either/or

Paliacio Barolo

This is a modified version of what i’ve started to send to friends who visit. I thought it might be useful to post. This is a short list of the things i’d recommend doing if you have a few days here.

First, from a friend who lives here:

Being in Buenos Aires:

The three most important rules for my Buenos Aires guests: 1. Watch out for dog droppings on the sidewalks at all times. 2. The moment you let your guard down in maintaining a code-red state of heightened vigilance is the moment you will step in a huge pile of it. 3. No, seriously, remember the Eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings — ever watchful, never sleeping, always searching, hunting for that accursed ring? You may be talking with someone. You may want to take in all the beautiful sights. That’s fine. Just don’t take one eye off the sidewalk for even a moment, especially in the fancier neighborhoods where more money means more dogs and more dogs means, well . . .

Websites/Resources

Here are some websites i would recommend -

This site has a lot of good links to activities and ideas - http://www.allaboutar.com/ba.htm
This girl does a good job talking about obscure restaurants that she begs taxi drivers to take her to - http://www.taxigourmet.com/
Good english language site with articles/news on argentina - http://www.argentinepost.com/
Good Morning BA- http://www.goodmorningba.com/

http://guiaoleo.com.ar/ - good restaurant guide but all in spanish

Ideas for things to do

First, get familiar w/the Barrios (neighborhoods) you want to visit. Since you only have a few days, you won’t have a lot of time to see everything- BA is 2/3 the size of manhattan so it’s a bit overwhelming. I would recommend visiting Recoleta (for the dead people), Palermo (for the feeling of swanky but shabby elegance), Boca (if you see a game or to see the incredible way the neighborhood is constructed - but only in the day), San Telmo (for the outdoor market on Sunday), and “el Centro” for some of the architecture, shopping, and the feeling of being in a metropolis.

I would recommend doing some or all of the following:

0. Plaza Dorrego - San Telmo Sunday market - if you just say ‘Feria de San Telmo’ - a taxi will take you here. THis runs Sundays until about 5pm. Probably going early-afternoon is best.
1. Go to Recoleta cemetery - it’s in the heart of Recoleta and really shouldn’t be missed. I’ve been to a number of cemeteries in the world and nothing compares to this place - it’s astounding.
2. Visit the Plaza de Mayo, and Congresso
3. Find some cafés to eat at. Cafe Tortoni is the most famous but I don’t find it that worth waiting in line for.
4. Eat at a few Parrillas. (see below)
5. Spend some time in Palermo Soho, walking around. Start in Plaza Serrano and wander around for an afternoon, there are art galleries, a real focus on industrial and interior design in lots of shops, lots of outdoor cafés, etc.
6. Visit the MALBA - which has quite a nice collection of modern artists from Argentina, Italy, and Spain Botero, Gaudi, etc. It’s on Alcorta in Palermo
7. Go to the ice cream shop “Persicco” which people say has the best ice cream in Argentina, and many people say rivals the best in Italy.
8. Take a walk or at least a taxi down Ave Libertadore - one of the widest streets in the world and many grand apartments line the sides as it winds down toward the downtown area.
9. Go to the Rosedal in Parque 3 de Febrero - a beautiful Rose garden (also in Palermo)
10. Take the subte - it’s easy, cheap (90 centavos or so, though i think it just went up) and it’s the oldest subway system in the Americas. Line A is actually cool because the cars are old and made of wood! Most of the system is quite modern.
11. Tango shows -  I’m not the best for knowing where to go here.
12. Take a bus - it’s one of the craziest systems around where you can only pay with coins, you have to look for the bus by its paint job, and you better move quick because they barely slow down for you. But it’s a cool adventure that you don’t want to miss.

Buildings/Architecture
13. Cool bookstore in an old theater - El Ateneo - 1860 Santa Fe Avenue
14. Palacio Barolo in Buenos Aires - Av. de Mayo 1370 - Based on Dante’s Inferno http://www.pbarolo.com.ar/
15. “Water Works” building -  Also called Obras Sanitarias - at Cordoba and Riobamba

Restaurants

My favorite Parrillas are:

“Parilla Peña” on Calle Rodriguez Peña 682 in Barrio Norte (near Recoleta)
Don Julio, in Palermo Soho - Guatemala 4691 and Gurruchaga

The beef cuts you should try over the course of your visit are the Bife de Chorizo (which has nothing to do with Mexican Chorizo - forget the association-it’s just a good cut similar to a New York Strip), Asado de Tire (think beef ribs cut the other direction, like little cross sections of beef rib bones that you can eat the meat around, Bife Lomo (like a porterhouse). The sausage, called “Chorizo” here is quite good and is nothing like Mexican chorizo.  Argentina is not known for it’s fish but there is a great restaurant here that serves Pácu (listed below), which is a “River Fish” from Brazil and is incredible, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that restaurant unless you wanted to try something different and wanted to carve out the time.

Other Restaurants you would be totally excited you visited:

Sarkis - Thames 1101 - Delightful Mediterranean/Lebanese foo
Jangada - Bonpland 1670 - Palermo Hollywood - ONLY go here for the most incredible, rich, delicious river fish - Pacú

Or if you make it as far north as Belgrano (unlikely) check out one of these cafés:

Maru Botana (Belgrano) 11 de Septiembre 982 between Olleros and Gorostiaga - Great little cafe with scones, cakes, tostadas, etc. On a cute street in Belgrano with nice architecture.
Oui Oui - Nicaragua 6068 - Lovely French cafe

Soccer

There is an english language Argentina soccer site - argentinesoccer.com which has a lot of information but is not well laid out.