Exploring Buenos Aires: The Botanical Garden, Palermo Soho and Cycling in the city

During our two-month stay in Buenos Aires we discovered many areas of the city. In the following you can read about some of our activities:

• the Botanical Garden of Buenos Aires – Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays
• a visit to the fancy Palermo Soho district and
• a cycling tour through the city

The Botanical Garden of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires offers an abundance of parks. During our stay we visited several of them close to our area in Palermo. The Botanical Garden is one of them that was really pleasant to stroll through and escape the bustling city for a while.

The garden was designed by the French architect and landscape designer Carlos Thays. It opened in 1898 and still houses the family mansion. The garden has three areas: The Roman Garden, the French Garden and the Oriental Garden.

Visiting Palermo Soho

In 2010 Palermo Soho was the hip area of the city. Especially the area around Plaza Serrano was popular. Many buildings were restored and the colors were striking. It was bustling with cafes and restaurants. Lots of traditional low buildings housed boutiques as well trying to create a bohemian feeling. Nevertheless, we did not connect with the area. It felt rather artificial to us and we preferred the charm of the San Telmo neighborhood.

(Update 2025: Many queer bars and restaurants are located in the area today.)

Cycling tour through Buenos Aires

While we continued taking Spanish classes every day (four hours per day) our school “Vamos Spanish!” also offered activities in the afternoons on a regular basis. As we love cycling we joined the bike tour together with other students and teachers. As it was already March the temperatures were really pleasant and the heat of high summer was gone.

As the city is flat, it is rather easy to get around by bike. Of course there are many main streets. But once you know the city better you will find that the side streets are rather safe to cycle. Here and there, you would find dedicated cycling paths. (Update 2025: we have returned to Buenos Aires in January 2025 and found that the city has extended the network of bicycle lanes tremendously.)