Argentina Tours & Travel | The Neighborhoods of Buenos Aires: The Recoleta
Some think of the Recoleta as a lively cosmopolitan neighborhood, a crush of apartment buildings of different vintages, au courant boutiques and cafes open till all hours, catering to every taste. Others see it as quite the opposite, an oasis of subdued elegance with mansions, museums, monuments, parks and commemorative plazas where mammoth public sculptures depict the country’s rich history. Most travelers on Argentina tours get to experience both.
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Located between the Retiro and Palermo, the Recoleta has been home to the rich since a 1870s yellow-fever epidemic sent the wealthy class fleeing from their San Telmo homes to their summer digs here. It is the neighborhood of the literati where Argentina's most famous writer, Jorge Luis Borges, and his compatriots spent time. The Recoleta offers fine hotels and all the amenities a tourist could desire on travel to Argentina as well as a safe area for strolling.
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The neighborhood's biggest attraction for visitors on Argentina tours is its cemetery. Aside from Eva Peron, the much-loved second wife of long-time president Juan Peron, the Recoleta Cemetery contains few names that would ring a bell with most gringos. Nonetheless, it ranks as one of the world’s great cemeteries, and is worth the trip when you travel to Argentina just to gaze at its eclectic architectural grandeur. For more details about this fascinating place, see our article on the subject.
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Art lovers enjoy the neighborhood. The capital's most important museum, the National Museum of Belles Artes, is located in the Recoleta. It features 19th and 20th century Argentine painters as well as European masters and traveling shows. It is located in what was once the city's water pumphouse across the Avenida del Libertador from the Plaza Francia, where the city's biggest weekend street fair takes place. Learn more about visiting the National Museum of Belles Artes on Argentina tours at www.mmnba.org.ar.
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For a Surrealist change of pace, there's the Museum of Xul Solar showcasing the works of Argentina painter, poet and all-round creative spirit, Alejandro Schulz Solari, who died in 1963. His friend, Borges, called Solari "an event," and the quirky interior of his former mansion-turned-museum attests to the accuracy of the description. Check for months and hours of operation if you wish to visit this museum when you travel to Argentina at www.xulsolar@ciudad.com.ar.
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Since the Recoleta is where the wealthy live, you'll also find the dogs of the rich and famous here. Too busy to walk their own, the citizens turn this important responsibility over to professional dog walkers. The paseaperros, with five to ten handsome purebred dogs in tow, make their way through the throngs, creating one of the neighborhood's most flamboyant street spectacles, a memorable sight for those on Argentina tours. Buenos Aires does not appear to have the same maintenance problem of some other international dog-rich cities.
