Buenos Aires | Argentina

My third group trip this time was to Latin America: beautiful ARGENTINA!!!

Let me sum it all up, before I even start this post: Argentina exceeded my expectations! Absolutely beautiful & Fantastic.

Our trip was something like this:

1. Buenos Aires
2. Iguazu Falls
3. El Calafate 

The total trip duration was 11 days. In this  blog post, I will be only posting about Buenos Aires!

Buenos Aires

3 nights/ 4 days in Buenos Aires

Beautiful Buenos Aires.. So photogenic and filled with things to do, places to see, and food to try out. The only downfall to this city is how much we’ve been warned about pick-pocketing and stealing. Just that sense of unsafely was not nice at all. I was carrying my cameras and phone with me, but I was extremely cautious on when to bring them out, and when not to bring them out which was a bit inconvenient as everything was screaming for a picture.

Otherwise, what you hear about Buenos Aires being the Paris of Latin America is TRUE!

The city is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the South American continent’s southeastern coast. “Buenos aires” can be translated as “fair winds” or “good airs”, but the first one was the meaning intended.

Where to Stay?

There are plenty of hotels, neighborhoods and choices for hotels. Hence, I will not specify one hotel. You could go on instagram and #hello965buenosaires you’ll find some hotel names that i’ve experienced. For the sake of ease and to make your search easier, I recommend you to decide which area you’d like to stay in (or areas) to figure out which hotel you’d like to be at.

Neighborhoods I liked a lot in Buenos Aires:

Recoleta 

San Telmo

La Boca

Puerto Madero

Restaurant recommendations:

Steaks:

• El Mirasol in Recoleta
• Cabaña las Lilas in Puerto Madero
• La Cabrera in Palermo
• Miranda in Palermo

Vegetarian Food:

• Bio in Palermo
• Buenos Aires Verde

Pizza:

• Guerrin
• Las Cuartetas
• Pieperi

Pasta:

• Campo del Fiori
• Plerino

Mixed Cuisines:

• Uco (Fierro Hotel), Palermo
• Osaka (Japanese), Palermo
• Sushi Club (Japanese), Recoleta
• Sarkis (Armenian), Palermo
• Brandon (Fusion), Palermo

Commercial Shopping:

Galaries Pacifico (City Center),

Galeria Promenade Alvear (Recoleta),

Paseo Alcorta (Palermo),

Alto Palermo (Palermo)

Street Markets:

Recoleta Handscraft Fair (Saturday & Sunday) from 10 AM to 7 PM

Las Pulgas furniture & antiques (Tuesday to Sunday)

San Telmo Market  for antiques artwork street tango (Sundays from 10 AM to 5 PM)

Palermo Market in Plaza Serrano (Friday to Sunday from noon to 7 PM)

#hello965 friends recommendations for restaurants:

• Godoy ( restaurant, bar nightclub)
• Piegari (Italian)
• Luigi (Italian)
• La Strada (Pizza)
• La Parolaccia de Mare (Italian & Seafood)
• Cabaña Las Lilas (Meat – Puerto Madero)

PS. Thanks Monika & Aki!

Anyone planning to come to Buenos Aires is very likely to come across the many sub-

barrios (neighborhoods) of Palermo. But this can turn out to be very confusing, especially when you hear
two names for the same area or discover that there seems to be some overlap in the territory! So here’s a
list of the sub-neighborhoods within Palermo, including the ones that you’re most likely to run into and
some super-obscure ones you may never have come across. Also, since there are many versions out there
regarding which are the exact defining streets for each ‘zone’, I have considered all the variations, picked
the ones most agreed upon and included their approximate locations along with their names for your
reference.

1) Palermo Hollywood (between Av. Dorrego and Av. Juan B. Justo, Av. Córdoba andAv. Santa Fe) – This
name came from the television studios (such as Channel 9) as well as production companies located in that
area. Some might say the name “Palermo Hollywood” was meant to make the area sound more glamorous
than it really is. Whatever your opinion, it has a ton of restaurants, bars, and clubs, making it a fun place to
live and for nightlife. This area in particular is characterized by cobblestone streets.

2) Palermo SoHo (between Av. Juan B. Justo and Av. Scalabrini Ortiz, Av. Córdoba andAv. Santa Fe) –
The name comes from the SoHo of New York City and London. At the heart of Palermo SoHo is a place

listed on maps as Plaza Cortázar (but it’s always calledPlaza Serrano). This is the area famous for all the
local designer boutiques, fancy restaurants and bars, where surely the place to see and be seen day and
night.

