Other Places to Visit

We love the location of our neighborhood (right in the center of everything!) but now that you are ready to venture into some other areas of Buenos Aires …and beyond…here are some suggestions!

Recoleta:

A favorite neighborhood, the “Beverly Hills“ of BsAs! Its the location of the very fancy Hotel Alvear Palace (worth a visit) as well as the famous “Recoleta Cemetary” with such elablorate tombstones, sculptures and crypts. If the weather is nice, plan to have a breakfast or lunch at Cafe Biela sitting on the patio under the enormous trees…then tour not only the cemetary but the shopping areas nearby.

The Alvear Palace Hotel is very grand. It includes an elaborate tea room and restaurant, and a series of small shops on the lower level.Beautiful!

The Hotel Soffitel was built by the same architects as our Viamonte building, and has a beautiful restaruant and bar. Lots of galleries and shops around that area to explore, especially on the last Friday of each month when they all stay open late. (Calvos, Jacobs and Jimenez) and it has two lovely restaurants: One a cozy bar (with sushi and light food) Café Arroyo , the other an upscale French restaurant Le Sud.
Sotto Voce and Fervor are two very popular, very lively restaurants in Recolta you will enjoy.

A new place just opened this year and it is fabulous. Il Quotidiano is a trendy, bustling pasta restaurant, with an amazing multi course brunch you really must try.

In this area are important buidings and plazas, including the Casa Rosada, the official home and offices of the President of Argentina.

Close by here is a favorite spot for lunch:

Chiquilin Right in the center of the law offices/business district is a wonderful lunch buffet. Fixed price incudes an entre, dessert and the most amazing “salad bar”. More than salads, it’s a vast array of hot and cold foods to choose from.

Cafe Tortoni and Avenida de Mayo this is in the center of town, and the Avenida has many beautiful older buildings…as well as the famed “Tortoni”a classic 1880s coffee house. The food is nothing special, but the atmosphere certainly is…and there are tango shows performed in a small cabaret in the back. While on the Avenida de Mayo, visit the 22 story Palacio Barolo at 1370. Built in 1923 it is a fanciful “deco/nouveau eclectic style” .

San Telmo Sunday. This very old part of town retains its cobblestone streets and is a lively and unique place to explore on any day of the week, but Sunday in San Telmo is a must for any visitor to Buenos Aires. The Plaza Dorrego is the “heart” of San Telmo and on Sundays it begins with an antique market filling the plaza as well as all the permanent shops all the way along the main street “Defensa”. Start your day around 10 Am with cafe con leche and medialunas (croissants) at the historic Bar Dorrego on the corner…then take a spin thru the plaza market square.

In the early afternoon, the streets fill with musicians and street performers of all types and toward the late afternoon, the antique stalls begin to close and the square fills with people tango dancing.

There are some great dining opportunities in San Telmo as well, The classic La Brigadaon Estados Unidos Street is a wonderful papilla. We have enjoyed a delightful lunch in the courtyard at Antiqua Tasca on Carlos Calvo Street. One of our current favorite restaurants in San Telmo is Cafe Rivas which is on Balcarce , one block away from the busy street of Defensa. It serves great brunch, lunch and dinner with live music on Thursday nights. If you want to visit on Sunday, reservations are a must! We always make it a point to dine at Brasserie Petanque, a very French restaurant, and on our last trip we were taken to a wonderful sushi place on Defensa (on the second floor of a nice old building) called San Telmo Shokudo.

There are dozens and dozens of antique stores in San Telmo.

Our friends, Deco Dealers Luis and Andrea have a shop the Guevara Gallery of Art Nouveau and Art Deco at 982 Defensa. Although they do not speak English they are nice to deal with. Please say hello from Rick and Laurie in San Francisco!

Our friends Claudia and Carlos Calvaresi speak perfect English and have a very opulent store. From the windows you will see more ornate, baroque pieces, but there is plenty of Art Nouveau and upstairs, much Deco and top quality pieces. They are at 1021 Defensa. Again, say hello from us…and I think you will enjoy their collection.

At the Northern end of Buenos Aires is Palermo. Palermo is hip and trendy now with lots of boutiques and restaurants. One of the best meals we have EVER had is at La Cabrera. (reservations a must as it is intensely popular 4832 5754 ). There are so many cafes and shops.all in a central are around these streets: Honduras/Armenia/Costa rica and Malavina…so you can simply walk around til something strikes your fancy! Crizia, Limbo and Bar 6 are ultra hip and a great scene to go wit h great food. Lots of hip, fashionable stores in Palermo. Mostly clothing and housewares… young and trendy.

And at the Southern end is La Boca, a colorful area with its artists and “old Buenos Aires” feel. Lots of good and less costly dining…and street entertainment on the weekends.

If you like great architecture from the “Golden Age”, we recommend several places.

Art Noveau and Art Deco Architecture is so rich in Buenos Aires! Our friend Mimi Bohm’s books are in the apartment and you can see the treasures in them…You may want to go to the Decorative Art Mueseum on Libertador which also features a charming lunch café called Croque Madame that also has locations throughout the city …Buenos Aires has dozens of museums many of them dedicated to art and culture.

