Trendy Palermo

Trail Map

Like any cosmopolitan city, Buenos Aires has very distinct neighborhoods, or barrios, and they're not as simple as "China Town" or "North End." El Microcentro is the downtown/economic hub of the city. Retiro is adjacent to Microcentro and filled with focused professionals who want easy access to work. Puerto Madero is the super ritzy section along the water and is monopolized by new money from Brazil and Europeans.

San Telmo has loads of character with its colonial style buildings and cobbled stoned streets. It's a little run down and will likely be gorgeous in about 5 years, but its full size houses make it really attractive to middle class families.

Then there's Recoleta, where older, wealthy people live - very traditional. Palermo is next and in a nutshell it's "trendy." It's full of boutiques, international cafes and sushi restaurants, modern design stores, and beautiful people. The buildings are renovated, many still in the midst of renovations. It's not unique for someone to live in an old grain factory that now looks like a designer show room.

Palermo was our focus today. The neighborhood itself is divided into several sections - including Palermo, Palermo Viejo, Palermo Soho, Palermo Nuevo, and Palermo Hollywood. We actually started our day in "Barrio Chino" (China Town), where Karen had a business meeting. We then had lunch in Plamero Soho, close to Plaza Serrano and wandered around window shopping.