The trip to Argentina is prepared, the bags are nearly packed and now there is just one question left: where to sleep in Buenos Aires and which are the most secure quarters in? And… for a tourist the best places are Palermo and Recoleta.
Palermo is divided into four different parts: Palermo Chico, Palermo Viejo, Palermo Hollywood and the “original” Palermo.
The most important place is Plaza Italia (Italia Square) which is very big. From there you can take a lot of busses in every direction. Also, there is a subway, the “D line” with the stations “Plaza Italia” and “Palermo” and the railway station “Palermo” that takes you to the province of Buenos Aires.
Going by bus or subway is very cheap. The subway costs $2, 50 (ARG) and the bus $2 (ARG). For going by bus it’s necessary to collect coins because it is the only possibility to pay it.
In Palermo you can do a lot of things. Who likes going for a walk, there is, for example, the Japonese, Rosarium and the Botanic Garden. In the Botanic garden are more than 5000 different types of plants. Ther,e you can also find the tree called “Ombú” which is the model for the baobab in the book “The little prince” (Le Petit Prince) of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
For getting known about the south sky, you can visit the planetarium which is open on Saturday and Sunday.
At 3 p.m. you can look at the sun through a telescope and there are some games for Childs, and also some audiovisual talks about astronomy.
At 7 p.m. you can look at the sky and recognize the stars and the visible constellations in the real sky.
At 7:30 p.m. you can have a look at the night´s sky through one of the greatest telescope in the world, which means you can see the moon, planets, nebula and stars (The activities in the planetarium are free).
An addition, it’s possible to go to see a horse race at the racetrack or to a polo game (Av. Libertador/Av. Dorrego). At the Plaza Italia you can also find a zoo which is interesting to visit.
Another neighbourhood that is secure is Recoleta. The buildings seem to be built with a French style, because of the beautiful palaces like the French Embassy or the Embassy of Brasil.
Today, the beautiful buildings are limited by buildings of offices or apartments. In the Avenida Alvear and Avenida Presidente Quintana you can find high-end boutiques.
At the other side of the street, there is a place where every weekend is taken by an artist’s market.
There you can also find the cemetery of Recoleta.
In Argentina burials are not usual and just allowed during 5 years. For this reason the graves are monumental buildings which are maybe a little bit strange for the visitants of other countries, but it’s really interesting and nice to see this cemetery.
There you can find graves of many presidents of Argentina and the one of Evita Perón, the First Lady of Argentina which was married with the president Juan Perón.
Another place to sleep could be the Downtown: the place where there are banks, office, restaurants and shops.
Also, there are some museums in this quarter like the Numismatic Museum, the Museum and Library Mitre (San Martin 336, from Monday to Friday, 13 to 18:30), Museum of the Federal Police (San Martin 353, floor 8 and 9, 14 to 18 o’clock, closed in January and February).