With its numerous beautiful buildings in European style, Buenos Aires is unique on the American continent. The city was built with Paris in mind,when Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world, and this is very obvious.
Grandiose architecture,which is as beautiful as the best architecture from Europe, and which also creates a style of its own, is to be found everywhere. The central squares, Plaza de Mayo and Plaza Congreso,as well as the incredibly beautiful theatre building, Teatro Colon, are fine examples of this.
The city has 3 million inhabitants, porteños (Buenos Aires' locals).
Below you will find a wide range of attractions that you can visit on your own in your free time in Buenos Aires.
Enjoy!
PALERMO SOHO & PALERMO HOLLYWOOD
Grandiose architecture,which is as beautiful as the best architecture from Europe, and which also creates a style of its own, is to be found everywhere. The central squares, Plaza de Mayo and Plaza Congreso,as well as the incredibly beautiful theatre building, Teatro Colon, are fine examples of this.
The city has 3 million inhabitants, porteños (Buenos Aires' locals).
Below you will find a wide range of attractions that you can visit on your own in your free time in Buenos Aires.
Enjoy!
PALERMO AREA
MALBA: Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires
The best museum and art gallery in the city showcases contemporary Latin American art, including a
permanent collection of twentieth-century works by Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Xul Solar, and Antonio Berni. The MALBA building itself is modern and beautiful, its limestone walls and glass ceilings drenched in sunlight on the inside and designed to be camouflaged amongst the square, concrete city blocks that surround it on the outside. The café has been somewhat of a revolving door of local chefs over the past few years, but is a nice place to linger for a coffee and afternoon pastry. A dynamic cultural center houses rotating exhibits of art and film.
Hours Wed noon–9pm, Thurs–Mon noon–8pm
Address: Av. Figueroa Alcorta 3415
Admission Adults: $100 pesos.
EVITA MUSEUM
There is no better place to explore the mystique, controversy, and legend that is Evita Perón, perhaps the most famous Argentine of all. This museum offers a thorough and quite personal study of the life of the former first lady, known for her charity work, her fashion and beauty, as well as her tragic death in 1952 at the age of 33. Paradoxically, given Perón's working class roots and populist politics, the museum is housed in an elegant building in one of the city’s most upscale neighborhoods. There is also a very popular café while the English-language audio tour is helpful.
Hours Tues-Sun 11am-7pm
Address: Lafinur 2988
Audio-system available. If your are a group of 5, you can make a reservation one week prior to your visit of English-speaking guide, which is highly recommended because the guides are sociologists and historians and they can answer all your questions.
JAPANESE GARDEN
Buenos Aires' Japanese Garden gracefully transports you to the Nation of the Rising Sun with its tranquil complex of gardens, cultural center, restaurant, tea house, bonsai greenhouse and gift shop. The Zen-like garden areas include beautiful plants like cherry blossom trees as well as stone statues, a red bridge and a network of footpaths over the lake. (You can feed the fish.) In the tea house you can observe the Japanese tea ceremony and drink green tea. Then in the restaurant, you can watch the sushi chefs prepare different dishes and enjoy the views of the garden and the water.
Hours: Everyday from 10 to 6 hs. (Saturday - Sunday & Public Holiday have the same timetable)
Address: Av. Casares 2966
Admission: Adults $95 pesos
BOSQUES DE PALERMO (Palermo Forests)
As a green patch in the middle of concrete jungle, Bosques de Palermo occupy 25 acres of the neighborhood land filling of energy and optimism to those who choose to live moments of relaxation and entertainment nearby. Crowds daily enjoy the nature, artificial lakes, serenity and sports proposals in this corner of the City.
The Bosques de Palermo, distinguished by the creative imprint of the landscaper Carlos Thays, and gently caressed by clear waters, has the official name of Parque 3 de Febrero and gather in its length numerous attractions such as the Rosedal area graced by the Patio Andaluz, Glorieta, Puente Blanco and the wonderful Jardín de los Poetas, with busts of famous writers of all time and space.
Address: Av. Del Libertador intersection Av. Sarmiento
PALERMO SOHO & PALERMO HOLLYWOOD
GREAT FOR WEEKENDS
Palermo Hollywood, like neighboring Palermo Soho, is part of the sub-barrio of Palermo Viejo.
Laidback by day, it springs to life at night when sharply-dressed Porteños come out to play at the hordes of bars, restaurants and nightclubs. The area itself sits between the streets Juan B. Justo, Córdoba, Dorrego and Santa Fe and Carranza.
Buenos Aires’ finest boutiques are here, from clothing stores and specialists in leather goods to bookstores and wine shops. What makes it all the more appealing is that the shops are expertly set in recycled houses, former warehouses and elegant old homes. Stroll along Jorge Luis Borges, Gurruchaga or Malabia streets and you’ll see what we mean.
Weekends are especially busy in the area when it seems that tourists and Porteños alike don their coolest attire and head to the open-air markets on Plaza Serrano and Plaza Armenia.
The Barolo Palace references an homage to the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.
A unique architectural style with a mixture of neo-romanti, neo-Gothic , and even the dome with its unique Indian style Budanishar region representing the Tantric union between Dante and Beatriche , the protagonists of the Divine Comedy.
Luis Barolo, progressive and powerful farmer, came to Argentina in 1890. He was the first who brought cotton spinning machines and dedicated to the import of tissues. He installed the first combed wool spinning country and initiated the first crop of cotton in the Chaco.
On the centenary of the May Revolution, he met Arq. Mario Palanti (1885-1979), whom he hired for the project of a building he had in mind. This would become a property exclusively for rent. Luis Barolo thought, like all European installed in Argentina, that Europe would suffer numerous wars that destroy entire continent.
Desperate to preserve the ashes of the famous Dante Alighieri, he wanted to build a design inspired by the poet's work, "The Divine Comedy" building.
In 1919, this building became the highest in Latin America , and one of the world's tallest reinforced concrete.
Address: Av. de Mayo 1370.
Florida Street
Buenos Aires’ downtown thoroughfare Florida Street is the city’s most notable pedestrian area and an
enduring neutral ground for a diverse cross-section of humanity.
While pleasant for a nice stroll away from the rumbling Buenos Aires buses and home to quite a few architectural gems, it’s admittedly not one of the city’s most dazzling destinations.
On the weekdays, Florida is flooded with office workers and vendors selling everything from tango tours to leather goods on the fancier northern end of the mall and handmade jewelry and hair braiding on the southern side.