Is it the Paris of the South, or is Paris the Buenos Aires of the north?
The National Congress
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Avenida Nueve de Julio
SOUTH AMERICA'S BIG APPLE!
One of the Western World's greatest cities along with New York, Paris, London & perhaps a few others, Buenos Aires remains the queen of cities in the Americas. New York is still king to most people, of course. But Buenos Aires is really unique, and more European than New York City. It combines European style elegance with the positive chaotic character of a Latin metropolis, adding North American ammenities and conveniences.
Since 2002, it is one of the cheapest of the world's great capitals to visit, and the quality doesn't suffer, nor is it lacking. The food is excellent, and not just the beef they are famous for, nor the Italian food which competes with beef as the main cuisine. And eating, or drinking coffee, or tea at the sophisticated "confiterías" is one of the "Porteños" (residents of BA) favorite pastimes. As far as transportation, Buenos Aires has one of the oldest subway systems in the world, opened in the early 1910s. Also from that period is another one of BA's architectural masterpieces: the TEATRO COLÓN (below).
I don't recommend driving there unless you know your way around. Traffic is hectic, and driving there is an art all on to itself, with its own rules. However, a ride in a taxi may be one of your memorable expriences from B.A., especially if you speak Spanish. They are usually quite chatty, and share their varied, sometimes outrageous views and philosophy of life if asked. The ride itself is also quite a thrill.
The architecture is magnificent, even though much of the incredible buildings built in the "Rich as an Argentine Days" were torn down for apartment and office buildings. At least, most of these mid rises are also attractive, if modern. And the truly high skyscrapers are concentrated in one area (the Catalinas Sur/Puerto Madero area), which is also a highly recommendable entertainment and dining area.
Avenida Nueve de Julio
SOUTH AMERICA'S BIG APPLE!
One of the Western World's greatest cities along with New York, Paris, London & perhaps a few others, Buenos Aires remains the queen of cities in the Americas. New York is still king to most people, of course. But Buenos Aires is really unique, and more European than New York City. It combines European style elegance with the positive chaotic character of a Latin metropolis, adding North American ammenities and conveniences.
Since 2002, it is one of the cheapest of the world's great capitals to visit, and the quality doesn't suffer, nor is it lacking. The food is excellent, and not just the beef they are famous for, nor the Italian food which competes with beef as the main cuisine. And eating, or drinking coffee, or tea at the sophisticated "confiterías" is one of the "Porteños" (residents of BA) favorite pastimes. As far as transportation, Buenos Aires has one of the oldest subway systems in the world, opened in the early 1910s. Also from that period is another one of BA's architectural masterpieces: the TEATRO COLÓN (below).
I don't recommend driving there unless you know your way around. Traffic is hectic, and driving there is an art all on to itself, with its own rules. However, a ride in a taxi may be one of your memorable expriences from B.A., especially if you speak Spanish. They are usually quite chatty, and share their varied, sometimes outrageous views and philosophy of life if asked. The ride itself is also quite a thrill.
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The architecture is magnificent, even though much of the incredible buildings built in the "Rich as an Argentine Days" were torn down for apartment and office buildings. At least, most of these mid rises are also attractive, if modern. And the truly high skyscrapers are concentrated in one area (the Catalinas Sur/Puerto Madero area), which is also a highly recommendable entertainment and dining area.
THE PUERTO MADERO AREA
Tourists mostly concentrate in the so-called Micro Centro (criscrossed by the pedestrian only streets Florida and La Valle). But I prefer to stay on the other side of Nueve de Julio - in the quadrant between that grand boulevard and Callao or even Pueyrredón on one side, and between the Riverfront Boulevard and Corrientes, or even Avenida de Mayo (the Government District) on the other. The "Casa Rosada appears below:
THE BARRIO NORTE, which includes part of Retiro, Palermo Chico and Recoleta, is roughly the area between Avenida Santa Fé and the Riverside Boulevard - Além or del Libertador (its name changes 2 or 3 times). This is where the upper middle classes and upper classes live, and where you can experience their everyday life, and not the touristy and financial areas in the Micro Centro.
Besides Puerto Madero, Retiro, Recoleta, and Palermo Chico, don't miss Palermo Viejo (a/k/a Palermo SoHo), Palermo Hollywood(on the other side of the commuter train tracks; its name derived from the concentration of TV stations and film studios there), San Telmo (the tango neighborhood with its famous Sunday market). Palermo Park and adjacent rises appear below:
The evening an dining hotspot of the moment is "Las Cañitas" - at the end of Palermo sandwiched in by horsetracks and polo fields, roughly between Córdoba and Santa Fé Avenues. This has become since the late 90s THE place to eat, having replaced "Recoleta" as the major gastronomic point. ... Below you'll see shots (the terrace, living & dining areas & bedroom) of an apartment I've rented on a weekly & bi-weekly basis in RECOLETA, on Pacheco de Melo Street between Junín and Uriburu:
Night life is fantastic. The city is really a 24 hour metropolis. People eat late, up to 1 AM. No club or dance bar opens before 1 AM in the morning, sometimes 2 AM, but only get going until 3 AM. For that reason, Porteños usually take a nap between 7 and 10 PM before they go out on Friday and Saturday nights. The late sunrises in Buenos Aires (in winter, it can be pitch black at 830AM) help stretch pout the night even more. It's an unbelievable destination, an incredibly vibrant city, which no world traveler can miss!
"El Ateneo" Bookstore above & Florida Street below:
June 2005 & July/August 2007
Night life is fantastic. The city is really a 24 hour metropolis. People eat late, up to 1 AM. No club or dance bar opens before 1 AM in the morning, sometimes 2 AM, but only get going until 3 AM. For that reason, Porteños usually take a nap between 7 and 10 PM before they go out on Friday and Saturday nights. The late sunrises in Buenos Aires (in winter, it can be pitch black at 830AM) help stretch pout the night even more. It's an unbelievable destination, an incredibly vibrant city, which no world traveler can miss!
"El Ateneo" Bookstore above & Florida Street below:
June 2005 & July/August 2007
posted by Gonz at
8:04 AM
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