Soak Up the Styles in a Hip Buenos Aires Café!
The Ministro Pistarini International Airport, also known as the Ezeiza International Airport, is located far out of Buenos Aires, 27 kilometres (17 miles) away, with no handy train connection to reach the city. At the information desk, a young lady soon persuades us to take the local public bus stopping just 200 metres from the airport entrance.
The wait is not long before the bus arrives. We can hardly believe the ticket price when we hear it – and are amazed that we can get into Buenos Aires for this! It is far below the general shuttle fare!
We now get a bus ride and a complimentary sightseeing tour with local Argentinians getting on and off at the quaintest small places. The bus finally drops us at the intersection of the broad, green Avenida 9 de Julio and Avenida Belgrano, a short distance from our hotel at Avenida de Mayo.
Crossing the widest avenue in the world, we must admit we are impressed. The Avenida 9 de Julio has 14 lanes – 7 in each direction!
Photo: Travel In Culture
Buenos Aires is a lovely mix of architecture with roots in European styles, brought to the country by the immigrants arriving from Europe during the last centuries. The styles reflect the architecture in their home countries and cities of origin. Many buildings date back to the 1860s – 1920s, and around the heights of European immigration, in 1914, European styles influenced the capital significantly.
Photo: ArtTower / Pixabay
These styles blend in with houses from old colonial times in San Telmo, and altogether, it is a sheer paradise for visitors and Argentinians with architectural interests. Neoclassicism, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Eclecticism, Colonial, Modern and Contemporary styles exist everywhere across the city.
A Buenos Aires café or restaurant is no exception. Many eating places feature an authentic interior dating to the city’s architectural heyday. One of these is a dazzling restaurant offering the most tasty steaks in Buenos Aires. We get nearly all waiters’ attention and the very best service! It is not for nothing that Argentina is reputed to have the best steaks in the world. We have come for tasty Argentinian steaks, and it is – without exaggeration – what we get!
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Art Nouveau is the style appearing around 1900 with elements from nature: flowers, plants, animals and curved natural lines, as significant elements in the design. The style is also known as Jugendstil in Germany, Secession Style in Austria, Modern Style or Liberty Style in England, and el Modernismo Catalan in Spain, where the Catalans integrated it with their distinctive Catalan culture.
We have booked rooms in one of these old 19th-century hotels, which turns out, precisely these years, to undergo renovation to preserve the original style. The place has character with its décor and high ceilings. All interior, furniture and wooden panels, notably follow the style from the early 1900s. As we understand it, the renovation process is slow. Due to the ongoing work, part of the building is temporarily closed off to the hotel guests.
Buenos Aires cafés, restaurants and hotels feature Art Nouveau among a dozen other styles | Photo: Travel In Culture
We are delighted to discover the antique, beautifully decorated lift with a stained glass roof in Art Nouveau style above. The lift seems to work since it is sometimes in the hall and sometimes on the top floor where we stay. Anyway, we opt for the stairs and take some exercise! You never know if such an old lift is reliable, and the sensation of being stuck behind the heavy iron door is not something I long for!
Outside the breakfast restaurant, we view fashionable Buenos Aires avenues with their hectic morning traffic through the wrought iron balcony railing. Another impressive Art Nouveau building, Palacio Barolo, is situated just a few houses to the side.
Palacio Barolo, Avenida de Mayo | Photo: 139904 / Pixabay
Buenos Aires is full of neoclassical architecture, the style dominating the world between the 1860s and the 1920s. You will notice it on several public and private building facades in the city. The neighbourhood Recoleta features numerous examples of the neoclassical style. Elements of the neoclassical architectural style refer to the classical Greek and Roman styles characterised by their columns, domes and arches. An example is the characteristic green dome of the National Congress.
The neoclassical National Congress | Photo: 139904 / Pixabay
Our location on Avenida de Mayo is really excellent, and the avenida features several neoclassical buildings. On the other side of the National Congress, the renowned Gaudí-inspired Palacio de los Lirios appears. A stroll in the neighbourhood is a veritable lecture on art history!
Buenos Aires is a modern metropolis with both American and European trademarks. If we hadn’t known we were in Buenos Aires, we could have mistaken it for a South European capital. McDonalds and Burger King are here, but they also have their Argentine hamburgers, which are much better deals!
Avenida 9 de Julio, with Evita’s portrait on the Health Administration building | Photo: Travel In Culture
The avenidas are spectacular with their immense, stylish buildings. Just around the corner on Avenida 9 de Julio, the iconic Obelisco de Buenos Aires stands, and we are met by the impressive portrait of the actress Eva Perón every time we pass the broad avenue. It is a 9-storey portrait covering the entire facade of a building, inaugurated in 2011 on the 59th anniversary of Evita’s death.
Strolling through the neighbouring quarters leads to San Telmo with its antique markets, tango venues, colonial cobbled streets and bohemian setting. If you long for a tango performance, you may be lucky to catch a glimpse of it in San Telmo with its vivid street art and whirl of activity. Hip Buenos Aires cafés reflect the atmosphere here! Continue to La Boca for another outstanding experience.
Photo: ArtTower / Pixabay
In stark contrast to all the traditional neighbourhoods, we now find ourselves at Puerto Madero, from where we will take the ferry to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay on a day trip. Besides the Art Deco Kavanagh building, the tallest skyscraper in South America at the time of construction, this part of Buenos Aires is dominated by the taller, modern building complexes.
The Art Deco style is another dominating style in Buenos Aires – easily recognisable from its pronounced geometric shapes and lines. Another example of Art Deco is the Abasto Market, the old fruit and vegetable market in the city, today a shopping centre.
Buenos Aires at twilight | Photo: Travel In Culture
At first sight, the gleaming office buildings do not appear that interesting, but when we come back from Colonia at the fall of darkness, they have turned into the most fascinating, lightning towers.
On our way back towards Avenida 9 de Julio, which has now become our point of reference in the city, we notice a remarkable activity in the street. Something is going on. The local juggling school is performing. They are so cool and entertaining, so we just have to stay to watch!
When we wake up the next morning, part of our street is blocked by police cars and 15 police officers on motorbikes lining up just outside our hotel with guns and gas masks. It turns out that a demonstration will take place, and the assembly point is here.
Some hours later, we coincidentally end up right at the demonstration at the National Congress. The Argentine volunteer firefighters (Bomberos Voluntarios) protest against insufficient funding for equipment and protection gear and demand appropriate healthcare.
The volunteer firefighters protest in front of the neoclassical National Congress | Photo: Travel In Culture
They are all most impressive in full firefighting gear. Nevertheless, it seems pretty peaceful, and we even spot a few volunteers in a nearby local café, an authentic Buenos Aires confitería. Here, we get delightful mocca, enormous glasses of freshly squeezed juice, tasty sandwiches and complimentary cookies.
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