In 1871, when the wealthy fled a yellow fever epidemic in the previously affluent southern barrios, they gravitated en masse northwards to Barrio Norte. Mansions and palaces soon spread to Recoleta and Palermo, today the most European of all city´s districts.
Recoleta & Barrio Norte
Famed above all else for its cemetery, there´s plenty more to see and do in Recoleta and its sub-barrio, Barrio Norte (the upscale residential area between Las Heras Av. and Córdoba Av.).
Next to the cemetery´s entrances is the Basílica Nuestra Señora del Pilar, founded in 1716 by Jesuit missionaries. You can visit the cloisters, the crypt beneath the church, on the site of what was once a Fransiscan convent, is the superb Centro Cultural Recoleta, with its exhibition spaces devoted to contemporary visual artworks.
Plaza Francia, directly north-east of the cultural centre, is commandeered on weekends by a popular handicrafts fair which draws tourists, students and neo-hippies. Across Posadas St. is the belle époque Palais de Glace, an elegant salon where, in the 1920s, tango was officially embraced by the bourgeoisie. More recently it has been adopted by the city for high-profile art exhibitions and fashion shows.
- Cementerio de la Recoleta. 1760 Junin St, between Guido and Vicente López. (4803 1594) Open: 7am - 5.45 daily. Admission: free.
- Museo Casa de Ricardo Rojas. 2837 Charcas St, between Anchorena and Laprida. (4824 4039) Open: 10am - 6pm Mon-Fri. Admission:suggested contribution $1.
- Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo: 1902 Libertador Av, corner Pereyra Lucena (4801 8248) Open: 2pm - 7pm daily. Closed: 1st 2 weeks Jan. Admission: $8, free tuesdays.
- Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. 1473 Libertador Av, corner Pueyrredón. Open:12.30pm - 7.30pm Tue-Fri; 9.30am - 7.30pm Sat,Sun. Admission: free.
- Museo Xul Solar. 1212 Laprida St, between Mansilla and Charcas. (4824 3302). Open: noon - 7.30pm Tue-Fri; noon - 7pm, Sat. Closed: Jan, Feb. Admission: $3.
Palermo
Confusingly, numerous subdivisions exist between Palermo, but everyone accepts three basic areas: tiny Palermo Chico for embassies and the filthy rich; atmospheric Palermo Viejo (comprisins so-called Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood) for global cuisine and funky boutiques; and plain Palermo for the rest, including all the greenery.
From Palermo´s Cavia to Monroe street in Belgrano (the next barrio up) there is a patchwork of parks and plazas amassed round the Parque Tres de Febrero, formerly a flood plain until drained in the late 16th century by the barrio´s namesake, Italian Giovanni Domenico Palermo. At the northernmost limit of the park is the Hipodromo Argentino racecourse.
Although you may stroll into Palermo as a continuation of your wanderings through Recoleta, the point of access to the peaceful green heart of the park that has the most public transport option is Plaza Italia. It´s also one of the noisest junctions in the city and far cry from the lawned idylls that punctuate most of the area.
- Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays. 3951 Santa Fe Av. (4831 4527) Open: Nov-Mar 8am-8pm; Apr-Oct 9am-6pm. Admission: free.
- Jardín Japonés. Berro Av. and Casares St. (4804 4922). Open: 10am-6pm daily. Admission: $3 Mon-Fri, $4 Sat, Sun.
- Jardín Zoológico. Santa Fe Av and Las Heras Av (4011 9900) Open: 10am-6pm Tue-Sun. Admission: $12.50; free under -12s.
- Malba: Colección Costantini. 3415 Figueroa Alcorta Av, between Salguero and San Martín de Tours. (4808 6500). Open: noon-8pm Mon, Thur-Sun; noon-9pm Wed. Admission: $10; $5 concessions; free on Wed.
- Museo de Artes Plásticas Eduardo Sívori. 555 Infanta Isabel Av and Libertador Av (4774 9452). Open: Dec-Apr noon - 8pm Tue-Fri; 10am-8pm Sat, Sun. May-Nov noon-6pm Tue-Fri; 10am-6pm Sat, Sun. Admission: $3; free under -12s; free Wed.
- Museo Evita. 2988 Lafinur St, between Gutiérrez and Las Heras (4807 9433/0306) Open 1pm-7pm Tue-Sun. Admission: $5.
- Museo de Arte Popular José Hernández. 2373 Libertador Av, between San Martín de Tours and Coronel Díaz. (4803 2384). Open 1pm-7pm Wed-Fri; 10am-8pm Sat, Sun. Admission: $3; free under -12s.
Palermo Viejo
Away from the high rises, open spaces and views of the river, Palermo Viejo (Old Palermo) clusters. Most of the homes here are just one or two storeys high, and the town houses, come with terraces and long dark entrance ways. There´s a literary/boho past here as evidenced by the street called Borges and the Plazoleta Cortázar (at the junction of Borges and Honduras -sometimes referred to by its former name, Plaza Serrano), but these days there´s far more emphasis on house music and cocktails than literature.
Run down and romantic until the early 1990s, Palermo viejo has since been thoroughly brightened up by restaurants -serving cuisines from all corners of the globe- and fashion and design outlets marking up smelling candles, oversized cushions and art books. For open-air drinks, Plazoleta Cortázar has long been popular.
Such has been the impact of new money on Palermo Viejo that the food and lifestyle boom has spilled across the barrio´s limit at Avenida Juan B Justo -formerly famous as the north-western limit of BA´s zona roja (red light zone), but now emptied of trannies after a government clean-up campaign -to the trendy sub-barrio once called Pacífico, but now known as Palermo Hollywood to the number of TV production companies based there.
Elsewhere in Palermo
Fringed by the polo ground and racecourse is a buzzing residential and dining district known as Las Cañitas. A popular focal point for the moneyed socialites of Palermo and Belgrano, there is little in the way of historical interest by day, though the Cañitas Creativa street fair on Fridays and Saturdays at 6pm brings in visitors. Nearby, BA´s mega-mosque and religious centre, the Centro Islámico Ray Fahd, is at Avenidas Bullrich and del Libertador.
One of the Palermo´s most intriguingly named unofficial sub-barrios, located just to the south of Plaza Italia, is called Villa Freud, in reference to the large number of pshycoanalysts who work there.
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