How Buenos Aires Is Like Paris:Analyzing The Paris Of The South

The streets & Oblisque

The Paris of the South is a city that was once the epicenter of the world at the turn of the 21^st century. People from around the world wanted to now only visit Buenos Aires, but actually live there.

Now the city drastically different with corruption bringing the entire country of Argentina, as the city of Buenos Aires, to its knees. At one point in time the city was as glamorous as Paris, now you just have hints of Paris here and there.

The culture of Buenos Aires is almost identical to Paris. There are many people around the world that don’t like the French, aside from the United States government.

They say that if you sit down at a coffee shop in Paris you can watch the whole world walk by. This saying comes from the fact Paris is the (thee not the) most visited city in the world. Most tourists I can assure you only visit Paris, not the countryside.

The European Archicture

Most of the opinions I have heard of the French from others around the world are that they are snobs and very rude. Dealing with so many tourists every year you can understand if you may be jaded to foreigners but not all French people are like that.

If you travel to the capital of Argentina, it would be very easy to get the same kind of impression from the people of Buenos Aires. Both the French and Argentinians are extremely proud of their cultures and consider themselves the best in the world (where some may get the wrong impression).

The only exception is that Argentina has fallen off the map in terms of economic prowess and the people of Buenos Aires still consider themselves elite. Someone from Buenos Aires could be cleaning your toilet and they could still think they are better than you. It’s also important to note that not all people are like this, just most.

The actual feel of the city is very similar to Paris. There are cafes on every corner where most Argentinians go to begin and end their day. Its a very cafe oriented society as most people meet up there and many Argentinians eat out at cafe’s that offer food. The European cars that swarm the streets include Renauts and Peugeots. There are hardly any American or Japanese cars on the streets. That wouldn’t be very French now would it.

Whatever you do, don’t drink Fernet

The biggest thing that gives you the feeling of Paris is the architecture. The Europeans have really left their mark throughout the entire city with gorgeous buildings, European style squares, and round abouts. Round Abouts! While some the architecture is linked to Spanish and Italian styles, you still get that very European feel that you can link back to Paris.

The city of Buenos Aires has seen better days. The government of Argentina is running on reserves due to the world economic slowdown and there is barely any money to fix up and maintain the city. You can make a case for that or the fact that there is so much corruption they would rather put their money in their coffers than fix up the city. The sidewalks on many streets are filled with pot holes and many of the classic European buildings are falling apart. If there is no money to keep up the buildings there is no money to clean the graffiti off of the walls either.

You really can get the sense of Paris in some respects and it’s the city closest to where you can find Paris around the world. But it is falling apart unfortunately and soon you may not be able to feel Paris at all.

Tagged as: buenos aires, paris, paris of the south