Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
detailed in
Buenos Aires After Dark
. See
Best
Places to Eat
for fine dining options in this area.
Getting There
San Telmo is just south of the Plaza de Mayo.
The Plaza Dorrego
, site of a wonderful
Sunday Flea Market and the heart of the
barrio
,
is less than a dozen blocks away. You can walk
directly between the two plazas along Calle
Defensa in under 10 minutes. You can also plan
a leisurely stroll from either plaza along the
most interesting streets, stopping at a few his-
torical sights. In either case, be in Plaza
Dorrego when the fair is in full swing.
History
When the city was founded at the Plaza de
Mayo in 1580, a small settlement grew up near
the fledgling port on the Riachuelo. The area
was known as “Alto de San Pedro” and the ear-
liest residents clustered around a square called
the Plaza de la Residencia for the Jesuit resi-
dence nearby. Now called
Plaza Dorrego
,itis
the city's second oldest square. The plaza
became a popular rest point for ox carts and
horses en route from the port to the city and
from Buenos Aires to the interior of the coun-
try. Lots of small saloon/grocery stores were set
up.
The original residents of this small port
“town” were fishermen and dock workers;
mostly Italians, Irish, Creoles and blacks.
