Buenos Aires cannot be called a city of contrasts, it is strikingly consistent with the samples of European megacities. This is the first thing that surprises visitors, and all tourists recognize the capital of Argentina as the most European city in Latin America. Buenos Aires is famous not only for this - it is one of the world centers of football, opera, fashion. This is an alpha city, with a key significance for the vast region of the Earth; it plays an important role in the fields of politics, economics, and planetary culture.
It is a multinational, noisy, colorful and atmospheric city with spacious clean streets (in most areas), countless coffee houses, clubs and restaurants, flowering trees and green parks. It is compared with Paris, but there is something in it from Madrid and from London. And the colorful port districts, grilled asado, the popular mate tea and passionate tango dancers on the evening streets will not let you forget that Buenos Aires is a Latin American city.
General information
Buenos Aires was founded twice: in 1536 and 1580. The first settlement lasted five years, but due to lack of food and the constant raids of the Indian tribes, the inhabitants moved higher up the river, and the Indians burned the village. The renewed city was part of Peru - the Vice-Kingdom of the Spanish Empire, and since 1776 it became the capital of the Spanish colonial possession of Rio de la Plata. During the May Revolution of 1810, the viceroy of the Spanish Crown was deposed and the first national government was formed, and after another six years, the country was declared independent.
Buenos Aires has always been in a strange way politically and economically little dependent on other territories of the country and, unlike the rest of Argentina, has developed very actively, but separately. Since 1880, it is still a separate administrative region, not part of the province of the same name, with the right to self-government, obtained in 1994.
The country's currency is the Argentine Peso (ARS), consisting of 100 centavos. As of January 2018, the exchange rate was 5.12 US dollars for 100 pesos. But in Argentina, the "black" exchange of dollars is flourishing, at the rate of which, in the same time period, one dollar was worth 19.48 pesos. This fact, attractive for tourists, creates conditions for them of cheap goods and services in the country.
Population
Since the mid-19th century, the financial and cultural potential of Buenos Aires has grown and exceeded other cities in Latin America. This explains the mass resettlement of that period of immigrants from Spain and Italy. According to the census of 1895, of the 649,000 inhabitants of the city, only 320,000 were indigenous. After that, until 1950, over 5 million immigrants from European and Asian countries moved to Buenos Aires.
This has led to the fact that the appearance and culture of the city are not like other Latin American settlements. Buenos Aires today is considered a multinational center, where neighbors are representatives of Arab, Jewish, German, Slavic, English, Armenian and even Japanese, Chinese and Korean communities. And the descendants of Italian, French and Spanish immigrants disappeared among the indigenous population of the capital and in the same way call themselves portenos, that is, residents of the port.
According to the latest census in 2015, the number of Buenos Aires residents was approximately 14 576 300 people, which amounted to 33.573% of the total population of Argentina.
Location and climate
The capital of Argentina is located on the western side of the largest bay of La Plata, formed by the mouth of the Parana River in the central-eastern territory of the country. The area where Buenos Aires is located belongs to the steppes of the subtropical zone (pampas) with a flat, elevated landscape, which, combined with the numerous rivers and lakes of this region, caused frequent flooding of the city. To avoid this, the channels of some small rivers have been changed since 1908, and Juan B. Justo Street is now laid on the site of one of them.
The country is characterized by a humid and warm climate of the southern hemisphere of the subtropics. The mild rainy winter in Buenos Aires lasts from early June to August with an average temperature of +10 ... + 13 ° C. A long stuffy summer with heavy rainfall is not particularly hot, and the average temperature of December - February is kept at +24 degrees.
How to get there
There is no direct flight Moscow - Buenos Aires yet; the best option would be to fly Air Europe or Aeroflot flights with a change in Madrid. The flight will take 20-37 hours and will cost about 73,000 rubles. Landing will take place at the Minister Pistarini’s international airport in Ezeiza, a suburb of Buenos Aires, by the name of which everyone simply says about the airport: “Ezeiza”.
There is another option. You can fly through Casablanca to SĂŁo Paulo (Brazil), which will cost $ 500 cheaper. After wandering around Sao Paulo until the evening, you should take the shuttle bus at the Tiete station (leaving at 22:00). The road to Argentina to Buenos Aires will take about 30 hours, but the scenic road passes Iguazu Falls and other interesting places. The bus will take you directly to Retiro City Station.
From the airport
You can get to the capital from the airport in several ways:
- Take one of the two bus routes: No. 8 to the Plaza de Mayo city center and No. 395 to the train station. The journey takes 1.5 hours.
- Buy a ticket for the Manuel Tienda Leon shuttle bus and travel comfortably to the center of Buenos Aires.
- When leaving the terminal, order a taxi at a point that officially represents the carrier. The road takes 45 minutes.
