Our Neighborhood

Viamonte Apartment is right in the center of everything in Buenos Aires! It’s the banking and shopping district. Our closest “landmark” that everyone knows is Galeria Pacifico. It is a shopping mall housed in a beautiful historic building on Florida Street*. Florida was once a gorgeous pedestrian mall, many blocks long with high end shopping, then it had a time of being filled with street sellers and had gotten a bit run down. Now, over the past couple of years it has had so many major improvements! New smooth sidewalks, trees and plants down the center. There are still lovely shops, great architecture… and lots of things to discover. And at the end of Florida it leads into the beautiful Plaza San Martin Park!

We suggest walking out of our apartment, turn right on Viamonte and turn left on Florida and walk in the direction of Plaza San Martin. You will see Galeria Pacifico, and dozens of shops selling sweaters and leather and shoes… 

Galeria Pacifico has myriad stores… the kind of things you would find in an American high end mall…as well as a food court downstairs. The building even houses a Starbucks, the Borges Cultural Center with performances,casual café and tango classes upstairs. We have discovered that the tango shows at the Borges are just wonderful! So inexpensive because it is not a “supper club” but rather a small theater with outstanding singers and dancers. Make sure to see a tango show –they have them almost every night of the week!

But back to our walk! Continue down Florida, and when you reach Paraguay street, stop for breakfast or afternoon coffee at Florida Garden, a classic 1950s café… or walk all the way to the Plaza  which is a lovely park. If you follow around  to the left  you will pass the  ornate military museum and have your breakfast, lunch or coffee at the Café Dandy.

If you turn right at the Plaza instead, you can see the famous Art Deco Kavanagh Building. And the beautiful 100 + year old Plaza Hotel.

Our very favorite Restaurant is The New Brighton on Sarmiento between Florida and Maipu. Once an elegant English Men’s Clothing Store in the 1920s, it is now a beautiful restaurant and bar, with a lavish “Happy Hour” an extensive menu and charming waiters.  Lots of nice “extras” are included .It is not to be missed!

Also near our  apartment is a whole “new” street…(really an old street) recently closed to traffic and made into a restaurant walk.  Reconquista street has a dozen places..from the fun/funky  Barbaro Bar or Kaffir Thai where you can sit outside on a warm night to one of our favorite places to eat: Al Carbon… farther down the way are Irish Pubs and lots of Italian Restaurants.

Sometimes its nice just to get a great salad or sandwich “to go” and bring it back to the apartment. Now that Maipu (our corner) has been “reborn” as a pedestrian street there are several places to get a quick crepe, sandwich or salad.  For other things you may need there is a small market directly across the street from the Viamonte as well as on the corner and fruit and vegetable shop on Maipu and farther down on Maipu a great little “almacen” with meats, cheeses, nuts and deli items.

The classic Argentine Restaurant is called a “Parilla” or an “Asador”…it’s a barbeque style with grilled meats of all kinds… yo.u will find many throughout the city but our favorites are in Palermo, not so much in our neighborhood

On the OTHER side of the river lots of new  high rise construction is going up!  A very trendy gourmet market and lunch spot is the  I Central Market. For a terrific lunch. (cross a bridge to get there)

Also on the othet side of the river is the Ecolological Reserve… an open park for walking or bicycling .Its amazing to look to the left as you hike along the path and see only trees, grasses and birds as far as the eye can see…yet look to the right and see towering  glass and steel condos and offices.