On the corner of Avenida Las Heras and Avenida Sarmiento, Palermo

Note from Alan - Sorry once more for the long time since the last posting on this blog - I’ve been crazily busy for the past couple of months with my Buenos Aires Tours. Until I get some more time free to write something myself, here’s a great post from Kim on the Buenos Aires Zoo to keep you going:

It’s all happening at the zoo…

And it really is! The Buenos Aires Zoo is spectacularly charming for anyone with an afternoon to spare. Located in the heart of Palermo off the Plaza Italia subway stop, the zoo spans the distance between Avenidas Las Heras and Libertador. Home to over 350 species and known for some of its exotic breeding, the zoo is the perfect place for families, a romantic date or an afternoon alone.

On sunny weekends this attraction is packed full of children, which isn’t always entirely different from the weekdays, when many school field trips attend. Nevertheless, the best time to visit the zoo is on a sunny weekday afternoon, when you can lounge in front of the white tiger enclosure or elephant house with few others peering over your shoulder.

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Honduras 4999 (in Plaza Serrano), Palermo Soho

[Photo Credit: julianrod]

After a lazy Sunday afternoon spent “domingeando” (as the porteños say) - or in other words, relaxing and walking around the artisan fairs and examining the hand-made crafts and clothing items - head to Malasartes in Plaza Serrano (Palermo Soho) for a warm, welcoming café atmosphere any time of day or evening.

At weekends this focal point of Palermo Soho fills with artisans selling hand-made crafts and sweaters, which are definitely worth an hour of browsing while you are in this area of Buenos Aires.

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An Introduction to Dancing Tango in Buenos Aires

[Photo Credit: SMeaLLuM]

Note from Alan - We are lucky enough to welcome a seasoned Buenos Aires tango and milonga expert to the Buenos Aires Argentina Guide, in the form of Cherie Magnus, from the Tango Cherie blog (see the end of this post for more info on Cherie). Her first offering is an excellent guide to the types of tango salon in Buenos Aires, for those interested in the real world of social tango dancing in the city. So, over to you Cherie…

If you want to dance tango in Buenos Aires, where do you go?

Actually it depends on many things: your age, what style you dance, what day or night of the week you want to go out, if you go with or without a partner, and so on…

Dancing social tango in Buenos Aires has nothing to do with the Tango Show Dancing on the streets of San Telmo, La Boca, calle Florida, or Recoleta, or the many Cena-Shows with an orchestra, stage dancers and dinner. The first thing to know about tango is that what you’ll see in those places is a different dance - Tango for Export. And that is another post entirely!

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Salguero 1884 (between Guemes & Charcas), Palermo

Jazz in Buenos Aires at Thelonious Club

If you are looking to spend a night in a setting of utmost Buenos Aires cool, check out the famed Palermo jazz club, Thelonious. This bar features live jazz bands Wednesday through Sunday nights, starting at 9:30 pm. On Friday and Saturday nights there are two bands in the line-up. Thelonious, named after the legendary American jazz pianist, is not a place to hear second-rate jazz. The performance on any given night will enrapture you with the energy, talent, and improvisational skills of the musicians.

Cover fees range from $7 to $15 depending on the night: you can check their website, call for more information about that night’s particular show (4829-1562), or stop by Thelonious to pick up the current month’s schedule.

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Serrano 1595 (corner with Honduras - Plaza Serrano), Palermo Soho

If you consider yourself a hipster, an intellectual, an artist, or just too cool for categorization, come join the club at El Taller. This multiespacio - a word used in Buenos Aires to describe a multi-functional space - in this case with a bar, café, art space, and discussion salon, was one of the first businesses to appear in Plaza Serrano in the mid-1980s.

El Taller has made beautiful use of the building by carefully placing framed artwork all over the walls. You could spend an hour just gazing at the art, taking in each piece separately and letting yourself be inspired or intrigued by the various Argentine artists. The bar is open from 9am to 2am Mondays through Thursdays; and until 3am on Fridays, Saturdays, and holidays [and in case you didn't know, in Argentina there's a holiday every, oh, two weeks :)].

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