Ok, so we are off on our trip to South America and the first stop is Buenos Aires. Our South American trip is for almost 3 months – 1 month in BA and then we will go south to Patagonia and work our way up visiting all of Chile and Argentina. We have given ourselves 1 month in BA which people may think we are crazy to do. But our intention was to not just get to see the tourist attractions but also to get the feeling of what it is to live there. So we packed our bags and headed out to Buenos Aires on Sept 20th. Our Airbnb apartment we had booked was located in San Telmo, right across from the famous Mercado and is in one of the old barrios of Buenos Aires. Location wise, we couldn’t have asked for a better place as everything was in easy access here. I will talk about San Telmo a bit more when I explain about the Sunday market held right outside our door along the entire length of the street. This area in my opinion was the best place to stay in Buenos Aires. There are plenty of restaurants around here, transportation to any part of the city can be availed very close by and the old world charm of this barrio is perfect to immerse yourself in the culture and experience the lifestyle.
Sights & Places in Buenos Aires
Plaza De Mayo
Plaza de Mayo is the main square of Buenos Aires and hosts some of the major sights such as the Casa Rosada (Pink Palace) which is the president’s office, the square, the Cabildo Museum and the Cathedral Metropolitano.
Casa Rosada
Casa Rosada (Pink House) is located at the heart of Plaza de Mayo and is the official place of the Argentinian President. Free guided tours in English are available on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays at 12.30pm & 2.30pm.
Tours can be reserved via the internet. There are more options available for tours in Spanish. The tour runs for a good 1.5 hours and takes you through the entire palace all along explaining the history of how the palace came to be. The exterior color of the building is significant because it was painted pink in order to defuse political tensions by mixing the red and white colors of the country’s two opposing political parties: red was the color of the Federales, while white was the color of the Unitarians.The two imposing staircases that were built one with the french style and the other in the Italian style signifies the important influences these architectural styles had in the construction of the palace. You can also toured the president’s office, the stained glass gallery, the Palm Tree Patio, the Salon Blanco with its grand ornate white and gold designs and the mirrored doorways (that were just made to look like doorways so as to give a feeling that the salon is bigger than it is), and the Hall of busts that houses marble busts of the many Presidents of Argentina. The President’s office is the only place where you are not allowed to take pictures.
Casa Rosada museum is located behind the palace. It has objects from the remains of an old fort that once stood on the side of the Casa Rosada. It hosts various exhibits and collections of objects belonging to the rulers of Argentina through the ages such as books, furniture, swords, uniforms and carriages used by former presidents. It also houses a mural by the Mexican artist, Jose David Alfaro Siqueros. This mural was painted in the basement of his house and the entire room has been excavated and transported here. There is also a section devoted to the popular Eva Peron.
Cabildo Museum
The Cabildo Museum hosts paintings, artifacts, clothes and ornaments from the 18th century. Located in the Plaza de Mayo across from the presidential palace Casa Rosada, this museum is housed in an unassuming building which was originally built in 1610 and after several repairs, restorations, additions and demolitions, the structure that stands now was completed in 1940.
Plaza del Congreso
At the other end of Avenida 25 de Mayo is the Plaza del Congreso, a square in front of the National Congress Building. The National Congress Building is the symbol of Buenos Aires and also the seat of the Argentine Congress. The Plaza itself is 3 hectares in area with 3 plazas. They consist of the Monumento de los dos Congreso with its bronze sculptures and an elaborate fountain in front, the Plaza Mariano Morena, a Kilometer Zero monolith and ‘The Thinker’ sculpture by Auguste Rodin. There is also a third small plaza – Plaza Lorea with a monument to Jose Manuel Estrada.
The National Congress conducts guided tours in English daily at 6pm and it is free of charge. But make sure to call ahead or book because when we returned the same day at 6pm, they had cancelled the tour for the day. We came back the following day and we happened to be the only 2 visitors for the English tour which was nice. We got to tour the elaborate hall where the lower chamber of congress meets. Leading up to the chamber is the hall called the “lost steps” which has two large paintings depicting Argentina’s history.
Eva Peron’s chamber is known as the “pink room”, where she met the women of congress and discussed the affairs of the state. It is decorated with pink cushions and curtains. In one corner,
there is a display case containing Ms Peron’s shroud. Eva Peron is revered as a saint by the people because of her work fighting for women’s rights and the poor.
You can also tour the general meeting place of the senate which is used to conduct funeral and memorial services. This chamber contains the original constitution housed in a wood and glass display case and has a large chandelier that represents the various provinces of Argentina.
Don’t miss the beautiful library of Congress with its elaborate book cases, walls and ceiling made of walnut.
