Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Buenos Aires
by Michael Luongo
A c ountry's tragedy became a
traveler's opportunity, and in betw een the
two came a v astly improved tourist scene
for Buenos Aires, the glamorous capital of
Argentina. U p until the peso crisis of
December 2001, B uenos Air es was
regarded as Latin America's most expensive
city, with some hotel and restaurant prices
rivaling those in N ew York and P aris.
Many on the S outh American tourist
crawl avoided this sophisticated and beau-
tiful metr opolis, staying in the cheaper
capitals of the countries that surr ounded
it. But now that the peso, once on par with
the U.S. dollar , has fallen to less than a
third of its former v alue, visitors fr om all
over the world hav e been flocking to the
Argentine capital, which, in many ways,
lives up to its r eputation as the P aris of
South America. While still remaining rea-
sonably priced in comparison to v acations
in the U nites States, Canada, or E urope,
prices have gone up in Buenos Aires, most
considerably in terms of hotels and the
cost of taxis and other ser vices. Still, it's a
relative bargain destination, as the enor-
mous number of trav elers and world-
recession-escaping expats living her e will
tell y ou. Tourism has become the thir d-
most-important component of Argentina's
economy, and B uenos Air es r eceives the
majority of its visitors.
With the pending 2010 bicentennial,
the capital has tried to r enovate its wealth
of architecture, much of which dates from
nearly a centur y ago, and ther e's been an
explosion of building and urban expan-
sion in expectation of the Centennial at
that time. S troll thr ough the neighbor-
hoods of R ecoleta or P alermo, full of
buildings with marble neoclassical facades
on br oad, tr ee-lined boulev ards, or tour
the historic A venida de M ayo, which was
designed to riv al P aris's Champs-E lysées.
European immigrants to B uenos Air es,
mostly from Spain and Italy, brought with
them the warm ways of M editerranean
culture, wherein friends, family, and con-
versation were the most impor tant things
in life. Whiling away the night over a long
meal was the norm, and locals have always
packed into cafes, r estaurants, and bars
until the early-morning hours.
Since the peso crisis, Argentines became
more self-reflective, examining themselves
and the reasons why their country fell into
so much tr ouble, and seeking answ ers.
This has led, ironically, to a flourishing of
all things Porteño (the word Buenos Aires
locals use to describe both themselv es and
the culture of their city). Unable to import
expensive foods fr om o verseas anymor e,
Buenos Aires's restaurants are concentrat-
ing instead on cooking with Argentine
staples such as Pampas grass-fed beef, and
using locally pr oduced, organic ingr edi-
ents as seasonings. What has dev eloped is
a spectacular array of Argentine nouv elle
cuisine of incr edible quality and original-
ity. Chefs can 't seem to pr oduce it fast
enough in the ev er-expanding array of
restaurants, particularly in the tr endy Pal-
ermo Viejo district.
Young Argentine designers opened up
their own shops and boutiques in the P al-
ermo H ollywood and P alermo S oho
neighborhoods. Women, especially , will
find fantastic unique fashions, largely at
prices lo wer than in N orth America and
Europe. And when it comes to leather