Main square
Not a single guidebook is able to list all the places of Buenos Aires that are worth visiting, because only the main attractions are listed everywhere. Inspection of the city, as a rule, begins with the main city square, Plaza de Mayo (Recoleta district), which has been recognized as a historical monument since 1942. The center of Mayo Square is occupied by fountains of 1670 in the Renaissance style. On the east side is the pink neoclassical building of the presidential residence. The architecture and interior of the palace are interesting, which can be carefully considered during excursions (weekends).
Along the perimeter of the square are administrative and federal buildings. Interesting will be: the colonial architecture of the Town Hall and the Cathedral. The historic center is replete with old buildings and monuments. There are many tourist sites in the vast Recoleta area, two of which are never neglected by tourists: the National Museum of Fine Arts and Recoleta Cemetery, where many famous Argentines are buried, and most of the monuments and crypts are real works of art.
Museums
Entrance to most metropolitan museums is free; in others, payment is symbolic. This is a great opportunity to see an excellent selection of world masterpieces, which are rich in exhibition halls of Buenos Aires. More than 12,000 exhibits are stored in the vaults of the National Museum of Fine Arts. 700 of them, with constant updating, are exhibited for permanent exhibition in 24 viewing rooms. Here you can see the works of Rembrandt, Rubens, Goya, Renoir, Degas, Picasso, Rodin, El Greco, Toulouse-Lautrec, Clay and the Argentinean great masters.
In Buenos Aires, there are many museums of government or dependent on special funds. These are the Historical Museum, the Museum of Cinema, the Latin American Museum of Colonial and Contemporary Art, Ethnographic and others.
Theaters
The capital is famous for its theaters, in Buenos Aires there are over 300 of them. Many of them are located in old buildings, such as the Municipal Theater, whose premises have been on the list of urban architecture sights since 1958.
But one, the Opera Theater "Colon" ("Flowerbed"), opened since 1908, is worthy of special attention. This is the main opera house in Latin America and one of the seven most important in the world. Tickets for premieres and significant performances are sold out long before the performance, and not only by the Argentines. Among music and opera performers, the acoustics of the hall are recognized as ideal. Opera competitions, festivals, and performances of world significance are held here. The voices of all modern opera stars sounded on the stage of this theater, here Chaliapin, Caruso, Pavarotti once sang.
The theater building is located on Avenida on July 9, one of the widest avenues of the world. The last restoration of the theater (2006–2010) cost 100 million pesos. The building and interior are in the late renaissance style. It is not necessary to take a ticket to the performance to see the splendor of the gilded decoration of the theater with luxurious marble staircases, classical columns, sculptures and paintings. Here are daily hourly excursions in Spanish and English. The cost of tickets for the performance varies significantly depending on the audience and the value of the performance.
Tango show
The ancient Argentinean folk dance - tango - was modernized in Buenos Aires and since the beginning of the last century was first introduced outside the country. At first, tango conquered Paris, then London and Berlin, and soon all of Europe danced it, and then America. Tango culture means not only dance, but also music and song. But the dance itself is declared by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee as part of the world intangible cultural heritage. A cult figure in the history of tango is the singer and musician Carlos Gardel, and every year on his birthday, December 11, tango day is celebrated in the Argentinean capital. And since 1999, an annual tango festival has been held in Buenos Aires from August 14 to 31.
Dance performers can also be seen on the streets in the tourist points of the city. But the best dancers present their art in specialized restaurant-type establishments with an evening program of tango shows, which are quite a lot in the city. Such shows are designed for every taste: classical dance performance, modernized or stage productions, like a musical. According to reviews, in Buenos Aires, the best tango show can be seen at the Faena Hotel & Universe. In his Cabaret, the dancers are exclusively professional performers of the highest class. These are exclusive performances and one of the most expensive in the capital.
La boca
Not to visit such attractions of Buenos Aires as the La Boca district - this means not to see the city at all. Camino's main street with adjoining quarters is also an open-air art gallery. Here I play musicians, couples perform tango on the pavement, artists paint and sell their work, dealers offer numerous souvenirs, here you can find many wonderful handmade products. Life boils in the area almost around the clock.
Once upon a time there were barracks of black slaves, then a workshop for salting fish and tanning leather, the first port appeared here. And from the end of the year before last, when a wave of immigrants surged into the country, the poorest immigrants from Italy settled here. They created a special image and spirit of the quarter. The local peculiarity of colorful colorful houses was traditionally formed precisely in that period. Residents did not have enough money to paint the whole house and therefore painted either windows or doors, one wall, and after some time - another. But the colors often did not match, and painted with what you have to. Over time, contrasting walls, windows and doors became a local feature.
It is worth remembering that Caminito is a tourist part of La Boca. The rest of the area is not considered prosperous. Therefore, you should not go far from the busy streets in the evening and better look after your wallet.
Urban transport
For tourists, double-decker open top buses run around the city. Their path passes through the most interesting metropolitan areas through the 25 most significant stopping points. Coming to any of these points, you can take a walk, and then at the bus stop take the same bus and continue on. Once purchased a ticket is valid all day.
