Join me on a tour of the most beautiful city – Buenos Aires

Did you know that Buenos Aires is one of the most beautiful cities in the world?  I understand if you might be a bit skeptical, but before you make a final judgement, join me on our tour of this amazing city.

We hired Nicholas Tinelli for a photography tour of the city and we gave him the freedom to plan our day. 

We began our tour in the area of Puerto Madero, a large urbanization and renewal project in the heart of Buenos Aires. The old tired dockside area has been revitalized to house upscale shops, restaurants, parks, modern apartments and luxury hotels. 

In the middle of the port area, bridging between the two sides is the Puente de la Mujer or Women’s Bridge. It is  considered to be one of the most beautiful pedestrian bridges.

Pre-dawn view across the pedestrian bridge of Puente de la Mujer to the Presidential Palace or pink house 

Puerto Madero at dawn, with the pedestrian bridge lit in purple

Golden hour at the pink house, Casa Rosada, considered to be “one of the most emblematic buildings” in the city (Wikipedia).

The Pink Palace, Casa Rosado, Buenos Aires seat of government

At 8:00am, we stop for coffee at the elegant Confitería La Ideal, a historical coffee house that dates back to the 1850s. It’s the oldest cafe in the city, and it has been beautifully restored. It is said to be the most beautiful coffee shop in the world. 

The bar area at Confitería La Ideal

Confitería La Ideal– with a stunning stained glass feature in the center

Now that we are more awake (i.e., caffeinated), we visit to the bookstore, Atone Grand Splendid. Housed in a well preserved  antique  theatre, it claims to be the most “beautiful bookstore” in world. What do you think?

Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore, an old theatre complete with frescos 

No tour of Buenos Aires is complete without a visit to Recoleta Cemetery located in the heart of Buenos Aires. Recoleta Cemetery is purported be one of the most beautiful places to be laid to rest.

Recoleta Cemetery – streets of tombs in a wide variety of architecture, from Roman, to Greek to modern

Recoleta Cemetery

What tour does not include a bit of shopping? We visited Gallerias Pacifico, an amazing gallery of shops, but more importantly it housed a stunning architectural design and frescos.  We collected photos, instead of souvenirs. Galleria Pacifico is considered to be one of the most beautiful malls in the world.

Gallerias Pacifico: One of the most beautiful malls in the world, with stunning architecture and frescos

And onto a stunning architectural feature, Floralis Genérica, in this beautiful park. 

Doesn’t her red dress make the photo?  Floralis Genérica is a sculpture made of steel and aluminum located in Plaza de las Naciones Unidas, Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, Buenos Aires, a  105 foot wide metallic flower. 

Sun Bathers admire this beautiful floral sculpture 

One traveler mentioned, “Beautiful building after beautiful building can get overwhelming …. but lying on the grass and watching the sun glinting off the steel petals was the perfect respite from the busy streets of Buenos Aires”. (ref: https://travel-stained.com/the-floralis-generica/)

The day was not over, we headed to the old post office. 

Kirchner Cultural Center –  Previously this building was the main post office. If only it were still so, then it could be the most beautiful post office. 

The Kirchner Cultural Center offered an outdoor patio view out toward Puerto Madero 

I had to surpress a smile during our short tour of the theatre, The Teatro Colón. Our tour guide was so proud to say that the theatre was one of the most beautiful in the world. It is indeed rated as one of the best opera houses in the world for its architecture and acoustics. One of the only people who did not like it, was Pavorati, who was quoted, “” I hate it. The acoustic is so perfect that if you make the smallest mistake, the whole world will notice”…

A pano of 7 vertical images allows you to see the entire building [photo by Jeff Dannay]

The theatre lit up in the foreground. 

Alas, all good things must come to an end. We finished our day with a sunset view of the city and a champagne toast to the “most beautiful city”.

After seeing the city for yourself through the photos, don’t you agree that Buenos Aires is the most beautiful city in all ways?

 

Nicholas, Kathryn & Jeff