Buenos Aires
Recoleta
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Elegant, Haussmann-scale boulevards, the famous cemetery, and the most upscale hotel corridor in the city.
Recoleta was built in deliberate imitation of Paris by an oligarchy that believed Buenos Aires deserved nothing less, and the result is one of the most architecturally ambitious neighbourhoods in South America: broad limestone boulevards, ornate Belle Époque apartment buildings, and the Recoleta Cemetery — a city within a city of marble mausoleums, where Eva Perón's grave draws a quiet pilgrimage every day of the year. The neighbourhood today is the address of the city's five-star hotels, its finest auction houses, and a Sunday antiques fair in the park in front of the MALBA art museum that is one of the most pleasant ways to spend a Sunday afternoon in Buenos Aires.
Scores
Walkability
Transit
Price
Local feel
Nightlife
Family-friendly
Centrality
What you gain
- ↑Recoleta Cemetery — 13 hectares of extraordinary funerary architecture, a place where the ambition and excess of Argentine history is written in marble; Eva Perón's grave is the most visited but far from the most spectacular
- ↑The Sunday Recoleta Fair (Plaza Intendente Alvear) — 200 artisan stalls selling leather goods, silverwork, and original art; the finest outdoor market in Buenos Aires and excellent for gifts of actual quality
- ↑MALBA — the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires holds the strongest collection of Latin American art in any single museum, including Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera works, and is genuinely world-class
What you sacrifice
- ↓The most expensive neighbourhood for accommodation in Buenos Aires by a significant margin; the five-star corridor along Posadas and Alvear avenue sets a price floor for the entire barrio
- ↓Quieter nightlife than Palermo or San Telmo — Recoleta's restaurant scene is accomplished but more conservative; the neighbourhood goes to sleep earlier than its neighbours
Best for
Avoid if
Other Buenos Aires neighbourhoods
Buenos Aires' most liveable neighbourhood — the best restaurant scene in the city, parks, and a nightlife strip that runs until dawn.
Buenos Aires' oldest barrio — cobblestones, antiques, tango milongas, and the Sunday market that defines the neighbourhood.
Residential and genuinely local — the Buenos Aires that porteños actually live in, with a Chinatown and excellent local market.
Know where to stay — now find when to go.
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