At night, the exterior of the congress building is illuminated in purple, a mixture of the 3 colors of Argentina, blue, red and white. The fountain in the plaza is turned on and dances to music and changing colors.
La Boca
La Boca, is a very fun, colorful and unique neighborhood, or barrio in Buenos Aires. Steakhouses, street artists, Tango dancers and souvenir shops surround Caminito, a narrow alley flanked by brightly painted zinc shacks that evoke the district’s early immigrant days. It is also the location of ‘La Bombonera’ the massive blue-and-yellow-striped home ground of the famed Argentine soccer team, the Boca Juniors. Located on what used to be the city’s biggest port, it is said that the immigrant settlers constructed tenements made of ship building scrap metal and painted the shacks with bright leftover marine paint. The building also had windows and balconies with statues of people supposedly watching the Tango artists perform. The shops sell souvenirs and tango memorabilia and the pedestrian street is occupied by tables and chairs from the restaurants wherein the patrons are being entertained by tango dancers. But be aware that this is a very touristy place and the restaurants tend to be pricey. Although it is said to be not the safest area at night
Palermo
Palermo is another famous neighborhood of Buenos Aires which is well-known by locals and tourists alike. I found it more of a residential neighborhood with lots of parks and green spaces. Located at the intersection of two large boulevards of BA, the Avenida del Libertador and Avenida Sarmiento, is the Monumento a La Carta Magna y Las Cuatro Regiones Argentinas (Monument to the Carta Magna and Four Regions of Argentina). It is a very beautiful large marble and bronze statue popularly known as the Spaniards Monument. It consists of the statue of liberty on a towering pedestal with bronze figures dedicated to the Argentine constitution and the four regions of the country and it stands in a pool with fountains.
A few blocks down the Avenida Libertador is the Museum of Latin-American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA). It showcases the works of contemporary Latin American artists of the 20th century along with temporary exhibits from all over the world. The entrance fee is 100 pesos and is open daily 12.00pm to 8.00.
The other points of interest in Palermo are the Jardín Japones (Japanese gardens), the Planetarium Galileo Galilei and the Argentine Hippodrome.
Recoleta
One of the top must see places in Buenos Aires includes the Recoleta Cemetery. As you walk along Plaza Francia towards the cemetery, the first thing that you come across is the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar (Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar). This is the second oldest and most visited church in Buenos Aires. It is a simple building of the typical 18th century colonial period with several chapels of beautiful carvings. Inside the cloister is a small museum with some beautiful original artifacts and ornaments belonging to the Basili
Located next to the Basilica is the Recoleta Cemetery. This is a very unique cemetery set in five and a half acres of land and is referred to as the City of the Dead. It hosts over 4600 graves and some of them are elaborate marble mausoleums. Many of the gravestones and vaults are works of art and 94 have been declared as National Historic Monuments. The layout is like a city with blocks, stone streets and small plazas and is the final resting place of most Argentinian eminent personalities, Presidents and prominent families. It also contains the final resting place of Eva Peron, the actress and former first lady of Argentina who is highly revered all over Argentina. Entrance to the cemetery is free.
El Ateneo Grand Splendor
Being one of the most literary cities of the world, you find plenty of bookstores all over Buenos Aires. But a visit to El Ateneo is a must for not only literary enthusiasts, but anyone with a keen interest in the history and architecture of this beautiful city. This is a marvelous bookstore situated on the famous Santa Fe Avenue and is an old theater that has been converted to a bookstore. The Guardian named it the second most beautiful bookstore in the world and it truly lives up to that. It features ceiling frescoes and the cinema seating has been converted to book shelves. The theater boxes are still intact for customers to dip into books before purchasing. The stage area is now a cafe while the ornate carvings, the crimson stage curtains, the auditorium lighting and many other architectural details remain.
Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero is a revamped dockside area with its reconstructed redbrick buildings containing upscale steakhouses popular with tourists and business lunchers. Sleek skyscrapers house multinational corporations and high-value apartments. Spanning the docks, Puente de la Mujer (Woman’s bridge) is a graceful suspension bridge. This is a rotating footbridge for Dock 3 and looks very pretty and its design is somewhat unusual with its asymmetrical arrangement. Walk a little further ahead and you will see the museum ship Presidente Sarmiento. You can tour the inside of this original training vessel which is now turned into a museum for an entrance fee of ARS 10.
Plaza de la República
The Plaza de la República is a large elliptical plaza in the heart of Buenos Aires at the intersection of Avenida Corrientes and the famous Avenida 9 de Julio. In the center stands the Obelisk built to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the city. In front of the obelisk is a large topiary cut out with the letters BA. Tourists generally wait in line to get their pictures taken in front of the letters.
