Buenos Aires travel diary: Neighbourhoods, Gaucho Style and an Escape to San Antonio de Areco

Continued from our Argentina travel diary 🌍😍

Buenos Aires travel diary: European feel

The trip had started at full speed with a Paris–Patagonia flight. After several days at the end of the world, crossing the vast expanses of Patagonia, Buenos Aires almost gave me the feeling of returning to familiar ground.

What strikes you immediately is how much this city can evoke other capitals. Turning down an avenue, I thought of Paris, then Rome or Madrid. Some Art Deco buildings reminded me of Shanghai. The grand squares lined with palm trees had a Spanish feel, while the enormous tipa trees, with their sweeping branches, formed a green canopy perfect for strolling beneath.

Then, without warning, the atmosphere shifts. In Palermo Soho, I felt like I was in New York: wide cobbled streets, buzzing cafés, designer boutiques, art galleries… A neighbourhood you want to wander through for hours.

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  Buenos Aires

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  parc de Buenos Aires

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  Parc de Buenos Aires

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  Ceinture Gaucho Voyageuses Paris

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  Passion Maradona à Buenos Aires

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  Art deco à Buenos Aires

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  Evita à Buenos Aires

The gaucho and horseman style — a side trip to San Antonio de Areco

What perhaps impressed me most was the elegance of the Porteños (Buenos Aires locals). Their everyday uniform? An Oxford shirt, canvas trousers. A style directly inherited from gaucho culture, which I never tire of. Magnificent shops overflow with belts, boots, saddles and equestrian accessories, each more beautiful than the last — and appreciated even by non-riders! One can't help but wonder whether Ralph Lauren draws his merchandising inspiration from here…

To extend the immersion, you must make the trip to San Antonio de Areco, two hours from Buenos Aires. This small colonial town seems frozen in time: cobbled streets, orange-tree-filled patios, whitewashed façades… The estancias (ranches) surrounding it still keep gaucho traditions alive today, and you cross paths with gauchos in the streets.

One of them told me, in hesitant French, that his family was originally from Saint-Malo. Like many Europeans, his ancestors had left France at the end of the 19th century to settle in Argentina. This is no doubt what makes the region so appealing to Europeans: Spanish, Italian and French influences appear everywhere. And dotted across the pampas, grand Basque villas appear — a final nod to this shared history.

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  Boutique Arandu à Buenos Aires

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  Le charme de San Antonio de Areco

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  le style Gaucho

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  Un veritable Gaucho à San Antonio de Areco

My recommendations in Buenos Aires & San Antonio

My Parisian picks this month

A restaurant in Biarritz: Pluma, the new restaurant at the Hôtel du Café de Paris — delicious food, lovely décor and a beautiful terrace.

A book: Adios à Buenos Aires by Brina Svit — a contemplative dive into the city's tango world. I especially recommend it to those who have already been.

A new arrival: The Girls Like to Travel Pouch — an absolute summer essential!

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  Adios à Buenos Aires de Brina Svit Gallimard

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  Pochette Voyageuses Paris en denim Girls Like to Travel

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  restaurant Pluma à Biarritz

See you soon!

Félicie 🐆

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