today’s city guide is devoted to a vibrant south american city that i have been dying to visit for years: buenos aires. thankfully blogger/designer/stylist manvi drona was kind enough to share her favorite spots with us today- so i can live vicariously through her recent travels. our d*s fall/winter intern rabeika messina will be reporting from buenos aires next month, but today we’re getting a special tour of the city from manvi- focusing on places to shop, eat, drink, and have fun.
Buenos Aires, Argentina is a vibrant and hip city. French architecture, English lifestyle, Spanish culture and Italian flair makes this a truly fascinating South American destination. This past May, my husband and I had the good fortune to spend almost two weeks in Buenos Aires. Needless to say, we loved it so much that we just can’t stop talking about it.
Getting Around
Buenos Aires is a fairly walkable city but you need to hop on a public bus {collectivo}, subway {subte} and or taxis to travel between neighborhoods. Taxis are relatively inexpensive and I recommend the radio taxis.
Shopping
Neighorbood: Recoleta
Home / Office + Lifestyle
buenos aires design; a home and lifestyle mall a few blocks from recoleta cemetery. The stores in the mall sell home related products ranging from fabrics, funiture, appliances to bath fixtures. Two stores that I recommend are morph and claudia adorno. morph; modern accessories and furnishing for living rooms, kitchen, bath, garden etc. I went a little overboard shopping for rugs and cushion covers here. Ask for the tax free forms if you are an international tourist. claudia adorno; trendy collection of home wares and ceramics.
Shuttle buses are available to take you from BA design to other malls like patio bullrich.
Fashion + Accessories
patio bullrich; expect to find most international and local designers in this upscale shopping center. within walking distance of recoleta cemetary and buenos aires design.
Neighorbood: Palermo, Palermo SoHo and Palermo Viejo
Home / Office + Lifestyle
augustina cerato; has darling bedding for lovers of pinks, red, polka dots and stripes.
blvd; boulevard are makers of modern furniture and provide customized carpentry, tapestry and iron-cast projects.
elementos argentinos; unique handcrafted rugs, blankets and other woven goods. I like their coloful woven poofs.
interiorzate; eclectic selection of home accessories and lighting
raval warehouse; This design store refurbishes vintage furniture and transforms them into modern edgy pieces.
dabbah-torrejon; this gallery showcases contemporary Argentine and Latin American art.
desde asia; as the name suggests, source for asian inspired furniture and home products.
juan diciervo; a native, juan designs and sells modern lighting fixtures and lamps.
kalpakian; a good resource for well crafted rugs
lamersa; fun, vintage inspired eclectic home accessories and furniture.
manifesto; colorful, trendy and energetic selection of furniture, rugs, lighting and decoration pieces by well known design houses like kartel and artemide.
modocasa; collection of glam and modern furniture
muchatela; this is such a cute store selling lovely hand made textile and fabric products. nice collection of graphic cushion covers.
tramontina; a good source for outdoor furniture.
Fashion + Accessories
rapsodia; trendy clothes and acessories
prune; great collection of handbags, belts, shoes and other leather products.
tucci; i love the facade of this brand/ store with equally hip and uber modern clothes and accessories.
wanama; charming vintage inspired clothes for men and women.
chocolate; stylish and sexy women’s clothing
ayres; this is one of the top argentine brands for women’s fashion.
allo martinez; sexy women’s fashionline
paula cahen; designer clothing for women and kids inspired by the sport polo
kosiuko; flirty clothing for women
garcon garcia; greece {the movie} meets preppie clothing for men
objecto; clothing and accessories for women
peter kent; designer handbags and accessories for women
ezequielt; urban designer clothes for women
las oreiro; this is your source for a great dress to tango or salsa in. clothes, shoes, bags and accessories for women.
nadine zlotogora; a super talented women’s fashion designer, nadine’s store has a diverse collection from lacy dresses to khakis.
teran; for the mister. good quality dress shoes.
lamerceria; armenia 1609. tel: 4831.8558, Stylish boho accessories and clothes. I loved their silk scarves and scented soaps.
Specialty
palermo paper, is a treat for lovers of all things paper. They have a good collection of gift wrapping papers, art supplies and journals.
Neighborhood: Belgrano
Feria de Artesanías de Belgrano, outdoor weekend fair/ flea market. 10-5 weekends.
casa del angel: upscale shopping center, you can find brands like prune here. stroll over to dada cafe {san martÌn 941. tel:4314 4787} for lunch or coffee afterwards.
cabildo, this is a very busy street lined with mass produced products including clothes and luggage.
Specialty
elite chocolates, I am addicted to their chocolates. DO NOT leave the city without a box of their dulce de leche bonbonaires
Neighborhood: San Telmo
Art galleries in san telmo barrio. This a one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city with cobblestone streets and numerous art galleries. This area has lots of anque shops and street markets.
Neighborhood: La Boca/ El Caminito
Shop for souveniers or local crafts at the street fair. This is where you see coloful row houses and street performances by tango dancers. PROA if open, this is a must stop for exhibitions and displays. The famous boca juniors soccer stadium is also in this area.
See + Do
arte ba; I higly recommend this annual contemporary art fair held in May.
malba museo; Avenida Figueroa Alcorta 3415,entre Salguero y San MartÌn de Tours. contemporary art museum.
El ZanjÛn de Granados; Defensa 755,entreChile y Independencia. architectural museum and event space
Museo Casa de Yrurtia; O’Higgins 2390, y Blanco Encalada
Museo de Arte EspaÒol
Enrique Larreta; Juramento 2291,y Vuelta de Obligado
Museo de Artes Pl·sticas Eduardo SÌvori; Avenida Infanta Isabel 555, y Libertador
recoleta cemetery; JunÌn 1760, entre Guido y Vicente LÛpez
casa rosada; or pink house is the presidential palace. guards run free tours of the casa at regular intervals. this is where Evita Peron gave her famous speeches.
Eat + Drink
Neighborhood: Recoleta
A must do for tea + coffee lovers is the tea at hotel Alvear Palace. Slightly on the steeper side, but totally worth it. Plan to spend a couple of hours enjoying champagne and yummy treats along with your tea. Reservations required. For an even more indulging experience, try their spa and wet area before your tea…bliss!!!
Neighborhood: Palermo
minga; costa rica 4528. tel:4833 5775, palermo
miranda; costa rica 5602 esq. this is a busy bar/ restaurant. Gets even busier on weekends. The entire block is filled with good restaurants.
Neighborhood: Belgrano
las huazas; arcos 1984. tel:4783 7577, belgrano. good food and chic interiors.
lo de paka; congreso 2011. tel: 4701-3857, belgrano, We absoultely loved this hidden gem. sophisticated interiors, helpful staff but more importantly great food. we loved this place so much we ate there twice. closed on mondays
don bar; trendy bar and light dinner spot, next to the international house.
Night clubs in BA open pretty late {1-2 am} and are in full swing till about 7-8am. We went to Pacha and Crobar but the city has LOTS of trendy nightposts. For Tango lovers, I recommend the Armenia cultural society in Palermo. You might find this link helpful to look for additional Tango spots.
Day trips and overnight excursions around BA
We planned on making several day trips out of Buenos Aires like Tigre, Montevideo, Uruguay and some ranches. But we loved the city so much that we ended up leaving only once for an overnight excursion to Colonia, Uruguay (image above). Colonia is a quaint town with cobble stone streets. We took a buquebus rapid boat and it took about an hour and a-half each way and they offer stay + eat packages as well.
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