Buenos Aires is the city that inspired Argentina’s great writers and, like Paris, was the hub of many a literary movement. In fact, almost the entire surreal, literary world of Jorge Luis Borges is based in Buenos Aires. Enjoy the chaos of the city tucked deep inside a cafe and amongst shelves of books, visit the haunts of authors past and keep up appearances with the artsy crowd of the present.
Friday, 8:00pm
Starting out at the government’s Casa Rosa, stretch your early evening literary legs by wandering down the bustle of one of Buenos Aires’ most important streets: Avenida de Mayo. Bookshops litter the street and as the night lights come into play you’ll get swept away with the big city romance. A few blocks in is the capital’s oldest café – and probably the most touristy – Cafe Tortoni. This 1858 building hosted most of Argentina’s literati in its time and although now it’s more for camera wielding Japanese than distressed writers, you’ll still get a sensation of the history it retains. If your legs are tired, grab a beer and stick around for the daily, but slightly tacky, tango show. A good alternative milonga about 15 minutes away on the bus is Club La Independencia in San Telmo (Av Independencia 572) which is much cooler and less touristy.
10:00pm
A few blocks away is this gem of a Peruvian place… Chan Chan! Affordable, spicy and authentic – this is a great place to sip away on a pisco sour and chow down on some ceviche and most definitely on their awesome Papas a la Huancaina!
