don't go on the tour, do stop at the tourism office for an excellent free city map - they can also advise you on museum opening hours.) Prices are AR$100 (USD$10) per person for a 1.5 hour tour, with discounts for students and children. There are several tours per day - see attached photo for days and times. They'll do Spanish and English translations on the tour. The tour starts in the old historic downtown and moves through the city to Sarmiento Park, pointing out historic buildings of interest, museums, shopping destinations, and landmarks along the way. The highlight for me was the Sagrado Corazon de Jesus Church, which has beautiful and elaborate architecture and sculpture inside and out. Sitting upstairs is much better for taking photos, but you have to watch your head because of tree branches! Halfway through our tour, a sudden rainstorm started. The guides kindly tried to cover the seats and wipe them down, but once the lightning started and it was really pouring, everyone gave up and went downstairs to be inside. It was still fun, though, and we got to see a lot of Cordoba that we wouldn't have otherwise. An enjoyable tour for a very affordable price. Definitely recommended!

For whatever reason, the Museo Historical Provincial Marques de Sobremonte wasn't really…read morehighlighted in my travel guide, but it's a very cool Cordoba museum! So if it's not on your radar, and especially if you like history museums set in actual former residences, add this one to your list. You can't see much from the outside, and they don't allow photos inside the building (only the outdoor spaces), so I don't have a lot of pictures to share. But when you walk in, it's a large mansion built around a central courtyard with a big pomegranate tree. You can duck in and out of the rooms through the interior doors or walk through from room to room. The walls are made of lime-washed and adobe, with colonial roof tiles, so it kind of has a "mission style" that reminded me a little of California missions. The home belonged to Rafael de Sobremonte, 3rd Marquis of Sobremonte and Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, who fought during the British invasion of Buenos Aires. Although there didn't seem to be English-language guided tours, there were laminated cards in most rooms in several languages that described the exhibits and their historical context. I would have liked to see a little more history about the Sobremonte family -- the cards were pretty general in explaining themes such as "women's daily life" or "slavery," not specifically referencing the former residents. The museum is an interesting blend of luxury and primitive conditions. While they had beautifully elaborate silver and china, hand-carved tortoiseshell fans and heavy wooden bedsteads, they also apparently depended on indoor metal firepits to warm the bedrooms! They owned slaves, and you can go into the slaves' quarters, which have some examples of (replica?) leather and wood furniture and metalwork created by the slaves for the family's use. There's a second courtyard out back with a garden area and some large cannon-type guns, but again, not much explanation of why they're there or who used them. Overall, an interesting glimpse into Argentina's colonial history, and the museum is artfully presented so that you almost feel that you're walking through a real family's home and they're just in another room. Depending on your interest in clothing and home decor, you can spend a couple of hours here looking through all the rooms on two floors and the outer buildings. One final note: we happened to go on a Wednesday and admission was free. I'm not sure if that's every Wednesday or one day out of the month, but it's worth looking into if you happen to be in town on a Wednesday!

Just so we're clear, I wasn't expecting the Paris Catacombs here. I'd done some research and knew…read morethat this was a small museum without a lot of exhibits, so my expectations were managed. Even so, we were kind of surprised by how little there was to see here. Many reviews mention that the entrance is hard to find, but we didn't think it was that difficult -- however, it's important to note that you'll be looking for a gate in the middle of the sidewalk with stairs leading down (like a subway station), not a building. There are actually two entrances and we found the closed, chained one first -- the actual entrance will have a green museum sign, as pictured. Once you go downstairs, you're pretty much right there. There is an open area off to one side with a series of vaulted stone arches, and you can walk through the empty room looking at the layers of stone and brick that made up the foundations. But you won't find any gravestones, plaques, or artifacts, let alone any grisly skeletal displays -- it's literally an empty room. It looks as though the central area is left open so that they can have musical performances, and one of the entrances seemed to have a program of upcoming choral and classical music events, which is probably a neat experience. Strangely, it looks like the crypt used to have a lot more as far as signs, exhibits, art, and artifacts. If you look up the circa-2011 YouTube video tour by Susana Provenza, you'll see plenty of explanatory signs and displays around the crypt, but none of those were there when we visited. Honestly, watching this video might be as much of a visit as you need, because it doesn't look like that today. Admission is inexpensive and their bathrooms are acceptable, so if you feel like spending a couple of bucks for a quick rest stop, the crypt won't take up much time. But don't feel bad if you don't get around to seeing this "museum."