Neighbourhood guide

Recoleta

The Paris of South America

Buenos Aires

The vibe

Avenues lined with mansions, museums, smart cafés and the famous cemetery: Recoleta is Buenos Aires’s elegant district. Nearby, El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookshop occupies a former theatre.

Good to know

At the cemetery, ask for the map at the entrance to find Evita’s grave in the Duarte family vault.

When to go

Mornings for the cemetery, weekends for the craft fair.

Getting there

Subway to Las Heras (Line H) or bus from the centre.

The story

How the neighbourhood came to be

After the 1871 yellow fever epidemic, the great families left the south and settled here, around the Recollect convent and its cemetery, opened in 1822. They built Paris-inspired mansions, which earned the city its nickname.

Did you know?

1Recoleta Cemetery has thousands of vaults, true miniature monuments.
2The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, from 1732, is one of the city’s oldest churches.

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