out late, getting up late and soaking in the atmosphere. Very much
like Madrid it is the most European city we have been to so far and
less rough around the edges than you might expect (pollution and the
worst litter problem I have ever seen are definitely more of a problem
than the personal safety issues which you hear about but haven't been
a problem so far (touch wood!).)
Anyway, let's cut to the Top 5 chase. In view of my statement about BA
not being a city of sights this top 5 is going to be about the best
places to soak up the atmosphere; my favourite 'barrios' (districts)
in descending order of preference.
1. Palermo - probably the coolest district we went to. The heart of
all the nightlife and with some cool boutique shops (not cheap though)
and excellent bars and restaurants. My favourite bar was definitely a
graffiti bar called Post. La Cabrera in Palermo has the best steak in
BA apparently but I may have had a few too many at Post and it didn't
seem that great to me!
The thing that really pushed Palermo to number one though was a tour
we took through Graffitimundo (www.graffitimundo.com) of the local
street art. Apparently BA is the least restricted and safest place in
the world for street art so you see it everywhere and especially in
Palermo. The tour was interesting and we saw some great art as you can
see from the photos already on the blog. Some of the skill involved in
the detailed graffiti writing would blow your mind and some of it
really is art of the kind you see in contemporary art galleries all of
the time.
We also visited the Eva Peron (Evita) museum (or should I say shrine
despite her dubious reputation with some people), which was
interesting to me. I'm not sure Paul relished seeing a collection of
her clothes and shoes though and not a mention of Madonna anywhere!
The only disappointing thing in Palermo was the supposedly unmissable
Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (Malba). Personally, I
didn't like most of the art on show and there are better museums in
BA, unless you are a real fan of modern Cuban art!
2. San Telmo - apart from one night in Palermo this district was our
base (in the excellent America del Sur hostel) so we got to be fairly
familiar with its excellent collection of bars and restaurants. There
really aren't any must see sights in San Telmo but it is a really fun
place to be. A few specific recommendations:
Bar Krakow - we went in for a quick one at 11pm and left at 3am having
got sucked into the Wii Sports, board games and 10+ different
Argentinian beers!
Bar Seddon - we gave this one a try on the basis that we have been
following Hania's surname around the world (very common in New
Zealand) but it was a great find. Lovely atmosphere of the wood,
smoke, dim lighting and candles kind with good cocktails and a genial
host who proceeded to get drunker as the night wore on!
La Poesia - a great lunch spot. An old fashioned Parisian vibe with a
brilliant sandwich menu. I loved it!
Gran Parilla/Desnivel - 2 local style steak restaurants in San Telmo.
Enormous portions and cheap! Gran Parilla slightly posher.
It is worth noting that although food in BA is great (steaks are more
tender than you would get in France but slightly over cooked to my
bloody tastes!) and cheap you have to like your grilled meats or pizza
and pasta. The least gastronomically cosmopolitan place we have been.
I haven't gone for 5 days without an curry anywhere else!
3. Puerto Madero - the result of massive regeneration project to the
defunct industrial port. This is BA's newest district and although it
does have the predictable collection of ordinary high rise buildings,
they have also made excellent use of the old warehouse buildings which
now house restaurants and bars along the riverfront. A lovely place
for a lunch or dinner by the water. There is also a beautiful modern
pedestrian suspension bridge, a couple of 19th century boats, and most
of the crane lifts have been retained and beautifully maintained. Put
all together the area is a great mix of modern, old and industrial.
We also visited the Colleccioni de Arte Amelia Lacroz de Fortabat
which is in a very nice purpose built space and has an interesting and
eclectic collection (better than Malba!)
Another quick recommendation in PM is a restuarant called Siga La
Vaca. It is not the classiest restaurant in BA but for £10 you can
have an all you can eat meat feast, which includes unlimited cold
meats, unlimited grilled meats from a big selection on a barbeque, a
large salad bar, one drink (jug of beer!) and a dessert of your choice
from the menu. Warning: you will be stuffed!
