hey jeff thanks for the comment, thats a very good point. The way I think of is that the majority of people going to visit will be residing in Argentina or at least they will be getting there first. Its the most popular of all destinations would you agree?

LOL! Wineguy you have a very good point, I was trying to refer to the outlandish comments that he always seem to be new in the room. Have you ever been to Venezuela?

Palermo & Recoleta are more catered to American tastes. I loved san telmo because it was centralized to everything and you could just hop in a cab to go to Recoleta or Palermo. How long were you there for?

Anca I completely agree, I still kept an eye out just in case because you never know in south America but it was extremely safe when I went and we didn't have any problems at all. being the 10th largest city in the world you still want to have an eye out but i def agree. Thanks for the comment

As to your commentary on individual barrios, I have a few comments as well.

In my opinion Recoleta is not the trendiest barrio in town, rather I think Palermo Viejo holds that crown. I also disagree that it is “[n]ot the best of locations in terms of Argentina tourist attractions”. Recoleta is considered a very significant tourist area with strong historic and cultural influences and parks. Recoleta is home to the famous Recoleta Cemetery, the Church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar built in 1732, National Fine Arts Museum or Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, the National Library of Argentina, the Recoleta Cultural Center, the Monastery of the Recollect Fathers, the Palais de Glace a multimedia exhibition center, Carlos Thays Park, Centro Municipal de Exposiciones. There are several tango cabarets there to include the noted Pabellón de las Rosas, on Libertador. The barrio is known for its sculptures, French architecture and lovely green spaces.

I have to respectfully disagree that Palermo is far from activity and it is simply incorrect to note it is “the farthest of all the Buenos Aires barrios”. Going towards the north, once you depart Palermo there is Belgrano and then Nunez before one departs Capital Federal and if you are talking the metropolitan area, it take over half an hour by train to reach the outskirts of town from the Palermo station.

While I agree that San Telmo is one of the older parts of the city, it is not necessarily true that one will find “true Buenos Aires” there. For one thing, with nearly 14 million persons and having been established in 1536, Buenos Aires is an incredibly complex city and I do not believe one can define any one characteristic or location as being “true Buenos Aires”. If you are talking about an older and more run down part of town; if you are talking about dimly lit narrow roads and high crime; if you are talking about touristic locations like Plaza Dorrego and lots of tourist driven tango cabarets – then “Yes” San Telmo is the real deal. However, I would not be so quick to sell Buenos Aires so short by saying San Telmo is the “real” BsAs.

I have to disagree with you regarding Puerto Madero as lots of people in fact stay there with an annual occupancy rate of over 80%.

Last but not least Microcentro is not the center of the city, rather Caballito is the geographic center of town. However, Microcentro is the business district (the term “centro” in this regard refers to business center and not location).

I appreciate that you took the time to blog your journey around the globe and I wish you the best. However, one vital role of writing and sharing on blogs is hopefully to give people both meaningful and accurate information and I hope I have helped clear up any confusion. Buenos Aires can be a much different city than one would imagine with only a short term perspective and I have found that during the 4+ years I have lived here that the city has become much different to me along the way.

I completely disagree. Palermo, Recoleta and San Telmo are tailored to a very large extent to tourist tastes, not simply that of North Americans. And be mindful of how you toss about the word “American” down here as you are apt to offend locals seeing as we are all part of the Americas and American from the southern tip to northern most regions.

For people who actually live here, San Telmo is anything but centralized as it is in a corner where it is difficult to take public transportation without having to transfer at least once to get to most interesting areas. Remember, in Argentina slightly more than 24% of the population lives on less than 2 USA dollars a day and cannot afford to simply hop on a taxi every time they want to go somewhere. Likewise, many of the tourists here are trying to make the most of their money while here and it would be ill-advised with that aim in mind to hop on taxis like there was no tomorrow.

You dont have to be as cautious in the United States or in Europe as you have to be in Argentina. I walked alone several times at night when told not to do so by my Argentina friends. South America, Africa, and parts of Asia are much more dangerous than modern western nations. its a fact.

In my opinion Recoleta is not the trendiest barrio in town, rather I think Palermo Viejo holds that crown. I also disagree that it is “[n]ot the best of locations in terms of Argentina tourist attractions”. Recoleta is considered a very significant tourist area with strong historic and cultural influences and parks. Recoleta is home to the famous Recoleta Cemetery, the Church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar built in 1732, National Fine Arts Museum or Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, the National Library of Argentina, the Recoleta Cultural Center, the Monastery of the Recollect Fathers, the Palais de Glace a multimedia exhibition center, Carlos Thays Park, Centro Municipal de Exposiciones. There are several tango cabarets there to include the noted Pabellón de las Rosas, on Libertador. The barrio is known for its sculptures, French architecture and lovely green spaces.

I have to respectfully disagree that Palermo is far from activity and it is simply incorrect to note it is “the farthest of all the Buenos Aires barrios”. Going towards the north, once you depart Palermo there is Belgrano and then Nunez before one departs Capital Federal and if you are talking the metropolitan area, it take over half an hour by train to reach the outskirts of town from the Palermo station.

While I agree that San Telmo is one of the older parts of the city, it is not necessarily true that one will find “true Buenos Aires” there. For one thing, with nearly 14 million persons and having been established in 1536, Buenos Aires is an incredibly complex city and I do not believe one can define any one characteristic or location as being “true Buenos Aires”. If you are talking about an older and more run down part of town; if you are talking about dimly lit narrow roads and high crime; if you are talking about touristic locations like Plaza Dorrego and lots of tourist driven tango cabarets – then “Yes” San Telmo is the real deal. However, I would not be so quick to sell Buenos Aires so short by saying San Telmo is the “real” BsAs.

I have to disagree with you regarding Puerto Madero as lots of people in fact stay there with an annual occupancy rate of over 80%.

Last but not least Microcentro is not the center of the city, rather Caballito is the geographic center of town. However, Microcentro is the business district (the term “centro” in this regard refers to business center and not location).

I appreciate that you took the time to blog your journey around the globe and I wish you the best. However, as someone who has lived here for several years and not simply a few months I thought it pertinent to give you my two cents.

Enjoy your travels.

1. Hi Graham.. you could do BA in a week if you wanted to see all the highlights
2. All of Buenos Aires is getting quite dangerous but San Telmo is the most touristy of all the barrios. I have heard horror stories from ppl living in any barrio in the city. You just have to be safe. San Telmo is the only place where they have police officers standing on street corners. I wold recommend San Telmo

Cheers!
-marcellp