Comments on: IS ARGENTINA DANGEROUS: THE BEST BUENOS AIRES BARRIOS

By: WanderingTrader

WanderingTrader — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:24:00 +0000

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

By: WanderingTrader

WanderingTrader — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 19:56:00 +0000

I have been to Chicago and Washington DC yes.. their ghettos I would agree with you are dangerous. But Buenos Aires is now dangerous when you walk alone on the street in the middle of the tourist attractions and even the airport. You can’t say that for either DC nor Chicago.

By: WynnWoods

WynnWoods — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:54:00 +0000

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.

By: WynnWoods

WynnWoods — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:42:00 +0000

Actually that is your opinion. I feel much safer in Buenos Aires than I have in most USA and Western European cities and do not hesitate to wander around the city at all hours of the night, have since 2006.

Again, I think it is mainly a point of perception and individual experience. A friend of mine was robbed at gunpoint her first day in Buenos Aires and certainly she has a much different take on things than me as I have not experienced any crime first hand here.

By: WanderingTrader

WanderingTrader — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:09:00 +0000

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.