Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
67
Tips
S afe Rides
Buenos Aires has its share of dishonest taxi drivers. At both airports, take only
officially sanctioned transportation. Do not accept rides from private individuals.
Even if freelance taxi drivers approach you offering cheaper fares, play it safe and
use the official
remise
stands. For more details, see “Traveling by Taxi,” below.
neighborhoods of San Telmo, La Boca, Puerto Madero, Recoleta, and Palermo surround
the MicroCentro. The city lay out follows a wobbly grid pattern;
avenidas
are the wide
boulevards, where most traffic flo ws and the sub ways lines generally r un;
calles
are nar-
rower one-way streets; and
diagonales
cut across streets and avenues at 45-degree angles,
providing beautiful vistas onto many tourist sites. Each city block extends 100m (328
ft.), and building addresses indicate relative location on the street.
The
MicroCentro
includes P laza de M ayo (the political and historic center of B uenos
Aires), Plaza San Martín, and Avenida 9 de Julio, generally claimed to be the widest street in
the world.
Note:
Addresses on this thoroughfare generally take on those of its parallel service
streets, such as Carlos Pellegrini, Lima, Cerrito, and Bernardo de Irogoyen. Most commercial
activity is focused in this busy zone, as are the majority of hotels and restaurants. Next to the
MicroCentro, the ne wly renovated riverfront area, called
Puerto Madero,
boasts ex cellent
restaurants and nightlife, as w ell as ne w commercial and r esidential zones. Farther south,
Monserrat, San Telmo,
and
La Boca
are the historic neighborhoods wher e the first immi-
grants arrived and
milonga
and tango originated. They are beautiful and loaded with ar eas
of interest to tourists, but take caution if exploring them after sunset.
The city 's most E uropean neighborhood,
Recoleta,
offers fashionable r estaurants,
cafes, and ev ening enter tainment on tr ee-lined str eets. I t's home to the city 's cultural
center, built into a former church, as well as the Recoleta Cemetery, the necropolis where
key figures such as E vita and many former pr esidents are buried. Bor dering Recoleta,
Barrio Norte
is famous for its Avenida Santa Fe shopping, cafes, and nightlife. The city's
trendiest area,
Palermo,
to the nor thwest, is a sprawling neighborhood of par ks, man-
sions, and cobblestone streets lined with tiny stucco homes. I t is vastly wealthy in some
parts and gracefully bohemian in others. P alermo is a catchall term for many neighbor-
hoods in Buenos Aires. Today when most people say P alermo, they are not referring to
the wealthy European-style section of the city along Avenida Libertador, sometimes also
called
Alto Palermo,
but instead to
Palermo Viejo
and its fur ther subdivisions of
Pal-
ermo Hollywood
and
Palermo Soho,
hip par ts of the city full of chic r estaurants and
tiny boutiques owned by young up-and-coming designers. When anyone says “meet me
in Palermo,” it's crucial to clarify exactly which par t of the city they mean.
STREET MAPS
At the front desk of your hotel, ask for a copy of “ The Golden Map”
and
QuickGuide Buenos Aires.
To help y ou plan y our trip befor e you leave home, the
Buenos Aires-based company
De Dios
(www.dediosonline.com) sells laminated str eet
guides, available from Amazon (www.amazon.com).
5
GETTING AROUND
The Buenos Aires
metro
—called the
subte
—is the fastest, cheapest way to get ar ound.
Buses are also conv enient, though less commonly used b y tourists. G et maps of metr o
