Buenos Aires - Argentina

Tour-guides like to give Buenos Aires the nickname "Paris of the South". It is, they claim, a smouldering city of tango, barrios and avenidas; a rambling metropolis with sufficient elegance and sophistication to (almost) be European.

On the face of it, the tour guides have a point. Argentina's capital boasts a colourful history; it's got magnificent architecture and culture, together with first-rate shopping, and a lively night-time "scene" to rival any destination on the cosmopolitan traveller's hit-list.

Yet scratch below the surface, and BA offers a very different insight into the land of the gaucho. Every now and then, amid the steak and Merlot and hazy afternoons, the porteños, as locals are known, will provide adventurous travellers with a glimpse into the dirty, chaotic heart of Latin America.

That, at least, was the theory that persuaded my brother and me to hop on to a 14-hour flight across the Atlantic to witness the twice-yearly football match they call El Superclasico. This magisterial name - not just "super," but "classic" too - denotes one of the legendary meetings between the city's biggest clubs, Boca Juniors and River Plate.

Each Superclasico provides an occasion for Buenos Aires to celebrate one of the greatest club rivalries in world football, a fixture that has showcased the exquisite talents of such sporting legends as Batistuta, Palermo, and the maestro himself, Diego Maradona.

Read More