Orientation

In order to understand the layout of Buenos Aires, you must gain an understanding of the development of the city in relation to its life-support system, the Río de la Plata. The enormous silver-brown river appears to be more like a sea. Buenos Aires began at its historic heart, the Plaza de Mayo, which was laid out in 1580 and surrounded by several of the most important national government buildings. During colonial times, the plaza was almost on the edge of the river, and the city's growth snaked along the edges of that river for centuries. Subsequent landfill means the river lies about a kilometer, or more than half a mile beyond now.

The first port was behind where the Casa Rosada (Presidential Palace) now sits. Landfill, over the years, pushed the riverbanks farther and farther out. Another port was developed to the south in what is now La Boca, literally "the mouth," which takes its name from a natural harbor formed by a bend in the Río Riachuelo, a tributary that feeds into the Río de la Plata. The San Telmo and La Boca areas grew tremendously in response to increased traffic and immigration through these ports, beginning in the middle of the 19th century. The development of Puerto Madero and an expansion of the original colonial port at the beginning of the 20th century shifted development to the north of the Plaza de Mayo.

Development along the waterfront eventually triggered people to move farther inland, and areas near new port development sapped wealthier citizens and their money from the older areas. An 1877 yellow fever outbreak exacerbated this trend, with those who had enough money fleeing the area and building homes elsewhere. Today, the old southern areas of Buenos Aires, historical points of immigration where the fleeing well-to-do were replaced by new and generally poor immigrants, remain generally poor or lower-middle class. La Boca, which was once the city's Little Italy, in particular best exemplifies this by paying homage to its Italian roots in restaurants and displays on gangster history, though the new "immigrants" of today come mostly from the interior of the country. In general, the northern areas of the city, especially Palermo and Recoleta, are full of the well-heeled. While these neighborhoods were settled as early as the colonial period, the majority of the structures you'll see today were developed in the beginning of the 20th century.

Buenos Aires fans out from its center, the Plaza de Mayo, in a wobbly grid, as the original streets established by the Spanish were extended farther inland. By the turn of the 20th century, a plan was put into place to essentially rebuild Buenos Aires along the lines of Paris, all in preparation for the celebration of Argentina's centennial in 1910. By creating diagonals and wide boulevards, the plan also hoped to give a sense of order and grandeur to a city that was quickly growing through mass immigration and wealth borne from industry and the exportation of raw materials. These plans transformed the city into one that was meant to rival any capital in Europe.

Main Arteries & Streets -- Two avenidas are defining features of Buenos Aires. The first is Avenida de Mayo, a grand boulevard some liken to Paris's Champs-Elysées, others to Madrid's Gran Via. Opened on July 9 (Independence Day) in 1894, it runs east to west, beginning at the Plaza de Mayo and running toward Plaza Congreso, linking the executive and legislative branches of the government. This is the historical government processional route as well as the path that protesters usually take when they have something to complain about. It is lined with some of the city's most beautiful buildings and represents the height of the Beaux Arts architectural movement's expression in Argentina.

Avenida de Mayo intersects with Avenida 9 de Julio, the world's widest boulevard, which cuts Buenos Aires in half, running from south to north, beginning near La Boca on the southern end, and ending in the Recoleta and Retiro districts on its northern end at Avenida Libertador. It took decades to complete this boulevard, which was opened on, you guessed it, July 9, 1937. However, they continued working on it up until the 1960s. It terminates on its northern end at the French Embassy. The original plan was to tear the embassy down and continue north, but France refused, and the building makes a nice end to the boulevard. Unfortunately, many other buildings, almost identical to the embassy, were demolished to create Avenida 9 de Julio. One can only imagine the immense architectural heritage that was lost in Buenos Aires's almost insane desire to lay claim to the "title" of city with the widest boulevard in the world.

Two vista-creating diagonal streets leading from the Plaza de Mayo completed the rebuilding process. One is Diagonal Norte, also called Avenida Roque Sáenz Peña, which intersects Avenida 9 de Julio at the Obelisco, a monument inaugurated in 1936 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the unsuccessful original founding of the city by Pedro de Mendoza. This is one of the city's most beautiful stretches, looking like Paris on steroids, with each corner of its oversize neoclassical buildings grand and topped by an exquisite dome. The other is Diagonal Sur, also called Avenida Julio A. Roca. Unfortunately, it has little of the glamour of its sister diagonal. Save for some government buildings along the beginning of its route near the Plaza de Mayo, it is a somewhat disappointing stretch, but reminds tourists that eventually, the wealth and power that seemed Argentina's manifest destiny began to wane.

