Top 5 Buenos Aires Neighborhoods

1. Las Canitas – Las Canitas is located between Belgrano and Palermo and is mainly a residential neighborhood. It is pretty quiet and feels like it is in a completely different city than downtown Buenos Aires. There is one exciting strip of bars and restaurants on Baez street between Chenaut and Arevalo. It is really fun to go out in this area because all of the bars and restaurants are within a couple of blocks of each other so you can wander around and try a few. In Canitas you also have the Hipodromo (horse-races) and Polo fields.

2. Palermo – The Palermo neighborhood is where I always recommend friends of mine to stay, and not only because our wine tastings are held there! Palermo is divided up into a few different sections. Palermo chico is on the side closest to the Rio de la Plata, where many of the embassies are. Palermo Hollywood is on the northern side of Juan B Justo street, and although lesser known than Palermo Soho Hollywood has some great bars and restaurants, among which my favorites are Unico Bar and Sudestada. Palermo Soho has a wide variety of bars, restaurants, and shopping, and it is easy to spend an entire day walking around and people-watching.

3. San Telmo – San Telmo is one of the older neighborhoods in Buenos Aires and has an artsy vibe to it. There are cobblestone streets, antique shops and older buildings. The biggest thing to do here is the San Telmo fair on Sundays. Artists and vendors set up stalls for blocks and blocks. People sell everything from mates to purses to a fantastic hot sauce (Ya-Ya Beans made by two fun expats).

4. Recoleta – Recoleta is one of the most up-scale neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, and probably looks the most European out of the neighborhoods. It is full of boutiques, tree-lined streets and some of the nicest hotels in the city. Recoleta has some beautiful parks as well, along Libertador Avenue (city parks stretch all the way from Palermo to Recoleta). Don’t miss the Recoleta feria (market) on the weekends, right by the famous Recoleta cemetery (tourist-y things, but still on my must-do list!)

5. Centro/Downtown – Downtown is certainly the most touristy neighborhood of Buenos Aires, but it is where you can best learn about the history of the city and see some amazing architecture. Check out the Casa Rosada (Pink house), the Plaza de Mayo (where the Mothers (Madres de la Plaza de Mayo) still meet every Thursday), Teatro Colon (Colon Theater, try to get tickets to something here) and the famous Obelisk. Limit your downtown visits to during the day, as the area clears out at 6 or 7pm when all of the business people head home and it’s not as nice.