Avenida 9 de Julio
The Avenida 9 de Julio is the largest boulevard and its name 9th July stands for the date of the country’s independence in 1816. The avenue has up to seven lanes in each direction and is flanked on either side by parallel streets of two lanes each. Through the center of the avenue, runs one of the city’s Metrobus (Bus rapid transit) corridors. There are two wide medians between the side streets and the main road.
Torre Monumental
Torre Monumental, known before 1982 as Torre de los Ingleses (Tower of the English) is a clock tower located in the barrio (district) of Retiro, Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is situated in the Plaza Fuerza Aérea next to the Calle San Martín and Avenida del Libertador. It was a gift from the local British community to the city in commemoration of the centennial of the May Revolution of 1810 and is very similar in design and style as the one in Westminster Abbey.
Plaza San Martin
Across from the Torre Monumental, is the Plaza San Martin consisting of the Palacio San Martin and an Equestrian monument commemorating the War of Independence. This equestrian monument is dedicated to the hero of the War of Independence Gen. Jose de San Martin who was instrumental in putting an end to the slave trade.
Palacio San Martin
Palacio San Martin, which is now the ceremonial headquarters of the Argentine Foreign Minister, is also located in the Plaza San Martin. English guided tours of the Palacio San Martin are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3.00pm. The elaborate beaux arts style building was once the residence of the wealthy Anchorena family. It was commissioned by Mercedes Castellanos de Anchorena and her 2 sons Aaron and Emilio and built between 1905 and 1909. The government acquired the building in 1936 and it became the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Relations.
The building is a complex of three residences which surround a large patio. The ornate iron gate and the iron and glass balcony are notable features here. The salon with intricate wood carvings and the marble staircases showcases the opulence of the era.
Floralis Generica
A gift to the city by the Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano created in 2002, Floralis Genérica is a sculpture made of steel and aluminum located in Plaza de las Naciones. The sculpture was designed to move, closing its petals in the evening and opening them in the morning. It is located in the center of a park, and placed above a reflecting pool, which apart from fulfilling its aesthetic function, protects it. It represents a large flower made of stainless steel with aluminum skeleton and reinforced concrete, which looks up at the sky, extending to its six petals. It stands at 23 meters high and weighs eighteen tons.
Feria de San Telmo (Sunday Market)
This was Sunday and the famous San Telmo Sunday fair was right outside our door. The streets are filled with people selling various antiques, handmade wares, mate cups, belts, bags, silver jewelry, colorful bottles, etc. The entire stretch of Defensa street from Plaza De Mayo all the way up to San Juan was transformed and filled with merchants selling their wares and people shopping, both locals and tourists alike. One could spend hours walking up and down the street.
The market brings in a lot of visitors and naturally to satisfy their hunger there are plenty of restaurants all along Defensa street. But on Sundays, there are also plenty of street food stalls that open up with parillas (Barbecue) and live bands playing music to entertain their patrons.
One of the great things about the location we were staying at in Buenos Aires and the fact that we were there for a month gave us the opportunity to revisit the fair several times. And although the stalls pretty much stayed the same, there is always something new you would find that catches your eye every time. For example, handmade dragon sculptures that looked like the ones from Game of Thrones, or leather-made Materas or the old classic record collections at the mercado. Some of the stores inside the San Telmo Market surprisingly remained closed during the week and would come alive on Sundays. However, the restaurants and the vegetable market stayed open everyday.
The other highlight of the Sunday market is of course the tango. After the market comes to an end in the evening and the artisans wrap up their stalls and clear out of Plaza Dorrego (the heart of the fair), the locals would gather around and put on a show. On one corner is the loud music of the drums and on the other end there is the tango music and the crowd just naturally gets drawn. Everyone, be it old or young, an expert or a novice, gets into the spirit and dances the tango. The true spirit of Argentina, the true essence of the Tango is here and it is a wonderful experience. You can catch tango being performed all over Buenos Aires, be it at the street fairs, or on the street side restaurants of Caminito. You could also go to one of the tango clubs that are specifically designed to entertain tourists to a very pricey dinner and a show, but what you see at the Sunday fair on Plaza Dorrego is one of the best experiences that will stay with you for a very long time.
Feria de Mataderos
This was yet another Sunday fair that is held in the Mataderos neighborhood which is a 45 minute bus ride from the city. Here along with the usual wares you see at the San Telmo and Plaza Francia fairs, it also has Argentina’s gauchos who come from the countryside to display horsemanship, handicrafts, live music, folk dancing and delicious food. This fair has an upbeat and colorful atmosphere despite taking place in one of the poorest sectors of Buenos Aires. Matederos was where the country’s cattle were brought in and slaughtered and then shipped out. They have a stage where folk dances are performed and are worth a visit as this has a different vibe from the popular Tango performances all over Buenos Aires.
