Shopping, Buenos Aires

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While on a bus tour we stopped at a market which featured artwork as well as a market that sold tango dancers. I can't identify this particular area, but there are probably many in the city. More important to me is to think like a photographer, the street scenes around this area were fascinating. The wide angle was very useful. As always when taking pictures in street scenes, be respectful.

Downtown Buenos Aires is like many of the neighborhoods of the capital city, bustling with people, constantly changing, and full of architectural gems. From here, the Subte transport system spreads its fronds throughout the city, allowing the casual explorer a simple method to see the myriad of interesting sites Buenos Aires has to offer.

Microcentro is a mostly a commercial center; shoppers flood the streets of Avenida Florida and Avenida Cordoba whilst those wanting to relax with a drink and snack might be found on the Avenida 9 de Julio taking in the sight of the 221ft Obelisco. Microcentro offers everything from shopping, people watching in the abundant cafes, and a collection of beautifully designed buildings just waiting to be studied.

Italian and French design influences are obvious in the streets of Microcentro; try not to miss Palacio Barolo at 1370 Avenida de Mayo, which was built in 1923, and shows the influence the Divine Comedy had on its Italian architect. Also stop by at the Teatro Colón, a huge opera house, which can be found on Avenida 9 de Julio, and is where greats like Luciano Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo have performed

The most central mall in the city centre with its beautiful murals by Argentine artists and classic architecture. The shopping mall mainly has Argentine and International designer shops but has a wonderful food court with a choice of food vendors at reasonable prices.

I just spent my visits to the shopping mall at the food court where I visited Freddo Icecream Cafe and Abuela Goya Chocolate shop/cafe.

There is the Centro Cultural at the top and most services that a shopping mall offers.

One thing every tourist in Argentina has to do is purchase a leather jacket, especially when visiting Buenos Aires! There is a famous street there called Florida and it is lined on both sides with stores featuring beautiful leather items from purses, jackets, to furs. The street consists mostly of tourists and also has lots of great places to eat on the sidestreets after each block. I was just there a few months ago and I loved it there! My one advice is not to shop at the first store you enter, and especially not the larger ones. They have items that are pretty expensive and the service is somewhat impersonal. Its much better to go to the smaller stores because the items have better quality, and a much better price (not to mention the better service).

One place I really liked was a small store called Luxor Leathers and Furs located inside a Galeria on Florida 835. It was at the corner of Cordoba and Florida. I don't speak Spanish very well and the owner there named Ludo helped me choose what I want and gave me a great deal all in English. They had a big selection and also had really nice fur items. I am glad I didn't buy it from the larger store I had seen the jacket at earlier because he gave me a much cheaper deal. Also, he was nice enough to suggest a great place to eat just a few blocks down. He also knows all the great night attractions for the younger crowd so don't hesitate to ask!

Argentina is the land of beef so naturally they have some fine leather products. Liz arrived in Buenos Aires on a mission to find herself a leather jacket. We had gotten some suggestions from people and headed to Florida Street. We entered on shop and were immediately helped. Dozens of jackets were brought out for Liz to sample. After some time the salesman found the perfect jacket for Liz and her search was over. The design and quality of the jacket was excellent.

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With Plaza de Mayo at one end and Plaza San Martin at the other, calle Florida is 10 blocks of virtually solid shopping. More High Street that Bond Street or Fifth Avenue these days, there was a time when it was the most elegant street in Buenos Aires. Shades of that elegance can be found in the splendidly refurbished Galeria Pacifico and restoration on the Galeria Guemes further towards Plaza de Mayo promises to return this once-grand arcade to its former glory. Sadly, attempts at reviving the fortune of Harrods seem doomed to fail and on MrL's recent visit just a few weeks ago its doors were shut again.

With its central flower and newspaper kiosks, mix of shops, constant streams of shoppers and tango-dancing buskers it's a lively place from mid-morning until the shops close late in the evening, somewhere you'll probably find yourself coming back to more than once during your stay in the city. Looking up will pay dividends too - the facades and doorways of some of the buildings are quite marvellous.

The Plaza de Mayo end of the street is mostly bookshops, fast food outlets and the cheaper end of the market. The closer you get to Plaza San Martin, the more upmarket the shops become. You'll also find tourist-oriented shops full of leather, jewellery and kitsch objets carved from semi-precious stone up at this end too.

Venture into the arcades at this "top' end and you'll find some interesting antiques shops, down near Plaza de Mayo you're more likely to find mobile phone fixers and cheap CDs.

On weekends the grounds near the entrance to the Recoleta cemetery fill with dozens, probably hundreds of booths selling a wide variety of arts and crafts items: paintings, jewelry, leather goods, handbags, etc. There is a lot to see here, so plan your time accordingly.

This has to be the shopping heaven of the world. Buenos Aires has most known brands at very very good prices. On top they have leather goods of all kinds again at a great price.
Finally if you are into buying gear for horseback riding you've come to the right place.

Near Abasto Shopping Mall, the huge mall converted from a fruit and vegetable market, you can find the area where Carlos Gardel (known as El Morocho del Abasto) lived most of his life.

There is a statue of Gardel and some touristy stores selling tango souvenirs, as expected. There is a street named 'Gardel' as well. And this is my favourite part, try and wander around this place until you find the houses with the fileteado designs.

This design is a kind of artistic drawing, with stylised lines and flowered, climbing plants that used to be very popular in Buenos Aires where it was used to adorn signs, shelves, buses, etc... Now, it seemed to be a dying art.

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In general I don't like shoppings, but this one is special cause it has a cultural center inside (Centro Cultural Borges)!

En general no me gustan los shoppings, pero éste es especial, ya que dentro se encuentra un centro Cultural (el Borges)!