I’m often asked which neighborhood (barrio) is better, San Telmo or Palermo Soho. Here’s a brief description of the two barrios from an insider/outsider point of view to help you decide.
San Telmo (above) is tango and the past; Palermo Soho (below) is hip and modern. Choosing between the two is really a matter of what you most want to experience here in Buenos Aires. San Telmo is New Orleans; Palermo is Miami. Or something like that.
San Telmo is walking distance to most sights; Palermo requires a taxi ride or a walk to the subway. Sights Nearby: Within walking distance from San Telmo are the Plaza de Mayo, la Casa Rosada, the cabildo, Cafe Tortoni, Avenida Florida (the famous pedestrian street for shopping), Avenida Corrientes (loaded with theaters…. BA’s Broadway) with its obelisk, and Teatro Colon (although it’s currently being remodeled).
In the area of Palermo, you’ll find: the Botanical Gardens, the zoo, the hippodrome, the polo field, major shopping centers on Avenida Santa Fe, the Evita Museum, MALBA (the museum of Latin American Fine Arts), and many gorgeous parks.
Prices and Restaurants: San Telmo is cheaper than Palermo in part because it has more variety. You’ll find more inexpensive traditional parillas, pizza joints, choripan stands on the road, rustic eateries with wooden tables that have been there for ages, more Italian restaurants, a fantastic market for buying fresh produce, more bars and milongas (tango dance halls), and more traditional cafes.
In Palermo, you’ll find some of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires where the menus are more modern and innovative. Cafes and restaurants are trendy and pricey. There are more outdoor cafes in Palermo Soho than in San Telmo. It’s more difficult to get a traditional parilla (Argentinean barbeque) in Palermo. Some of the hottest nightspots are in Palermo, but there aren’t as many bars where one can stop in for a drink and a game of pool.
The Streets and Shopping: Palermo is cleaner and has less riffraff than San Telmo. San Telmo is more crowded and more bohemian than Palermo. Both areas are very active on weekends. The antique fair in San Telmo brings in hordes of locals and tourists. Streets are filled with live performances that are out of this world. Palermo’s weekend fair is for designers. The square is filled with stands where you can buy jewelry, shirts, etc.
Shopping is better in Palermo than in San Telmo, but it comes with a higher price tag. San Telmo is changing though. A few stores that are in Palermo are opening in San Telmo, too. But for clothes, shoes, jewelry, and art, Palermo has more to offer.
So, do you want a filet with a dijon sauce and fancy table settings or some empanadas, pizza, and steak served on wooden plates? Answer this question and you’ll know where to stay.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Great descriptions. We weren´t sure if San Telmo was the right neighborhood for us…but we´re sure now. Thanks
Hi Kiima… thanks for visiting our blog. We’re so glad the information was helpful. Deciding which barrio will work for you is probably the most important decision as it will change your experience pretty drastically. Hope you guys enjoy San Telmo. It’s very close to our heart!
Hi Kiima
I love your pics, especially seeing people tangoing in the street. I’ll be in Buenos Aires 5-13 Oct staying at Palermo Soho.
I am looking for a place to do tango classes and stay somewhere quaint near there.
Do you have any suggestions or contacts?
I live in Perth, Western Australia.
Rebecca
Thanks for your blog. Now I have a great sense of the two places and will definitely stay in San Telmo. I’m planning on going there next January, and thinking of booking hotel when I get there so I can talk to the locals, is that a bad idea? Also, how far of a drive is San Telmo to Palermo Soho?
Thank you from Spain! It´s very useful!!!!
Thanks from Santiago de Chile!!!
San Telmo is a magic place…..
Hmm, do I sense a bias in favor of San Telmo here? I actually prefer it, too–BUT, I feel it is only fair to mention that it also has a much more touristy feel to it than Palermo Soho. (Not that Palermo Soho is traditional Argentina, but it’s geared to residents rather than tourists, albeit relatively well-off residents)
But then again if you’re visiting Baires as a tourist, the touristy thing is probably what you want anyway… San Telmo is a beautiful, nostalgic, and fun neighborhood. If I were sending a relative or friend to Buenos Aires, I’d tell them to stay there, too.
Ok, I might have to disagree with you on this (at least about the biased part). When I wrote this, I was thinking of my aunt and uncle who’d just come to visit. They stayed in Palermo Soho and would have hated staying in San Telmo. They would have found San Telmo too congested and a bit dirty. And they wanted to eat in fancy restaurants, drink good wine, and shop. Palermo Soho was perfect for them. When I wrote this, I was living in Palermo. I really wanted to describe the two places fairly because if you like fancy restaurants and shopping, you should stay in Palermo. A lot of people have compared the two barrios to Sausalito (Palermo Soho) and The Mission (San Telmo) in San Francisco. That may be a better comparison than Miami and New Orleans.
