Amanda Barnes

Tag: Buenos Aires

  • 36 hours in Buenos Aires: Literary Tour

    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.

    Written for 36hrs.in

    Photo credit: roundwego.com

    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 cafĂ© – 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.

    Photo credit: denizennavigator.com

    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!

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  • 36 hours in Buenos Aires: Luxury

    This wasn’t called the Paris of South America for no reason! Buenos Aires has all the luxuries a European capital can afford: five star hotels, gourmet cuisine, exclusive tours and all the makings for a great weekend schmoozing, boozing and relaxing.

    Written for 36hrs.in

    Photo credit: Faena Hotel

    Friday, 6:00pm

    The hottest luxury hotel in BA is Faena, and it wasn’t called a ‘universe’ for nothing. Designed by Philippe Starck in one of the landmark buildings in the city, El Porteño, this is so much more than a hotel – it has an arts center, a spa, live music performances and some of the city’s best dining options, and as you’d expect from Starck no expense or creativity is spared in its design. Start the evening with a private wine tasting in the cellar, with the largest collection of wines in Argentina at your disposal, then move onto one of the restaurants before finishing for an intimate evening of top quality tango in El Caberet bar. Expect sizzling tango and sip on a champagne cocktail to cool off from the latin heat on the dance floor. If you don’t want to stay at the hotel or choose to dine elsewhere, you are in the right place – BA’s opulent neighborhood, Puerto Madero – where there are dozens of great restaurants, clubs and hotels.

    Saturday

    Photo credit: therealargentina.com

    9:00am

    The idea of brunch hasn’t quite caught on in Buenos Aires yet, but there are a couple places where you can breakfast like a queen – mainly in hotels. Try L’Orangerie in the attractive Recoleta neighborhood where you can pick through a large buffet and have a few glasses of bubbly to get your day started right.

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