Very often friends or people I come across who realize my extensive travel experience, they ask me: Which city in the world is your favorite one?
Well, I have been blessed and lucky to have seen so many cities around the globe and yet the answer comes almost spontaneously in my mouth: Buenos Aires.
The cosmopolitan metropolis has it all: Parisian allure, New York’s night life, Amsterdam’s boheme, London’s frenzy shopping and the mentality of Barcelona.
Don’t think of it too much. You’ve been planning it long enough. Come to Buenos Aires and you’ll understand why so many people have fallen in love with this incredible city, and even decided to stay. There’s a good chance you’ll be one of them.
After having spend quite a few time over there the last 5 years, I’ll try to give you an insider’s view of the city’s best spots, the view of a ¨porteño¨ aka the attractive resident of Buenos Aires.
FOOD
There are 3 distinct types of restaurants in the city: Parillas (Steakhouses) , Bodegones ( Tavernas) and Modern restaurants.
PARILLAS
In a land where beef is sacred and the grilling of the meat is almost a religious ceremony, it is exceptionally hard to pinpoint the best spots. In my short list, however, are:
• Desnivel: the most casual of all yet with awesome meat. (Defensa 855, San Telmo, tel. 4300 9081)
• El Primo: Cosy and the highlight being the fact that they bring you a mini-grill to do your own cooking. (Humboldt y Gorriti, Palermo Hollywood, tel. 4899 1791)
• Gran Parrilla del Plata: Classical but elegant and with a local charm. (Chile 594 y Perú, San Telmo, tel. 4300 8858)
• La Cabrera: The most famous steakhouse of Buenos Aires, lives up to its fame and even more. Reserve well ahead. (Cabrera 5127/5099, Palermo Soho, tel. 4832 5754)
BODEGONES
Most of those places have been in the hands of today’s owners for generations. Usually immigrants from Italy or Spain, the hosts keep their recipes intact from influences and tradition is sacred. The atmosphere in those places is truly unique and the majority of them have been declared by the municipality of Buenos Aires as Cultural Monuments.
• El Preferido de Palermo: Grab your camera because the clock will go at least 100 years back. An old grocery now serves some food. (Borges 2108, Palermo Soho, tel. 4774 6585)
• La Coruña: Unique atmosphere and original recipes. I love the soda siphons… (Bolívar 994, San Telmo, tel. 4362 7637)
• Lo de Jesús: Every day at 11 am the 92 year owner visits his place at grabs his favourite spot ordering a vermut with a ham platter. Do the same. (Gurruchaga 1406, Palermo Soho, tel. 4831 1961)
• Margo: It was so famous that even Peron himself was a frequent patron of this picturesque taverna. (Avenida Boedo 857, Boedo, tel. 4957 0001)
• Paulín: Not only UFO’s fly but the plates are too in this amazing joint. Try the 3-storey sandwich. Ideal for lunch when you are at the center. Sarmiento 635, Microcentro, tel. 4325 2280)
MODERN RESTAURANTS
The scene of restaurants is endlessly diverse with extremely good design tastes and looks. Young chefs are lifting the bar very high and the result is a drop-dead-gorgeous restaurant scene.
Our HOT PICKS:
In Palermo, the neighbourhood everybody falls madly in love with, you’ll encounter the best restaurants and the sexiest bars :
Bar 6 for every time of the day, Cluny elegant and stylish, Mott to see and to be seen, Tegui the new kid in town, Olsen hip and cool, don’t miss the Sunday brunch, Lele de Troya, fairytale atmosphere and eclectic furnishings, Sifones y Dragones, eccentric and intimate, El Ultimo Beso, unique concept and classy ambience, Acabar neon lighting and stylish kitsch, Andy Warhol would crash here.
In other parts of the town:
Million, eat and party in a mansion, Sucre, glam crowds and celebrities, the place not to miss, Novecento, vibrant, cool faces and fancy cocktails.
BARS/CLUBS
Le Bar, a reason to party downtown, 878, too good to be kept a secret for such long time,
Asia de Cuba, wannabe actors and models, Niceto Club, always trendy, always with happenings. Casa Cruz, stylish and sexy, Gran Bar Danzón is undoubtedly one of the kings of the BA bar scene.
HOTELS
It’s no longer enough to throw an expensive rug on the floor, buy some kitsch furniture, decorate each room differently and put the word ’boutique’ somewhere in the name. Thanks to Buenos Aires, the term “boutique” is renovated and the result is absolutely amazing. Often refurbished old houses, the best of them retaining some of their previous grandeur. Other are true design gems. But everybody agrees that the intimate service and natural politeness of the staff make a win-win combination.
The devalued peso gives you the chance to live a 5 star luxury at 3 star rate, so don’t miss the chance.
Our FAVORITES:
• BOBO: Bo Bo stands for ‘bohemian-bourgeois’: it offers individuality alongside style and comfort. Each of the 15 rooms in this popular, high-concept boutique hotel represents a 20th-century art or design movement. Themes rooms and, a sense of affordable luxury runs throughout. Lucky you, there’s a superb restaurant downstairs.
bobo
• JARDIN ESCONDIDO: the jardín escondido (hidden garden) is conveniently low profile and discrete. The owner Francis Ford Coppola wants privacy, same do most of its guests. The house can be rented as a whole or by sector (upper, lower), and very occasionally, by room. There’s a compact studio and six double bedrooms, with colonial decoration and named after members of the Coppola family. Excellent location in the heart of trendy Palermo, although you can easily remain hidden during your stay: The concierge can arrange for a barbecue you’ll never forget, or order some ultra hip takeaway and watch one of the 150 DVDs in Coppola’s collection.
• LEGADO MITICO: a gem in Buenos Aires. Concept rooms taken from Argentina’s most influential people (mythical legacy is the actual translation of the name of the hotel) like Che Guevara, Evita Peron, Borges and others. Breakfasts are delightful and the common areas have a huge supply of books on everything to do with Argentina so you may spend time out reading history and discovering the cultural side of the country. As there are only a dozen rooms, sometimes you feel as if you are the only quests living in a beautifully renovated home.
• MINE: The latest addition to the boutique hotel scene of Buenos Aires, is unpretentious and charming. Sleek lines, fresh design, fantastic location in the best part of town, professional and friendly staff , excellent price-value relationship.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST Hotel Faena and Universe is perhaps one of the most unique hotels in the world. An unparallel universe of design and fantasy, will be a crime leaving Buenos Aires and at least not having paid a visit to this incredible hotel.
RENTAL APARTMENTS
If you’re looking for a place to call home – at least temporarily – then Buenos Aires can offer you a great choice of rental apartments in BA’s nicest neighbourhoods. Ranging in style from classic to contemporary, wit a complimentary concierge service and often with huge swimming pools and barbeques. Especially if you plan to stay more than a week this is your best option.
Our TOP CHOICES:
Baires Apartments and Welcome 2BA.
Be sure to visit the sites, take amusing perspective shots of the Obelísco, and watch a tango show, but also spend hours in coffee shops, visit cafe Tortoni, chat for hours after your steak dinner and stay up until dawn, partying with BA’s carefree and beautiful young crowd. Through its chaotic and frenetic exterior, you will see that much of the city is beautiful, with grandiose buildings, world-class art galleries, fine restaurants and a thriving fashion industry.
Buenos Aires, you see, is not a city to visit, but a city to live in. We say so. Prove us wrong…
savas kazantzides
travel connoisseur
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