By Gord Price
I’ll soon be off to Buenos Aries – one of those bucket-list adventures I can’t put off any longer. Preceded by a trip to Rio for New Year’s Eve.
So I’ve been asking friends to send along items and articles that will help be a better-informed flaneur in both places.
That includes PTers (thinking of you, Roger). So post items, links and must-see-and-do suggestions in Comments below.
First up, an article from CityLab passed along by Brent Toderian:
… what Buenos Aires did is about as bold as it gets when it comes to making can’t-be-missed statements about what urban mobility means today. The 9 de Julio Metrobus is a sort of transport surgery on the beating heart of the city — similar in ways to what New York City did a few years ago when it shut cars out of parts of Times Square. …
City work crews ripped out four traffic lanes in the middle of the roadway. In just seven months, they gave the space entirely to buses and the people who ride them. …
Buses used to be stuck in the mix of traffic on 9 de Julio, jostling with with cars, taxis and trucks. Now, buses have their own lanes for 3 km before peeling off into traffic to get to their destinations. More than 200,000 commuters, many of them traveling to or from the suburbs, enjoy a faster ride that also makes a subway transfer obsolete. …
The transformation was controversial. The loudest opposition came from groups of architects, city planners, and environmentalists who didn’t want to see 1,500 trees and the small green spaces surrounding them removed. (Most of the trees were replanted elsewhere.) Some said the project should be built on the outer edges of the avenue, not in the middle of it. …
Buses used to run on the narrow and busy downtown streets nearby. Now, those buses have been diverted to the exclusive lanes on 9 de Julio. And the city has turned about 100 blocks of those once noisy and polluted roads into either fully pedestrianized streets or pedestrian-priority zones.
90 percent of those who move around the city are pedestrians. But previously, 70 percent of the space downtown was used by cars and buses. Now that distribution has basically been flipped around in the pedestrian-priority zones. The city also has added 130 km of bike lanes.
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Rather than wait until I return to post out, I’ll be Instagramming while in South America under “pricetags.”
Gord I spend 10 delightful days in BA February 2010. Be sure to find a hotel in San Telmo on Plaza Dorreo. From there you can walk Avenida Defensa into downtown, the dockyard redevelopments or La Boca.
http://members.shaw.ca/rogerkemblesnr/south.america.pdf
If it’s at all possible, see if you can fly up to Iguazu Falls for the day, or an overnight. When I asked my world-travelling mom what I wouldn’t want to miss in that part of the world, that’s what she said. I was at the UN Conference on climate change (the one after Kyoto), and I stayed one extra day. I booked a round trip flight and a guide through a local travel agent. My only regret was that I couldn’t stay overnight there; having said that, the day was amazing. The flight was about 2.5 hours, as I recall, so go early. It wasn’t cheap, of course, but you know, I have no memory now of how much it cost, but I remember the falls vividly. I bit the bullet and spent the money because I thought it was unlikely I would be back, and I haven’t been.
Enjoy your marvelous trip. Buenos Aires. P.s. The flamenco really is wonderful, and so is the dulce de leche!
Beth
At 45 kilograms CO2 per 1,000 passenger km (about 33 kg an hour), I wonder how it’s possible to put “attending a climate change conference” and “round trip flight” into the same post without acknowledging the contradiction?
Has anyone here researched the effectiveness of carbon offsets, especially on flights that are greatly in excess of 10,000 km?
Anthony Bourdain has done shows in both cities.
I think you are going to love this city. I’ve been reflecting on my travels in Argentina recently, it was exactly 10 years ago. When I was there ‘Florida’ was the only pedestrian street. 9 de Julio was a monstrosity of a road, crossing it took a number of lights. I really look forward to seeing your account of the city now, with the changes to that massive thoroughfare, and the buses being removed from the side streets.
Good ideas above, I’ll add:
Stay in San Telmo for a few days to soak up the Tango culture, and over the weekend, the massive Antiques and Artisan fair — it takes over dozens of blocks.