3) Palermo Viejo (between Av. Scalabrini Ortiz and Av. Dorrego, Av. Córdoba and Av. Santa Fe) – Please
take a moment to observe a map and compare the location of Palermo Viejo to Palermo’s Hollywood and
SoHo. I’ll wait. All done? Palermo Viejo is the old name for that whole area now called SoHo and Hollywood,
before it was divided down Av. Juan B. Justo. If you look around, you’ll find hostels and stores that still bear
this name, refusing to be swept away in the New-York- ification of their city.

4) Palermo Nuevo (between Av. Coronel Díaz and Av. Sarmiento, Av. Las Heras and Av. del Libertador) –
I’ve noticed there’s also some disagreement about the perimeter of this neighborhood, and you can find
many maps that show it’s location as being between Av. Bullrich and Av. Sarmiento, Av. Santa Fe and Av.
del Libertador. Wherever it might be located, “New Palermo” is a trendy and fairly recently formed area (at
least since 2007), full of cafés and boutiques, but still very residential.

5) Alto Palermo (or Palermo Alto) – (the 2 block area surrounding the Alto Palermo Shopping) – This area
takes its name after the nearby mall, and pretty much anyone living within 2 or 3 blocks can probably safely
say they live in Alto Palermo. This is also where we, Vamos Spanish Academy, are located, a very vibrant
and accessible area.

6) Las Cañitas (Av. Luis María Campos and Av. del Libertador, Av. Olleros and Av. Dorrego) – This area is
well-known and popular for being full of great parrillas, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. This is one of the
original Palermo’s, although many people think it’s part of Belgrano (it’s not). Unlike some of the more
obscure parts of Palermo, everyone will know what (and where) you’re talking about. The name “Cañitas”
comes from the early 20th century, from the reeds (cañas) in the nearby arroyo Maldonado.

7) Palermo Botánico (between Av. Scalabrini Ortiz and Plaza Italia, Av. Las Heras andCharcas) – This is
the area around the Jardín Botánico. Not much else to say.
8) Plaza Italia (the area around Plaza Italia) – As with “Palermo Botánico”, the name comes from
proximity to a major landmark. “Plaza Italia” is also a subway stop on Line D. Pretty straightforward.
You’re likely to notice some overlap with Botánico and Pacífico (see #11).

9) Palermo Chico (between Av. del Libertador and the railroad tracks, Cavia and Tagle) – This is a very
expensive part of Palermo where no normal person can afford to live

10) Palermo Pacífico (between Av. Santa Feand Guatemala, Uriarteand Juan B. Justo) – Some say this
area extends up to Av. Dorrego, others say it ends at the Puente Pacífico (thus the name) – you have
probably never heard of this neighborhood and may never hear it called by this name. You’ll notice some
overlap with Palermo Hollywood and SoHo on either side of Juan B. Justo.

11) Palermo Boulevard (Av. Juan B. Justo between Guatemala and Gorriti) – So named because of the
towers built in this area – it’s also called “Palermo Centro” sometimes. Just like Pacífico, this is another
neighborhood that I’ve never heard of.

12) Villa Freud/Palermo Sensible (between Av. Coronel Diaz and Av. Scalabrini Ortiz,Av. Santa
Fe and Soler) – So named due to the high concentration of psychoanalysts in the area. Based on some brief
market research, I think this name is only known to people who live in or near Palermo (which is my way of
saying, your taxi driver may have no idea where you want to go if you say you want to go to “Villa Freud” –
you’re better off saying Alto Palermo.

13) Zona Roja (around the Bosques de Palermo and along Godoy Cruz between Av. Córdoba and Av. Santa
Fé) Sort of like the red-light district in other cities, this area is known as the place where transvestites work.
During the day the area is full of people jogging and skateboarding, but at night it’s another story. You may
not hear this as much during normal conversation, and most people are likely to say that they live in
“Palermo SoHo” (or “Viejo” or “Pacífico”) before they say they live in the “Zona Roja”.

14) La Imprenta – It’s theoretically within Las Cañitas at Migueletes 800, and earned its name from the
printing house (imprenta) of the Jockey Club. I’m fairly certain no one has said this or heard of it recently.

 

If you are looking for more recommendations, check my instagram account @hello965