4. Recoleta - the poshest district in BA and home to a couple of must
see sights.
The Recoleta Cemetary - contains the Duarte family tomb although you
would never know it had anyone else in it apart from Eva Peron.
Atmospheric and lovely. Not quite Pere Lachaise in Paris but close!
Basilica de Pilar - next to the Cemetary. The best bit about it is the
outside which could be described as minimalist Moorish! A decent small
museum inside if you like Catholic bric a brac!
Museo Nacionale de Bellas Artes - the best art gallery in BA. A
treasure trove of minor works by major European artists including a
lot of Spanish ones (unsurprisingly) like El Greco, some fab Goyas and
a couple of Velazquez's! The Latinamerican art is probably the best we
have seen too. An additional bonus is that it is free! In a nearby
square there is an enormous steel flower sculpture called Floralis
Generalis. Worth a visit. It's cool.
Would also recommend a lunch stop at La Rambla on Posada. Not that
cheap but lovely steak sandwiches. Dinner was in a restaurant whose
name I forget but where I embarrassingly ordered a Calzone pizza big
enough for 4!
Slightly off kilter with the posh side of Recoleta is the Forex
Cultural Centre which hosts various trendy music events in a big
converted warehouse space. We went to see Bomba de Tiempo, which is a
percussion band (mostly drums). It was great and the most Latin
American (as opposed to Spanish) experience we have had since we got
here.
5. La Boca - the 'roughest' district we visited it didn't show much
sign of its bad reputation when we were there. Even when we went to
see Boca Jrs play Rosaria Central and despite the losing scoreline of
1-2. The atmoshere in the ground (which is painted in the teams
colours) is amazing. The most loyal fans known as La Boce start
singing about 10mins before the game starts and don't let up
regardless of the on pitch action. We were told we might get a glimpse
of Maradona who often comes to watch them but no such luck (maybe he
hasn't recovered yet from being bit on the face by his dog!!!) The
game was lively to watch and it made a change to be on standing
terraces. We paid over the odds for the ticket having been sucked into
going on a tour because it is apparently not safe to travel to and
from the ground on public transport. As I said we didn't really see
any trouble but maybe that is because we were on a tour so who knows.
The other fun thing to do in La Boca is to wander round the area known
as the Caminito (once again you are advised to go during the day and
stay in the tourist areas but it seemed friendly enough to me). The
Caminito is the old artists enclave and is typified by streets full of
buildings painted in bright primary colours. It really is a colourful
place - I can't think of anything to compare it too so will add a
photo one day. It doesn't take long to wander round and pop into the
souvenir shops and restuarants (it is probably the most touristy area
in BA) but it is definitely worth doing. There is also a gallery in
the Caminito called Fundacion Proa which specialises in the Futurist
movement (we are unsure whether this was a temporary or permanent
exhibition). Not usually a fan of Futurist art it had some good stuff,
a very interesting short film on the movement and is in a lovely
building with a gorgeous roof cafe. Worth a trip.
A few other things to note:
Microcentre - the city centre has the least atmosphere of any district
we went to but it is still worth dedicating half a day to wandering
around. There are a lot of nice buildings and one must see is the Casa
Rosada (Presidential Palace with the infamous balcony where both Evita
and Madonna have stood!)
'The Secret of Their Eyes' - the Oscar winner for best foreign film
and Argentinian. It is original, well plotted and with some great
performances. Recommended.
Shopping - not a great shopping destination despite the cheap exchange
rate (a pleasant change after Oz). If there are any exciting BA
designers I couldn't find them and only bought 2 things in 5 days!!!!!!
A final good thing about BA is its proximity to Uruguay (1 hour on the
ferry) so off we go....
Hi Lilly!
ReplyDeleteBefore my travel to Argentina I read this blog and it was really helpful!
I visited all those places you mentioned and also watched the movie!