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The 'Paris of South America'

Few people who go to Buenos Aires can resist falling in love with the city. It fascinates visitors with the enchanting way in which it seamlessly combines Latin vibrancy and passion with European sophistication.

Known as the ‘Paris of South America’ it oozes elegance and style. The cafe culture thrives here and many of the residential areas could easily be mistaken for Barcelona or Paris. The city’s main street, the daunting 16-lane Avenida 9 de Julio, is reminiscent of the Champs-Elysees, on a much bigger scale. For shopping enthusiasts, the fashionable boutiques of Palermo would rival any that you’d find in Milan or New York.

Yet that isn’t the only side to this metropolis – gritty and bustling areas abound, as if to remind you that this is South America. It is one of the noisiest cities in the world and it literally never sleeps. Rough around the edges maybe, but this simply adds to its charm.

Colourful La Boca, one of the poorer neighbourhoods, is so full of life and energy that you can’t help but be captivated. For a totally different experience, head to upscale Recoleta, where you’ll find a wonderfully extravagant cemetery for Argentina’s rich and famous.

The bohemian area of San Telmo is home to a number of markets and antique shops. Learn to tango, pick up a bargain, or get yourself a cheap and mouth-watering steak at one of the local restaurants known as bodegóns. After all, this is the home of meat and the locals won’t shy away from boasting about it. In fact, the Argentinians eat more beef than any other nation in the world – around 65 kilograms a year per person - and it’s not hard to see why.

Puerto Madero has recently been gentrified and is now home to a number of classy waterfront eateries and bars. It’s only a few moments from the famous balcony of the Casa Rosada, where Eva Peron would greet her adoring fans.
Porteños definitely know how to party. The nightlife here will not disappoint, with a number of megaclubs in the centre and the suburbs. There are plenty of cheap bars dotted around the city as well as a few trendy spots to be found in and around Plaza Cortazar (confusingly also known as Plaza Serrano) in Palermo Viejo.

Nowhere is the passion of Argentinian people more apparent than at a football game so it would be rude not to indulge in one of the country’s most celebrated pastimes. Tickets are cheap and the atmosphere inside the stadia is electric – it really has to be seen to be believed.

If you fancy a change, you can hop on a ferry from the port and be in Uruguay within an hour. How many of the world’s great cities can also claim to be a border town? The ferry will take you to Colonia which, as the name suggests, is littered with fantastic colonial architecture and charming little cafes. The quaint cobbled streets and the old cars make this quiet little town seem as though it never realised the ‘60s were over.

It is little wonder that Porteños feel far removed from their South American neighbours, given that Buenos Aires’s vibrant modernity fuses with a deeply forward thinking and energetic mindset to create a city that is quite apart from any other city on the continent, if not the world.

Fine dining, great shopping, a buzzing night-life, a rich cultural heritage and Latin American flair: what more could you want from a city? Go to Buenos Aires at your peril – you will never want to leave.

Azzam Alkadhi

Azzam is a customer service advisor at Holiday Lettings and has been with the company since November 2009, where he has gained valuable insight into the world of holiday home letting. A travel junkie to say the least, Azzam has spent time living and working throughout Europe and South America.

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