…You may want to make a trip to Las Violetas Patisserie and Café just to see the incredible stained glass and woodwork. Plan to visit the most beautiful Art Nouveau we have seen! Palacio Espanol ( the Spanish Club). Dinners are quite reasonable…and the environment is a marvel! Circolo Italiano in Recoleta is a spot we have not been but was recommended by Mimi Bohm, the author of the Art Nouvea and Art Deco Books on Buenos Aires

Here is an entire dining “neighborhood” called
Las Canitas: One street filled with resataurants…lots of them with outdoor seating in the front…Simply walk along til you find one that catches your eye. You’ll need to take a taxi to get there, so use the cards in the black book as the as the address of your destination La Fonda del Polo or 900…but perhaps you will see another you prefer.

TANGO is the thing!!!! Everyone is doing it…dancing in the streets and in the most opulent theaters and every bar and restaurant and showplace in between.

While in Buenos Aires, you MUST see a Tango Show…so many to choose from!

We have been to La Ventana and Madero Tango…both geared to tourists but with fabulous shows and dinner included. Others that have a great reputation and are perhaps more “authentic” (less Vegas) are El Querandi, Almacen, Esquina Carlos Gardel. Rick liked Almacen the best so far.

Senor Tango is the most “vegas” of them all…in fact, one must take a “party bus” to get there…and it is an elaborate dinner and show. But I think Madero Tango is a good choice for something both showy and historic and with a delicious meal.

Tango Classes , small shows and Milongas abound! One interesting spot is the Ideal. It is a grand old ballroom with a café downstairs…definitely Shabby and faded now, but the building itself is something to see and there are classes and dances virtually at every hour of the day and night. The Borges Cultural Center (one block from our apartment) also has many classes and performances.

The tango shows described above are all fancy “dinner shows” that include dinner, champagne and the performance. They tend to be expensive, but its worth seeing at least one.

However the show we actually like the best is just a block and half from the apartment, is funded by the government and is simply a “show” (no dinner or drinks) but in a small, intimate

theater setting… a fantastic show of singing, dancing and live music. Very inexpensive and with wonderful performers. Bien de Tango and Passion de Tango are both great shows and

and available to see every week (Bien de Tango is every Friday and Saturday night) http://www.biendetango.com.ar/English/

Tango Shoes! Are not just for dancing! We wear them all the time. Handmade, all leather, a real bargain for the style and workmanship. Cards from favorite shops are in the black book in our kitchen.

Parks and Gardens along the northern end of the city are many public parks. A Japanese Tea Garden is nestled in one, a zoo in another. Two beautiful museums are situated in the park areas, including the Art Museum.

Out of Town Touring

We have not taken too many “outside trips” (YET!). but there are many such adventures outside the city. Here are some things you may want to plan:

We did go to Montevideo, Uruguay and enjoyed that. It is a short flight (less than one hour) from a small airport not far from the apartment. Or, it is also possible to take a ferry boat (the Buquebus) to Uruguay.

On the way to Uruguay, or as a short weekend trip, Colonia, is an historic town…. With some charming things to explore.

On our last visit we went to Tigre on the Tren de La Costa. It’s a pleasant day trip, and the main activity is to take a boat ride along the river while having lunch and then a visit to the Art Museum in a magnificent mansion.
There are many boats offering this service and we found one that was enjoyable, but in
reading magazines about Tigre, I think the one that sounds most promising is the Bruma.

Iguazu Falls. If you have the time, is said to be spectacular!

Other popular destinations include the wine country of Mendoza, the lake region of Bariloche, the countryside in Salta , the natural beauty of Ushuia.

A day in Tigre! Perfect getaway from the CIty Life on board “The Bruma”

Memorable, Relaxing and Fantastic

Here is an absolutely perfect way to spend a little time outside of the busy city of Buenos Aires, with a day trip to Tigre on the gorgeous boat, the Bruma. We had a “private adventure” with a group of just four of us friends spending an entire afternoon with a lazy day on the river being pampered by “Captain Chuck” and his wife Rosana who treated us so well. I had read about the Bruma the year before but somehow thought it was maybe too complicated to get there, or too much for a small group of friends to take on in making the arrangements but Chuck and Rosana speak fluent English as well as Spanish, and everything was taken care of beautifully. They sent a driver to pick us up at the apartment in which we were staying (in Retiro) and after a pleasant ride to Tigre, we boarded the Bruma –an impressively restored vintage yacht with a lovely sun deck, a shaded porch, rich woodwork interior and plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy the tour of the Delta. We were served wine,soda and snacks throughout the early part of the cruise, and then reached the highlight of the trip: a fantastic barbecued lunch with steaks cooked on a grill , a great salad and delicious dessert. Chuck and Rosana are witty and interesting –we enjoyed our conversation with them and felt as if we had been transported not to just another part of Argentina but to a more gracious time and way of life. It is easy to get distracted by the “big city” and all there is to do and see in Buenos Aires, but we are so glad we made some time to sail away from it all on the Bruma!

http://www.navegandoporeldelta.com.ar/