About a ten minute walk from El Caminito is an icon of La Boca, Estadio Alberto J. Armando, or more commonly known as La Bombonera (The Chocolate Box). This is the home of the Boca Juniors football team whose blue and yellow colors influence a lot of the color schemes in La Boca in Buenos Aires.
The most famous and colorful (and touristy) area in Buenos Aires is the old working class area of La Boca. Settled by Italian immigrants, mostly from Genoa, this area retains an Italian feel to it. In fact, the official emblem of La Boca has the Genoese flag in it. La Boca was also instrumental in the rise of the tango. You’ll find many tango performers in the street.
A day trip to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, is a very popular and easy getaway from Buenos Aires. It’s just a 90 minute ferry ride away (on the fast ferry).
Most people come to the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires to explore the cemetery, but the area around the cemetery is a good place to explore as well. Recoleta is one of the wealthiest areas of the city and has many points of interest.
No trip to Buenos Aires is complete without visiting the Recoleta Cemetery (Cementerio de la Recoleta), one of the most famous cemeteries in the world. The cemetery opened in 1822 and has some of the most beautiful tombs on the planet.
San Telmo is a bohemian area of Buenos Aires. After a yellow fever epidemic in 1871 caused an exodus of the middle and upper class, it became home to the working class and immigrants. Most of the attractions I found in San Telmo are either on or within a block or two of Calle Defensa.
On a rainy day, I started my exploration of the Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Telmo at its southern end. I took the Subte to Constitution Station (Estación Constitución) and walked about six blocks to Parque Lezama. Let me tell you – not the brightest idea. The streets and park were almost completely empty and I encountered a few shady characters along the way.
Retiro is centered around Plaza San Martín, an impeccably landscaped park just to the north of the city center of Buenos Aires. The plaza is a great place to sit and people watch under the shade of tall trees.
The biggest barrio in Buenos Aires without question is Palermo. It’s so big, it’s broken into sub-districts. Most of Palermo is a residential district, but if you like outdoor recreation or a relaxing walk in a park, then this is a good place for you to visit.
North of Palermo is the barrio of Belgrano. It’s famous as a footnote in Argentinian history for being the capital of Argentina for a few weeks in 1880, until Buenos Aires was officially declared the capital. Today, it’s a mainly a residential district with high-rise condos and not much to see.