Seeking out the best this party hard city has to offer.
Buenos Aires has long thought itself part of Europe; much more urbane than its Latin American neighbours. It is distinctly old-world, its French-style mansions, wide boulevards and prim squares honouring national heroes ensuring its early designation as the Paris of the Pampas. But it has its differences. Scratch the surface and you’ll find a messy, passionate Latino city besotted with tango, infatuated with food and having fun. Capricious, creative and – these days at least – inspired by all things Argentine.
Founded in 1536 by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Mendoza – who dubbed it Puerto de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Aire (Port of Our Lady St Mary of the Good Air), abbreviated today to Buenos Aires – the city covers 200sq km and is home to some 14 million people. Its centre, however, is a beguiling series of barrios (neighbourhoods) linked by ribbons of frenetic traffic, flowering parks and plazas. At its historic heart lies the Plaza de Mayo, the city’s main square. Laid out in the 1580s, the plaza hosts the Casa Rosada (Pink House), seat of the Argentine government, and the neoclassical Catedral Metropolitana.
Styles diverge markedly a few blocks away in Puerto Madero, the regenerated port area. Grain elevators, giant cranes and 19th-century warehouses mix it with a 21st-century footbridge by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and a chic hotel (Faena ‡ Hotel & Universe) designed by Philippe Starck. Hotelier Alan Faena is intent on seeing the area become the Porteño Art District, complete with shops and cultural centre.
Nearby is the blue-collar barrio of La Boca, once a flourishing hub for tango, the dance of the dockside, but now famed for kitschy, colourful Caminito, a cheesy tourist trap replete with souvenir shops and peso-per-pose tango dancers.
More interesting is San Telmo, where Argentina’s distinguished families built grand homes only to desert them following a yellow fever epidemic in the late-19th century. The houses were converted into conventillos, tenement housing for poor immigrant families. Today San Telmo is brimming with bars, restaurants and antique shops, some in the patios of these majestic homes.
The wealthy porteños (BA residents) built more mansions in Recoleta and Palermo, which remain the most exclusive and European enclaves of the city. The graceful avenues of Recoleta are plump with Parisian-style villas, emblematic Hermès and Louis Vuitton stores, swank boutiques and posh pooches escorting their owners. At its core, the city’s most illustrious citizens still attract attention – in Recoleta Cemetery.
Palermo Viejo (Old Palermo) stands in stark contrast to regal Recoleta. This once humble working-class suburb known for the narrow, one-storey houses favoured by Italian immigrants, typifies Buenos Aires’ renaissance, especially in retail. Divided into Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood, the district is alive with boutiques championing local designers, galleries, upscale restaurants, furniture shops, slick cafes and hip hotels. Luckily, shop owners have opted to restore and repair rather than raze. Set off on an amble from bohemian, bar-filled Plaza Cortázar.
In the early 20th century, Buenos Aires was the second-largest city in the region after New York. Today it would give the Big Apple a run for its money as the city that never sleeps.
Stay
1555 Malabia House
1555 Malabia, Palermo Viejo.
Alvear Palace Hotel
1891 Avenida Alvear, Recoleta.
Faena Hotel & Universe
445 Martha Salotti, Puerto Madero.
Home
5860 Honduras, Palermo Viejo.
Legado Mitico
1848 Gurruchaga, Palermo Viejo.
Shop
Evangelina Bomparola
20 Quintana, Recoleta.
+54 11 4814 2553.
Las Oreiro
4780 Honduras, Palermo.
+54 11 4834 6161.
Lucila Iotti
2212 Malabia, Palermo Viejo.
+54 11 4833 0206.
Perez Sanz
1317 Posadas, Recoleta.
+54 11 4815 9190.
Sabater Hnos
1821 Gurruchaga, Palermo.
+54 11 4833 3004.
Vasalissa
1940 Callao, Recoleta.
+54 11 4806 4158.
Eat & Drink
Bar Uriarte
1572 Uriarte, Palermo Viejo.
+54 11 4834 6004.
La Brigada
465 Estados Unidos, San Telmo.
+54 11 4361 5557.
Casa Cruz
1658 Uriarte, Palermo Viejo.
+54 11 4833 1112.
Gran Bar Danzón
1161 Libertad, Recoleta.
+54 11 4811 1108.
Mott
4685 El Salvador, Palermo Viejo.
+54 11 4833 4306.
Ocho7Ocho
878 Thames, Villa Crespo.
+54 11 4773 1098.
See & Do
Bicicleta Naranja
308 Pasaje Giuffra, San Telmo.
+54 11 4362 1104.
Cementerio de la Recoleta
Calle Junín, Recoleta.
Feria de San Pedro Telmo
Plaza Dorrego.
MALBA – Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires
3415 Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, Palermo.
+54 11 4808 6500.
Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo
1902 Avenida del Libertador, Recoleta.
+54 11 4801 8248.
Rojo Tango
Faena Hotel & Universe, 445 Martha Salotti, Puerto Madero.
+54 11 4010 9000.
Source: Qantas The Australian Way November 2008
See South America Destination Guide