Finding an Address -- Addresses and the numbering of blocks in Buenos Aires follow a completely logical pattern. Building numbers generally jump to the next 100 unit with each block, with the lowest numbers on east-west streets beginning at the points of the street closest to the Río de la Plata. This pattern is broken, however, in Palermo Viejo, where some small blocks are numbered at times in units of 50 rather than 100. Street signs, where they exist, generally indicate the block you have hit. South-north streets are a little trickier. While looking at a map would make you think that Avenida de Mayo should be the defining line, it is instead Avenida Rivadavia, since it existed long before the creation of Avenida de Mayo and had always served as this dividing line between the north and south of the city since colonial times. Street numbering on either side of Rivadavia begins at 1 and progresses from there. No matter how easy you think this may sound, finding addresses becomes far more difficult as the city stretches out from the center and many of the streets begin to bend and split out. There are dozens of blocks along many of these streets, and it is essential to keep track of cross streets when getting or giving directions. I generally include these in the listings.

Finding Your Way Around -- If you can keep track of the information above, you're halfway there. The Río de la Plata lies to the east of the city, along its shore. Maps are generally oriented with the river at the top, rather than the north to south pattern you might be used to, so keep that in mind. Many tourists get lost thinking the top of their map is north and walking in the wrong direction.

Since Avenida 9 de Julio serves as the dividing line between many parts of the city, and essentially ropes off the Microcentro from other neighborhoods, use it as a way of keeping track of where you are. Once on this important thoroughfare, using the Obelisco as a reference point can also be helpful. The only other structures that stand out on Avenida 9 de Julio are the Health Services Building, near the southern termination point by San Telmo (this building predates the boulevard's expansion but was considered too immense to tear down, and so the street was simply extended around it), and the beautiful French neoclassical French Embassy, representing the northern end of the thoroughfare. The most confusing thing about Avenida 9 de Julio is that buildings along it take their addresses from the parallel service roads. Thus, buildings with addresses on calles Carlos Pellegrini, Cerrito, Bernardo de Yrigoyen, and Lima are all actually on Avenida 9 de Julio, but might not seem so at first glance at the address on a business card or advertisement.

In general, the five subway lines were constructed under the most important avenidas and calles. For instance, the A-line, the subway's oldest, runs east to west under Avenida de Mayo. The C line runs underneath Avenida 9 de Julio, connecting the two most important train stations: Constitución in the south with Retiro in the north. The remaining three lines generally run an east-west route, fanning out from the very center of the city at their beginnings. The E line begins at Plaza de Mayo and runs along Diagonal Sur to Avenida San Juan, though this part of the city has little of interest to the average tourist. The B line runs along Corrientes, skirting the southern edge of Palermo Viejo. Farther out to the north is the D line, which begins at the Plaza de Mayo under Diagonal Norte and runs along Avenida Santa Fe through Barrio Norte on the edge of Recoleta, up through Palermo and Belgrano. If all of this confuses you, the B, C, and D lines converge under the Obelisco, at Obelisco station, close to the intersection of Calle Corrientes and Diagonal Norte. Head here and you can access almost any point of the city served by the subway. This is the city's largest, and most confusing, station, and it is called Obelisco or Diagonal Norte station depending on the line, but it is the same station. In essence, this is like New York's Times Square station, though less of a mess to comprehend.

Maps -- Ask the front desk of your hotel for a copy of The Golden Map and QuickGuide Buenos Aires to help you navigate the city. Before leaving home, you can also get great maps ahead of time from the Buenos Aires-based company De Dios, which has laminated street maps (www.dediosonline.com). Some of their maps are also themed, such as tango, shopping, or dining. Many neighborhoods in Buenos Aires now also have their own individual maps, tailored to what they offer. Virtually every business in Palermo Viejo has a copy of a series of maps based on shopping, eating, and nightlife in this most trendy part of the city. San Telmo offers a similar map, but with less detail and panache. For most of these maps, you have to head to that neighborhood. Don't hesitate to ask, however, at any of the tourism kiosks for specialized maps -- they often have them, but don't have the space to display them and keep them behind the counters. Other specialized maps for Buenos Aires include the Tango Map, the Gay Map, the Jewish (Judeo) Map, and the Nightlife Map, among many others, which are available at the tourism kiosks as well as at various businesses in the city. Again, ask if you don't see them. Free metro maps are available at ticket sales counters at every subway station, but they usually don't have enough on hand for demand. Luckily, most other maps either have a small version of the metro map with the rest of their information or have placed metro stops on the street pattern. Almost all metro stations have enormous lighted maps directly at their entrance on street level overlaid over the city street grid, so you can tell if you are at the right one. If you miss this, unfortunately, in most cases, you won't see other posted maps within the stations until after you have already entered the turnstiles and headed down to the trains. It goes without saying to have a map on hand. You can print one out for the subway ahead of time by visiting www.subte.com.ar, the government's website for the subway system.