Gonzo
03-06-13, 22:44
On my first full day here in BA, I hired TejanoLibre to give me a walking tour of Buenos Aires. Being a resident for a while he shares a set of information that you may not get from other tour guides. Of course, you can talk mongering with him also, another added benefit. Tejeno took me to places that I never would have thought of, or even mentioned in a guide book. For example, the building that holds the Water Authority for Buenos Aires, which has a museum section (and guided tours). Or the School of Engineering. Cool buildings.
TejanoLibre has a real eye for architecture, and for me, having studied architecture, this made his tour even more enjoyable. There are a lot of amazing building in BA in every neighborhood. He also opened my eyes to a lot of simpler things, like doors, there are a lot of picturesque and ornate doors in BA. But even if you don't give a sh*t about buildings or doors, he will tweak your tour to whatever floats your boat.
We went as far north as the areas around the mind-blowing Recoleta Cemetary, and he pointed out to me some of the clubs, such as Hippopotamus, Newport and Madahos, which basically ring the cemetery. Then we cruised down the huge Ave 9 del Julio to take in the sights of microcentro, such as the Obelisk, Congreso, the Red Palace (and the cool museum right behind it), a cafecito in Tortoni, and many other sights too numerous to mention. He also pointed out Exedras, Orleans and a hotel bar or two that has working girls not on any map. He turned me onto a great Mongolian restaurant on Riobamba (1179, Genghi's House). It has large buffet, in which you pick your meats, veggies and noodles and the cook fries them up on an grill w / o oil. Gonzo gives it 2 thumbs up. He also got me oriented to taking the subway, which gave me a lot more confidence to use it.
TejanoLibre's tour price is very reasonable (in today's exchange rates, a pittance really). The only negative is that we walked almost continually for 5 hours and I've now got blisters on my toes. But I'm sure you can take taxis if you want.
In any case, I recommend TejanoLibre as a great initial guide for any newbie coming to BA. He'll get you oriented and familiar with the city pronto.
TejanoLibre has a real eye for architecture, and for me, having studied architecture, this made his tour even more enjoyable. There are a lot of amazing building in BA in every neighborhood. He also opened my eyes to a lot of simpler things, like doors, there are a lot of picturesque and ornate doors in BA. But even if you don't give a sh*t about buildings or doors, he will tweak your tour to whatever floats your boat.
We went as far north as the areas around the mind-blowing Recoleta Cemetary, and he pointed out to me some of the clubs, such as Hippopotamus, Newport and Madahos, which basically ring the cemetery. Then we cruised down the huge Ave 9 del Julio to take in the sights of microcentro, such as the Obelisk, Congreso, the Red Palace (and the cool museum right behind it), a cafecito in Tortoni, and many other sights too numerous to mention. He also pointed out Exedras, Orleans and a hotel bar or two that has working girls not on any map. He turned me onto a great Mongolian restaurant on Riobamba (1179, Genghi's House). It has large buffet, in which you pick your meats, veggies and noodles and the cook fries them up on an grill w / o oil. Gonzo gives it 2 thumbs up. He also got me oriented to taking the subway, which gave me a lot more confidence to use it.
TejanoLibre's tour price is very reasonable (in today's exchange rates, a pittance really). The only negative is that we walked almost continually for 5 hours and I've now got blisters on my toes. But I'm sure you can take taxis if you want.
In any case, I recommend TejanoLibre as a great initial guide for any newbie coming to BA. He'll get you oriented and familiar with the city pronto.