Top 10 Buenos Aires (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

EYEWITNESS TRAVEL

TOP 10

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BUENOS AIRES

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

Great tango clubs & dance halls Best restaurants in each area Unmissable museums & galleries Liveliest bars & clubs Most impressive buildings Historic plazas & green spaces Artisan shops & best boutiques Best hotels for every budget Fun activities for children Insider tips for every reader

YOUR GUIDE TO THE 10 BEST OF EVERYTHING

TOP 10

BUENOS AIRES

DECLAN MCGARVEY JONATHAN SCHULTZ

EYEWITNESS TRAVEL

Contents

Left Tango show Center Painting at Kelly’s shop Right Cementerio de la Recoleta

Contents Buenos Aires’ Top 10 Design, Editorial, and Picture Research, by Quadrum Solutions, Krishnamai, 33B, Sir Pochkanwala Road, Worli, Mumbai, India Reproduced by Colourscan, Singapore Printed and bound in China by Leo Paper Products Ltd First American Edition, 2009 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 Published in the United States by DK Publishing, Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 Copyright 2009 © Dorling Kindersley Limited, London, A Penguin Company

Buenos Aires’ Highlights

6

Plaza de Mayo

8

Cementerio de la Recoleta

10

Teatro Colón

12

Avenida de Mayo

14

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

16

San Telmo

18

Within each Top 10 list in this book, no hierarchy of quality or popularity is implied. All 10 are, in the editor’s opinion, of roughly equal merit.

Avenida 9 de Julio

20

Floors are referred to throughout in accordance with American usage; ie the “first floor” is the floor above ground level.

MALBA

22

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

24

Tango

26

Moments in History

32

All rights reserved under International and PanAmerican Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. A CIP catalogue record is available from the British Library. ISSN: 1479-344X ISBN: 978 0 7566 3954 9

The information in this DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide is checked regularly. Every effort has been made to ensure that this book is as up-to-date as possible at the time of going to press. Some details, however, such as telephone numbers, opening hours, prices, gallery hanging arrangements and travel information are liable to change. The publishers cannot accept responsibility for any consequences arising from the use of this book, nor for any material on third party websites, and cannot guarantee that any website address in this book will be a suitable source of travel information. We value the views and suggestions of our readers very highly. Please write to: Publisher, DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, Dorling Kindersley, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL. Cover: Front – Alamy Images: James Brunker main; Blaine Harrington III bl. Spine – DK Images: Demetrio Carrasco b. Back – DK Images: Demetrio Carrasco tl, tc, tr.

2

Contents

Left Exhibits at MALBA Center Café Tortoni Right Interior of Galerías Pacífico

Striking Buildings

34

Around Town

Plazas and Green Spaces 36

Barrio Norte, Recoleta

Argentinian Artisan Stores

& Around

64

38

San Telmo & La Boca

72

Intimate Museums

40

Festivals

42

Tango Clubs and Milongas 44

Microcentro, Puerto Madero & Retiro

80

Palermo

86

Beyond Buenos Aires

94

Nightclubs

46

Gay Clubs and Hangouts

48

Culinary Highlights

52

Parrillas

54

Practical Information

102

Restaurants

56

Places to Stay

112

Porteño Personalities

58

General Index

118

Activities for Children

60

Phrase Book

126

Streetsmart

Left El Caminito, La Boca Right Congreso Nacional Key to abbreviations Adm admission charge

3

BUENOS AIRES’ TOP 10

Plaza de Mayo 8–9 Cementerio de la Recoleta 10–11 Teatro Colón 12–13 Avenida de Mayo 14–15 Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes 16–17 San Telmo 18–19 Avenida 9 de Julio 20–21 Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires 22–23 Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay 24–25 Tango 26–29

BUENOS AIRES’ TOP 10

Buenos Aires’ Highlights 6–7

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Plaza de Mayo



This square has seen post-World Cup soccer victory dances as well as the deafening silence of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo’s weekly marches (see pp8–9).

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Buenos Aires’ Top 10

Buenos Aires’ Highlights Argentina’s romantic, reinvigorated soul, Buenos Aires is la Capital, where tango combos keep time in crowded milongas (dance halls), young men cry out deliriously at gargantuan soccer stadiums, and taxis swap lanes across some of the world’s widest avenues. Porteños, as the residents of this sophisticated metropolis are called, move to a rhythm all of their own, while making time to dine, dress, and even rest, extraordinarily well. With spectacular museums, lovely open spaces, and rich architecture brimming with history, the city is warm as well as energetic.

38

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