Stroll through Recoleta Cemetary — it’s a city inside the city with incredible architecture and feeling.
Dulce de Leche ice cream in particular is delicious. So are ‘submarinos’ — hot milk with a chocolate submarine you drop into the cup.
Buy the pocketbook guide to the transit buses. Invaluable for figuring out the bus routes, but it also had, at the time anyway, illustrations of the many different bus lines, they are all uniquely painted. The book itself is a cool bit of memorabilia.
Get yourself a prepared gourd and bombilla and drink Yerba Maté everywhere you can, and join in with the locals. Best ice-breaker.
If you leave the city, take a cama suite / coche cama bus, sit up front at the top and relax — Argentina has the most comfortable long-range bus service going.
Salud!
Graffitimundo is a must. Small groups, knowledgeable guides: https://graffitimundo.com/graffiti-street-art-tours-buenos-aires/
A few quick thoughts from a former Buenos Aires resident:
1. FIREWORKS: The locals indulge in fireworks – particularly at Xmas & New Years. Its exciting, but also a bit under-regulated (so be mindful when you’re out at night).
2. TRANSIT: Cheap and extensive; but also mildly illegible to the outsider. On many routes, buses do not stop unless you wave for them. Also, when I lived there, there was no such thing as a transfer – let alone a “Compass Card”. You needed change, lots of change.
3. LOCAL SPOTS: Too many to mention. The Recoleta Cemetery never disappoints. Nice architecture along Av. de Mayo, from Casa Rosada to the Congreso. The Reserva Ecologico (next to Puerto Madero) is a nice break from the bustle. My favourite building, hands-down, is the Palacio de Aquas Corrientes (an old water pumping station). Probably my favourite local park is the Plaza Inmigrantes de Armenia (in Palermo neighbourhood, at Armenia & Nicaragua; nice scale). Plaza San Martin is also special, and very central.
4. REGIONAL SPOTS: I would go to Tigre, just north of the city. It is an old cottage area along the river; very unique. Nice winding walk to the Museo de Arte. The regional subway/trains from Retiro Station go there; you’ll also see a slice of Greater BsAs, as the train weaves through posh and precarious areas, intermittedly.
5. CYCLING: I never heard of it (truly). I think there’s an impatience embedded into the city, mobility-wise. The wise person who wants to stay mobile… walks 🙂
I agree with pthompson, with a couple of notes:
There is now a public transit payment card, similar to the Compass Card, called Sube. Available at some newsstands and most (all?) subway stations. Works very well. When you get on a bus, you tell the bus driver where you’re going and they punch in the fare; then you tap your card on the reader. Subways are very easy to navigate.
There’s now more cycling than there used to be, thanks to the separated bike lanes & bike share.
But definitely wear a good pair of walking shoes. Walking’s the best way to see the city.
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If you are staying or going to San Telmo, I found the tour of the old house called El Zanjón fascinating. Lots of history to be learned. The market in San Telmo is, for my tastes, too kitschy. Same with Caminito in Boca.
I’m partial to Palermo but there are lots of nice neighbourhoods and areas to explore. Within Palermo, the parks (botanical, Japanese, rose gardens, etc.) are fantastic. Go to a bakery and get yourself a delicious veggie pie, milanesa or lomito sandwich and a couple of pastries and enjoy the afternoon.
If you want to take in some music, check out Centro Cultural Kirchner. Great venue (they converted the old post office building) and shows are sometimes free – but high quality.
I also recommend getting a tour (if not seeing a show) at Teatro Colón. Gorgeous building.
For very good and well-priced asado (traditional Argentinean meat-fest), see Las Cabras in Palermo.
I’ve only been to Rio once, and it wasn’t during NYE, but I had a great time there. I recommend you try all the fresh juices you can handle. (And for my taste, ask for them without sugar.)