Wander Argentina

Florida Street: Galería Güemes Through the Years

Galería Güemes is another art nouveau jewel on downtown’s Florida Street, but you wouldn’t know it from glancing at it street side. After a 1971 fire caused serious damage to the exterior of the 1915 building it was modernized and rebuilt with a rather unfortunate glass façade, but the first floor retains the beautiful […]

Harrods Buenos Aires and the Decline of Florida Street

In 1914, Britain’s most prestigious department store, Harrod’s, decided to open an overseas branch in Argentina. The beautiful Belle Époque style building takes up most of the block at Florida 877, and for many years was the city’s most elegant department store. Harrods Buenos Aires remains the first and only foray into foreign territory […]

Abasto Shopping: An Old-Time Market Turned Mall

Abasto, the huge art deco style complex in the neighborhood of the same name, is Buenos Aires largest shopping mall. The mall’s distinguished façade along Corrientes Avenue features five huge leaded glass archways that are emblematic of the neighborhood, especially when lit in the evening. Inside, a huge atrium floods the building with natural light. […]

The Teatro Colón: Argentina’s Most Resplendent Theater

One of Buenos Aires’ finest landmarks, the grand Teatro Colón occupies an entire city block and an even larger space in the hearts and minds of Argentines. The theater is rated as one of the best five opera houses in the world for acoustics and overall comes in at number three, after La Scala in […]

Grand Café Tortoni: The Classic Avenida de Mayo Cafe

If you are only going to visit just one café in Buenos Aires, the Grand Café Tortoni would be a good choice. The quintessential Porteño café, located on Avenida de Mayo was founded in 1858 and has remained the meeting place for famous artists and scholars throughout its 154 years. High profile visitors include Albert […]

Galería Mitre—Baroque Architecture on Florida St.

Galería Mitre, at Florida St. 343, with its Jesuit-inspired baroque style is one of the most ornate and unique buildings along downtown Buenos Aires’ pedestrian mall. The unusual moldings of the building’s façade are inspired by indigenous art from the northern regions, where the Jesuits had many missions beginning in the 1580’s. The moldings are […]