Palermo

Palermo is Buenos Aires' most colourful area, growing in recent years from a peaceful residential barrioto a seriously hip and chic place to eat and shop. This part of Palermo is really known as Palermo Viejo, lying further southwest of the famous parks of Palermo.

Palermo parks

Palermo was originally named after Giovanni Domenico Palermo who transformed these lands into productive orchards and vineyards in the 17th century. President De Rosas built a sumptuous mansion, La Quinta, here in the early 19th century, and Palermo's great parks were established by Sarmiento and designed by Argentina's most famous landscape designer, Charles Thays, in the early 20th century. It remains a sought-after residential area for middle-class Porteños, and the wonderful parks are the most popular inner-city green space at weekends. Best not to go at night as they turn into an unofficial 'red-light' district.

Of this series of parks, the Parque Tres de Febrero is the largest, with lakes and a really beautiful rose garden, especially in spring time when the displays are particularly abundant and fragrant. Also in the park is the Museo de Arte Moderno Eduardo Sivori, www.museosivori.org.ar, where you can immerse yourself in a fine collection of Argentine art, with 19th- and 20th-century paintings, engravings, tapestries and sculptures. South of here is the beautifully harmonious Japanese garden, www.jardinjapones.org.ar, with huge koi carp to feed, and little bridges over ornate streams, a charming place to walk and delightful for children. There's also a good café with Japanese dishes available among the usual menu, and also the Japanese-Argentine Cultural Centre where you can learn flower arranging, tea ceremony and origami. To the east of both of these is the wonderful alien spaceship-like building of the planetarium, www.planetario.gov.ar, planetarium shows with several impressive meteorites from Campo del Cielo at its entrance. The Jardín Zoológico, Las Heras and Sarmiento, www.zoobuenosaires.com.ar, west of the Japanese gardens, has a decent collection of animals, in spacious surroundings, and an even more impressive collection of buildings of all kinds of styles, in grounds landscaped by Charles Thays. The llamas and guanacos are particularly appealing, especially if you don't get to see them in their native habitats elsewhere in the country.

The Municipal Botanical Gardens, form one of the most appealing parts of the parks, despite being a little unkempt. Thays designed the gardens in 1902, and its different areas represent various regions of Argentina with characteristic specimens; particularly interesting are the trees native to the different provinces. North of the zoo are the showgrounds of the Sociedad Rural Argentina, where the Annual Livestock Exhibition, known as Exposición Rural, is staged in July/August, providing interesting insights into Argentine society, not to mention truck loads of livestock, horses, roosters on display.

Further north is the 45,000 seater Palermo race track, Hipódromo Argentino where races are held on average 10 days per month, well worth a visit even for non-racegoers. Nearby are the Municipal Golf Club, BuenosAires Lawn Tennis Club , riding clubs and polo field, and the Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima(Athletic and Fencing Club). The parks are bordered to the north by Aeroparque (Jorge Newbery Airport), the city's domestic airport.

Palermo Viejo

The most atmospheric, and oldest, part of Palermo can be found in the quadrant between the Córdoba and Santa Fe, south of Juan B Justo and north of Avenida Scalabrini Ortiz. This area is also known as Palermo Soho (the two names are interchangeable), supposedly because of similarities with SoHo in New York, rather than London. You'll also hear people mention Palermo Hollywood, which is on the other side of the railway tracks and Avenida Juan B Justo which bisects the area. There are fewer shops in this part, and it's so-called because of the number of TV and film companies based here, but there are lots of restaurants and bars, so it's worth exploring. The whole of Palermo is a very seductive place, with its cobbled streets lined with trees, tall bohemian houses bedecked with flowers and plants, and leafy plazas. It's become a very fashionable place to live, but it's even more popular among young Porteñosshopping for contemporary clothing and interiors, and drinking in chic bars in the evenings. There's no Subtestation in the middle of Palermo, but there are three stations within five blocks or so, along Avenida Santa Fe, and there are buses which pass close by.

To start exploring, take the Subte (Line D) to either Scalabrini Ortiz, Plaza Italia or Palermo stations (depending on where you want to start). Walk up towards Plaza Palermo Viejoalso called Plaza Armeniaor to Plaza Serrano officially called Plaza Cortázar, named after Argentina's famous novelist and writer, whose novel Rayuela ('Hopscotch') is set around here. These two plazas are both surrounded by cafés and bars, and in the four blocks between are all the clothing and accessories shops you could ever need . Meander up Malabia, and then around streets Costa Rica, El Salvadorand Honduras, with detours along Armenia and Guruchaga when some boutique catches your eye. Even if you loathe shopping, Palermo Viejo will appeal since the whole area is wide open and relaxed and retains the quiet atmosphere of a residential district.

For bars and restaurants, you can wander further afield and stray onto the other side of Juan B Justo, though note that you can only cross the railway tracks at Honduras, Paraguay and Santa Fe. Alternatively, take a Radio Taxi from the centre of town straight to one of the restaurants recommended in this guide, and wander the nearby blocks to lap up the atmosphere and satisfy yourself there's nowhere you fancy more. So many new restaurants have opened up in the last few years that you'll be spoilt for choice. Palermo is a great place for meeting in the evenings, with bars and restaurants attracting lively crowds of trendy locals as well as increasing numbers of tourists. On the northwestern edge of Palermo, separated from the main area by yet another railway line, is Las Cañitas, a hugely popular area of restaurants centred around Báez.