Posts tagged buenos aires
Buenos Aires in a Nutshell
Mar 16th
Buenos Aires is one of the great capitals of the world and one of my favorite cities. Let me lead you on a quick but concise tour of this unique place…
The Big Avenues:
9 de Julio – The world’s widest boulevard and the most emblematic of this city, with the enormous obelisk at the intersection of Corrientes.
Avenida de Mayo – A street full of old elegant buildings in the best Parisian style shooting out from the Plaza de Mayo. It’s on this street that you’ll find the famous Cafe Tortoni.
Corrientes – The Broadway of Buenos Aires, plus the obelisk, of course! You’ll get your dose of tango here!
Santa Fe – The very, very long shopping street.
Calle Florida & Lavalle – Intersecting pedestrian concourses, actually, both chock-full of shops and department stores.
The Barrios (Districts):
San Telmo – The Bohemian neighborhood, replete with antique shops, flea markets, tango and restaurants. The focal point is the Plaza Dorrego. The crowds can be overwhelming on weekends.
Recoleta – The rich neighborhood: mansions, embassies, museums and the cemetery. Yes, the cemetery is a big tourist attraction, thanks to Evita’s grave. The museum of Fine Arts has an excellent collection from classical artists.
Palermo Viejo / Palermo Soho – The hip, young area just outside of downtown. It offers an incredible array of chic restaurants and bars and is the preferred destination at night. You can start at the Plaza Serrano and explore the streets fanning-out from there.
Boca – The barrio with the wildly painted corrugated metal houses. Very picturesque, but be forewarned that it’s the worst tourist trap in the city, much more expensive than in the rest of Buenos Aires, so plan to dine and get your souvenirs elsewhere, and don’t let the many hustlers charm you into buying!
Puerto Madero – a series refurbished warehouses in the port area, now housing scores of restaurants. Walking along the endless wharves is a popular activity for both visitors and residents alike.
Belgrano – An elegant residential neighborhood a fair distance from the city center. I mention it because of its small Chinatown.
The Grand Old Shopping Malls:
Abasto – A renovated central train station that has a ferris wheel in it!
Patio Bullrich – The mall of the very rich, in Recoleta
Galerias Pacifico – Another elegant mall, just off the calle Florida, corner Cordoba.
The Old Monuments:
Plaza de Mayo – Here you’ll find the Casa Rosada (Yes, where Evita would wave to the crowds), and the San Martin cathedral, among other things. Almost always some group protesting in the square, although peacefully these days.
Plaza Congreso – The square with the imposing national congress building on one end, and a variety of other interesting old buildings.
Other interesting things:
- During the day, try to get a ride on the subway. Wait for one of the trains with old cars that are almost a hundred years old and have all wooden interiors. Your best bet to catch one is on the Avenida de Mayo line.
- You can actually get a view of the surrounding city from the top of the obelisk, reachable by climbing 206 steps.
- Stop for a leisurely stroll through the Jardin Japones, a big Japanese garden in the middle of the city, then have sushi in its authentic restaurant.
Restaurants and Cafes of Note:
Cafe Tortoni – The historic and lavish cafe where tango greats like Gardel would hang out. They also offer top notch tango and brass jazz shows. Avenida de Mayo 825
Las Violetas – The other celebrated grand old cafe, all mahogany and tiffany, famous for its desserts. Almagro area. Rivadavia, 3899
El Balcon – Typical Argentinean food, a charming environment and a fabulous free show (tango, gaucho, etc) in the heart of San Telmo. Humberto Primo 461
Palitos – The best Chinese food you’ll ever have, in Belgrano chinatown. Arribeños 2243.
Chan Chan – A favorite Peruvian restaurant in Congreso area. Hipólito Yrigoyen 1390.
Quick Facts:
Language: Castilian Spanish. English is widely spoken in the tourism trade.
Exchange rate: You’ll get around 3.80 Argentine pesos per US dollar.
Meals: Expect to spend at least 35 pesos per person for a regular meal. Food prices have increased as much as 100% in the last two and a half years. Porteños eat dinner very late, so don’t expect to find many restaurants open before 8:30 pm, because most people will dine at 11 pm or later, and go dancing at 3 am!
