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.
2 Comments To This Article… add one
August 27, 2012, 10:14 pm
I’ll do spanish classes in Buenos Aires and i don’t know where is better to leave for a month, San Telmo or Palermo. The school is near the Obelisco. Thanks.
August 28, 2012, 10:23 am
The Obelisco is sort of in the middle. Maybe it’s a little closer to San Telmo, but it’s not that far from Palermo either. I think you can choose according to the place you like (meaning the apartment) as both areas are great and will be close enough to get there without too much hassle. The closer barrios to the Obelisco are Montserrat (nice area, very much like San Telmo), Microcenter (do not recommend staying there… it’s dead at night and on weekends), and Congreso (probably not a great area to stay in either… too far at night from the places you’ll likely want to be). Hope that helps. Suerte!