Calle Florida (Florida street), Buenos Aires

A shopping paredise for women shoppers here,anything you want ,all the latest fashions.
I dont like shopping much,so i spent more time at cafees and restaurants.

What to buy: Tango CD,tango memoroibia and the usual souvenirs.

If you've come to Buenos Aires to shop, then you will want to check out Calle Florida, one of Buenos Aires pedestrian only streets with wall to wall shopping, starting at Plaza San Martin pretty much all the way to Diagonal Norte. There's Galerias Pacifico at Av. Cordoba, a huge shopping mall with around 180 shops, leather shops lining both sides of the streets, other malls carrying electronics and clothes and well, you name it!

If you are in Buenos Aires and you don't go to calle florida, then you are not in Buenos Aires....
Florida is a pedestrian street full of shops and also you can see artists dancing tango, playing music, among other things.
On Florida street you have Galerias Pacifico, that it's a shopping mall and in it you can find a cultural center called Borges.

Si vinieron a buenos Aires y no van a la calle Florida, entonces no vinieron a Buenos Aires...
Florida es una calle peratonal llena de negocios e incluso se puede ver artista bilando el tango, tocando musica, entre otras cosas.
En la calle florida esta Galerias Pacifico que es un shopping Malll que incluye un Centro Cultural llamado Borges.

The appearance is no special whatsoever - all the shops on Florida are the same. This particular one had an usher or a tout who would invite you more or less aggressively to join the bonanza. I had a need and allowed him to "dominate" me. Quickly I discovered that this was the leather item that I was in need of (after visiting several other shops) and proceeded to buy it. Since it had a little deficiency, let's call it that way, the seller offered to make a brand new one in the "fabrica". This came as a no surprise because all of the Florida leather shops seem to be manufacturing plants too. Do not expect elaborate receipts – there are none!

What to buy: Leather, but it is funny because the locals rarely wear it. Apparently the whole industry is geared towards the foreign visitor. For the jacket that you see I had to part with 200 of my US dollars.

What to pay: USD 200 or so - competition is tight but I have this suspicion of mine that tells me that the "cut-throat" competitors meet on Mondays to make sure that there are no surprises.

Try to go shopping with a local who knows about area and who speaks spanish to negotiate prices for you. The minute you start to speak english the merchants tend to class you as a rich American or European ( I am Canadian) and will quote you in US dollars or justify the price by saying "it's only XXXX US dollars.

Most tourists head to Florida Street as most have only have one day to shop and because there is such a vast array of shops so close together. If you have the time and leather is your thing don't miss the leather district on Murillo, its about a 20 minute cab ride from downtown but well worth the trip as the prices and quality are far better than Florida Street

Avoid any shop ( leather stores mostly) that do not have the prices tagged on their goods, it will tend to be higher than what other stores with prices tagged on goods would charge and more than what they would quote a local.

If you enjoy crafts, leather goods or local art try the outdoor weekend markets at Recoleta.

There is additional shopping on Av Alvear (High end designer goods) and Av Santa Fe (Mid priced goods), Another good place for high end goods is Patio Bullrich on Av. Del Liberartador. If you are into designer clothing go to the Christian Dior outlet on 3057 Lafinur. Mens 2 piece suits sell for USD$300 to $400, shirts for USD $30 to 80.

What to buy: Mens and Womens clothes are less than half of what you will pay in North Amercia.

Top of the line mens or womens shoes will cost about 250 Pesos (80 US)

Leather goods tend to be half of what you would pay in North America.

What to pay: Top of the line mens suits will cost between 800 to 1000 Pesos (250-350 US)

Florida Street in Centro is one of 2 pedestrian only streets in Buenos Aires. The other is Lavalle Street, which intersects Florida Street. All the along Florida Street are many shops, selling leather goods, wines, clothing, shoes, atheletic wear and just about everything else you'd want to buy.

During the day the street is packed with pedestrians. The Gallerias Pacifico mall is located on this street as well as several other lesser known malls. There are street performers all along the street, tango dancers, musicians, mimes, etc...

What to buy: Every kind of store is located on this street. Leather goods stores are very abundant and you can get some really good deals on them. I purchased some football jerseys and bought a very nice leather coat. Some of the leather shops can custom make a leather coat to your specifications in just a few days.

What to pay: The sky is the limit!

Our long walk from our hotel, into the Microcentro heart of Buenos Aires, eventually brought us to the pedestrian shopping mall of Florida Street. This area is close to Plaza de Mayo and the seat of government in the Casa Rosado. It is a bustling spot and consists of numerous fashionable small shops and street stalls plying their wares. It was a bit too early in our 2-week trip to be stocking up on items that would have to be lugged around the country, so we contented ourselves with just looking and enjoying the ambience on this nice 30 degreeC day!

What to buy: The area is famous for it's great deals on leather goods, electronics, clothing and sporting goods as well as the numerous cafes and banks. Also, very close by is the famous multi-level Galerias Pacificos shopping complex. This 1889-built building was originally railroad administrative offices before being rehabilitated into a major Parisian-style shopping complex. It is supposed to be something to see in it's own right, never mind the shopping, but our limited time in BA prevented us from actually visiting it.

Calle Florida in the older section of Buenos Aires is a pedestrian only area lined with shops, cafes and restaurants. Anything you want to buy in B.A. you can get here. Here I bought a box of Havana Alfajores to take back to the office, on the advice that they were a typical Argentine product. Leather is also a good deal, and John went hog wild buying leater gifts for his wife (probably made from the entire cows we ate the night before!).

Calle Florida is a street for pedestrians. You can walk along and find all kinds of shops: women's clothes, men's clothes, shoes, etc.
"El Ateneo" (Florida 340) is an excellent bookstore on Calle Florida.
You can also stop by Galeria Pacifico in Florida 753, which is a fine mall where you can find nice restaurants.

What to buy: In Buenos Aires you should definitely buy leather. It's good and it can be unexpensive, or at least, less expensive than some other places in Latin America.

What to pay: Prices vary a lot.
A leather jacket can vary from US$ 70.oo to US$ 200.oo, for example.

I cannot add much to what others have said about Av Florida. It's several blocks of stores that offer to sell lots of stuff. If you are lucky, you will see street performers which are sometimes interesting (keep an eye out for the inevitable hat being passed).
However, being a bit of a curmudgeon, I didn't appreciate the mass of shoppers/walkers that inundated the street (Saturday is much better), the beggers, those asking (tourists mostly) for contributions to some cause or other, being constantly stopped and asked to enter one store or the other (mostly leather shops), etc.
I found Av Lavalle to be just as good but with fewer annoyances. In December, there were several choral groups of school kids singing Christmas carols. Cute!
Ask a local where you should shop and Av Florida may well not be his answer. Too expensive. A leather jacket on Florida cost around 400-450 pesos. In Mendoza, a similar one was 250 pesos. Check out prices on Av Florida, finish your vacation (shopping as you go) and then do the smart thing.

What to buy: Anything a tourist might be interested in (clothes, leather goods, jewelry, etc) is available in Buenos Aires. However, the same things are being sold in numerous cities all over Argentina (including the airport). Do a lot of shopping at the beginning of your trip and a lot of buying towards the end. Less to carry and you will know what's a good price and what is not.