Buenos Aires is a gem in the Argentine landscape, with its diverse culture and vibrant atmosphere. Experience the exotic passions of the tango, seek out antique treasures, or visit world-renowned museums and galleries.
Buenos Aires by night
The moment you set foot in Buenos Aires, its buzz courses through your veins – and that’s before you’ve even started on the city’s coffee houses. To soak up the atmosphere, stroll among the elegant stone buildings, dropping into exhibitions and shops as you go. Cultural aficionados in Buenos Aires will find themselves as children in the proverbial chocolate shop!
This is a city jam-packed with art galleries and museums alongside theatres, bookshops, and dance venues. Head to the more touristy areas, and you’ll find people performing tango in the street. This vibrancy and passion is all part of the Buenos Aires experience and spearheads the city’s appeal.
While you’re in the Recoleta area, be sure to visit the beautiful BASILICA NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL PILAR, and then take time to sip an espresso beneath the boughs of the great gum tree on the terrace of LA BIELA CAFÉ. The gum tree was planted in 1878, just a few years after the founding of the café itself (it opened in 1850). Now its great branches are so long they have to be supported by crutches. The tree could tell some breathtaking
stories if only it could talk. Kings, presidents and Argentine writers such as Borges and Ernesto Sábato have enjoyed an espresso or a glass of Argentine Malbec beneath its branches. During the late 1960s and 70s, when Buenos Aires descended into political violence, kidnappings and murder, La Biela was a popular meeting place for young activists of both left- and right-wing sympathies. As a result, both sides bombed the café frequently. Today, this is one of Buenos Aires’s most exclusive neighbourhoods and intellectuals, politicians, businessmen and tourists vie for tables on La Biela’s ample terrace.
Buenos Aires is awash with good bookshops. If you only have time for one, make sure you visit the ATENEO GRAND SPLENDID at Avenida Santa Fe 1860, between Riobamba and Callao. The building used to be a theatre (tango artiste Carlos Gardel performed here) and it oozes personality through its gilt stucco and red-velvet curtains. The books – in Spanish, English and French – are arranged over three floors, with shelves tucked into balconies and boxes. The store also stocks CDs and DVDs. The old stage houses a café (complete with piano player at weekends) for a well-earned break between browsing sessions.