Hotels: They run the gamut from grand luxury such as the Alvear, to the horrid such as the Lion d’Or. A good, clean room with breakfast can be had for about 280 pesos per night. The Once (“Ontsay”) area is where you’ll find the cheapest hotels, but you’ll waste the difference in taxi fares. I usually stay at the Howard Johnson in Congreso, (Bartolomé Mitre 2241) which is semi-luxurious yet very affordable. Note that the star rating used in Argentina reflects not the quality, but the size of the hotel, so a five star could actually be a big dump!
Taxis: the black and yellow cabs have meters and are economical. About 35 pesos for a run from downtown to Belgrano. Remisses don’t have meters and are usually only used to go to the airport.
Subways, regional trains and buses: Public transportation is cheap and reliable, but the filth that goes with it may shock. Avoid using them at night, and be wary of thieves at all times.
Tipping: Argentineans typically don’t tip, but be generous — their wages are a pittance!
Airports: Ezeiza (“Eyssayssa”) International lies about 40 kilometers from downtown, while the Aeroparque, used for national and Uruguay flights, is about 5 minutes away. Note that if you fly into Ezeiza and are from Canada, USA or Australia, you’ll be hit with a hefty arrival tax. Avoid using taxis for your safety. Use the fixed rate remisses (“raymeessayss”) that have kiosks at the arrivals exit.
Crime: Be careful. Organized groups of pickpockets and street urchins abound. Avoid walking after dusk. Only use ATMs inside malls. If you’re a victim of crime, know that the police here won’t do much for you after the fact. Most unsafe central areas: Retiro and Once.
Souvenirs: typical souvenirs include leather goods, mate gourds, and wines.
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Beware of the Buenos Aires Mustard Squirters!
Mar 4th
Plaza del Congreso
I had visited one of my favorite cities, Buenos Aires, dozens of times before without incident, but this particular trip at the end of February, 2010 was to prove different. Barely had I left my hotel to venture out in the Plaza del Congreso, a small backpack containing my laptop computer and digital camera slung over one shoulder, that some band of miscreants attempted to turn my holiday into a fiasco. Suspect number one, a young man, approached me in the middle of the square and asked me for the time, oblivious to the obvious fact that I’m not wearing anything on either wrist. I shrugged and continued walking at my usual rapid pace. A little further ahead I noticed the same fellow running by my side and then turning away.
A few more steps and a very old man taps me on the shoulder and tells me I have something on my back. I stop and reach behind me, touching my lower back and looking at my hand, now smeared in bright white paint. What the…? I didn’t go anywhere near any painted surface and the many pigeons in the vicinity don’t typically poop paint. An instant later an elderly woman appears on the scene proffering tissues to clean the offending material off my person. I tell her “no thank you”, which is when their little plan began to unravel. That, and a passerby who told me “Beware, that’s how they rob you”. I then glanced over and saw both elderly phony Samaritans standing together, looking like deer caught in the headlights.
I quickly returned to my hotel, furious that I had almost been mugged. The only other time something like this had happened, and I had also had managed to escape any loss, was when street urchins accosted a girlfriend and I on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. After changing out of my clothes, which had a white streak from top to bottom, I returned to the square in an attempt to identify the thieves to the police. However, none of the many federal policemen in the area would accompany me and after milling around in the park for about 15 minutes and seeing that the culprits were nowhere to be seen, I gave up waiting for the phantom foot patrol the other cops had supposedly radioed.
After speaking to a fair number of people living here, it became evident that the robbers’ scheme is a popular one in this city, although they typically squirt you with mustard rather than paint. I’m certain now that the lad who asked me for the time was the one who “marked” me (as I mentioned, I walk fast), and the two seniors attempted to distract me, which would have resulted, had they been successful, in my backpack or wallet, or both, being lifted. I was targeted because I was alone, as such a scheme could not work if the victim was accompanied.
The “helpful citizen” distraction scheme comes in many different forms, this being just one of them. Sadly, you have to be suspicious of anyone offering help you didn’t ask for.
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