You’ll certainly notice more tourists in San Telmo than Palermo, but I always feel like I hear more English in Palermo than in San Telmo. It’s more likely expats than tourists, but I just don’t think Palermo Soho is very traditional. Probably it’s more like you say… well-dressed Argentines mixed with a lot of expats. And Palermo is huge, so if you head out of the more touristy parts like Soho and Hollywood, you can definitely find traditional bodegas and parillas. That’s why I focused on Palermo Soho. I think it’s almost as touristy as San Telmo, but with a different vibe.
Personally, I like both and I would never tell someone which place they should stay because they’re so different. You really have to know what it is you’re looking for in order to decide. That’s what I was trying to do in the post (make it clear what the differences are without bias because who wants to stay in the wrong part of town while on vacation?
Touché.
Actually you did make it clear that it was a matter of taste and traveling style. I suppose as a younger, backpackey, lonely planet-style traveler myself, and most of my traveling friends being the same way, I read into the post and interpreted the “riffraff” and “fancy table settings” comments as a sort of “well, it’s all well and good if you like the [insert word of choice here: resort/pampered/socialite/fine living] experience of Palermo, but I’ll take the nitty gritty and authenticity of a San Telmo any day.”
I actually love both kinds of neighbourhood too, which is why I’m sometimes defensive of the more chic and cosmopolitan ones–I get paranoid that those who only like the “real, genuine” ones assume the worst of me for liking trendy and modern settings too. When I was in Lima I loved the Historic center and the neighbourhood of Barranco, but I also enjoyed the more upscale and shopping-oriented Miraflores, and found myself defending it from another American traveler who saw it as too chic and superficial. I love contrast in a city, and the convenience of being able to match your mood to a particular area of the city.
I hear ya. I’m like you in that I prefer places with a bit of grit, too. I can see why that might sound like I’m favoring San Telmo over Palermo if people like you are my audience. I’d love to go to Lima. So many great places to see in South America!
Having lived in Buenos Aires for 17 years now, born here and raised in Sydney, Australia, I have to say that if you want to experience the true spirit of Buenos Aires, San Telmo definitely wins hands down… One also needs to get out of the international touristy BA (4 or 5 barrios only, bear in mind Buenos Aires has 48) and wonder into other neighborhoods: Barracas is quintessential Buenos Aires without fast food, sushi or meals served in square plates, Montserrat is next to San Telmo and is the city`s first barrio, full of character and with some of the city`s oldest churches and public buildings. The garment district, Once, is chaotic, kind of dirty but with a pulsating beat and coincidentally, amazing architecture on Avenida Rivadavia and Hipolito Yrigoyen, just look up instead of straight ahead!
Thanks for these great recommendations, Fabian! So many other really cool neighborhoods to explore here, and each with its own personality. I love Once’s Jewish delis and crowded streets. When you get a chance to look up, the architecture is stunning but you wouldn’t see it normally because you’re stuck in pedestrian traffic. It’s a bit like a bazaar or souk in the Middle East. And Barracas… I’m so hoping they’ll save that neighborhood because some developers are coming in and knocking down buildings to put in really hideous towers. There are still a few barrios I need to explore, but they’re the ones further out. BA is huge!
You´re welcome Angela. I love the Jewish eateries in Once as well. One of my favorites is Sucath David, on Tucuman 2349.
Hi Roci, glad you found the descriptions useful. Things are changing pretty quickly these days. I guess that’s everywhere though. Hotels… one really great thing about hotels is that you get people there who can give you suggestions about where to go and what to do. If you’re traveling alone, being in a hotel is sometimes way better than in an apartment where you might spend days without having a real conversation with someone. Personally, I’ve always looked for apartments to book because I like to cook and because at the end of the day they are cheaper than a hotel (which for me always means more money to spend on wine and food). But there are times when I’ve felt I needed a community and a hotel or hostel offers that.
How far a drive? Well, by cab it’s about 15 -25 minutes depending on the time of day and if you get a cab driver that doesn’t intentionally take you the long way (or more congested way) for a larger fare. Unfortunately, that’s a pretty common practice. But by subway (subte, here) and walking a few blocks on both ends of the trip, it’s about half an hour.
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy Buenos Aires!
You’re welcome, Alicia. Thanks for stopping by.
You’re welcome, Ramon. Can’t wait to get the chance to see your beautiful city. Glad you liked San Telmo… it is very magical!
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