The local metro (subte) can be safely added to the list of Buenos Aires attractions. Its 1930 cars are the oldest in the world. But this is not the most convenient transport: the stations are narrow, stuffy and rather littered, and trains can run at large time intervals and are crowded with passengers.
The cheapest type of metropolitan and suburban transport is buses (colectivos), which run in absolutely all city blocks around the clock with an interval of 5-15 minutes. In Buenos Aires, the low cost SUBE card payment system is common. This is a local ticket valid for city buses and subways; it can be bought almost everywhere.
The cost of taxi services is paid by the meter and depends on the night or day tariff. Here, tourists who don’t speak Spanish can use the old Paseo taxi driver’s trick: to increase the meter’s reading, a passenger is taken to a point by district routes. Therefore, it is better to call the car through Remis - telephone service. And catching a taxi in the city, it’s worth likening to the locals: standing by the side of the road, you don’t have to wave your arms, but just waiting for the black-and-yellow car free (glowing libre), it’s a sign to show the driver that they want to go with him. You should sit in the right rear seat and name your destination.
Local kitchen
Argentines are known for owning the world palm among meat consumers. It is not surprising when you consider that the country is the largest exporter of beef in the world, and this type of meat is probably the most delicious here. Local wine and a large juicy steak are a favorite food of the Buenos Aires population. This is reflected in the local cuisine, which under the influence of Italian, Spanish and French is practically no different from European.
Asado, or parilyada, has become the culinary hallmark of Buenos Aires and Argentina. This is fried on coals in large pieces of meat from completely different parts of the carcass, as well as the internal organs of the animal and a variety of sausages. Mostly they cook beef, but it can also be pork, lamb, and chicken. The name of the dish depends on which part of the carcass the meat is taken from. Parilla (parilla) - a stove in which a similar dish is prepared, and at the same time the so-called restaurants where it is served. A large selection of absolutely amazing asado are known for institutions along Lavalle Street in the Recoleta area.
There are a lot of restaurants around the city, as the residents of the capital prefer not to cook at home, but to have breakfast, lunch and dinner in numerous cafes and restaurants. Therefore, their prices are low. There are practically no pompous restaurants with sky-high prices. In addition to meat, many in Buenos Aires and vegetarian establishments. You should definitely visit Britanico, a historic bar in which neither the interior nor traditions have changed since its opening (1928), since this is an indispensable condition for all owners of the establishment.
By the way, in Argentina they make great wine, especially red wine (vino tinto), which you should definitely try here and buy a bottle at home in one of the wine shops located in the center.
Beaches
Unfortunately, Buenos Aires cannot boast of beaches. As a result of port activities and sewage pollution, La Plata Bay has become unsuitable for swimming. Moreover, the city is located on the banks of the estuary, that is, the bay formed by the mouth of the river, and not the ocean. You will have to drive about five hours to the nearest ocean beach. The public beaches of the capital are desert places that are great for jogging, walking, horseback riding, often adjacent to golf courses. Here you can sunbathe, have fun with sports, but not swim.
Shopping
Buenos Aires and Argentina are generally not indifferent to fashion. This is not surprising: for 16 years, Fashion Week has been held here twice a year. From everywhere, international-level designers come to the capital to showcase their spring-summer and fall-winter collections. Therefore, a lot of designer clothes and accessories are sold in the shops and shopping galleries of the city.
The most luxurious and expensive shopping center - "Galerias Pacifico" (corner of Cordoba and Florida) - is crowded with many of the most famous brands and a lot of all kinds of things. Prices are high, but you don’t have to go shopping at Galerias Pacifico: its stunning interior is worth the time spent visiting and a few memorable photos. Calle Florida and Calle Florida, Avenida Santa Fe are the most expensive Buenos Aires stores with global brands and jewelry.
But the huge complex of the town of Malvinas Argentinas in the vicinity of Buenos Aires offers customers a trading platform of 150 thousand square meters, where the same European brands are much cheaper. The complex runs from ten in the morning until ten in the evening, but twelve hours at the local shopping will not be enough.
July 9 is the name of the avenue, and it is also the largest shopping area in the world, attracting shopaholics, but it will take more than one day to bypass all its stores. Prices and products are very different and will satisfy any needs.
But what will please both men and women is a Sunday trip to Piazza Dorrego, where you can spend the whole day at the San Telmo Fair. It presents everything from designer underwear to the pride of metropolitan musicians - handmade guitars. Jewelry and leather goods, glass, crystal and woolen things from vicuna, poncho, shawls, wicker rugs, utensils for mate and much more - a truly incredible expanse for those who want to engage in the acquisition of gifts and souvenirs. Prices are low. You should especially look at antique and jewelry items: you can often buy inexpensive completely unique items.
Before you leave the Argentinean capital, you should save some money and leave early at the airport. Here is the largest duty free zone with the richest shops, which will take at least three hours to inspect.