Tag and Nightlife of Palermo

Palermo is the neighborhood of Buenos Aires where the Lopez Hostel & Suites, where I worked, is located. I spent most of my time there and tried to explore as much of it as possible. Palermo is one of the most touristy neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. It has the highest concentration of bars, cafes, and restaurants, and invites you to stroll through the streets, as you can see countless murals and other street art. Also great for browsing is the Mercado de las Pulgas, a covered antique market in a huge hall. There you will find mainly antique furniture, lamps, clothing, old suitcases, or paintings. Personally, I liked it a lot, even though I didn't buy anything. You feel transported to a different time there and think after every few meters: 'I would buy this if I had an apartment here'.

If that's not enough art for you, you can visit the Museum of Latin American Art (MALBA), where works by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera are exhibited, among others.

Not far from there is the Planetarium, where you can attend film screenings in its dome. However, I didn't research enough about it in advance and ended up accidentally in the children's show, where I felt a bit out of place as the children were supposed to shout answers about our solar system to a 'presenter'.

Also within walking distance from the Lopez Hostel were the Eco Parque, the Botanical Garden, and the Japanese Garden, which are located in the northern part of Palermo, known as Bosque de Palermo. In the Eco Parque, you can walk around a beautiful pond and see living pampas hares. There are not many tourists in this park, which makes it super suitable for mentally escaping the city.

In the Botanical Garden, you can see plants in different areas that are divided into continents. There, too, you can relax in the shade and enjoy the peace on hot summer days. On the other hand, the Japanese Garden is visited more for tourist reasons. For this park, you have to pay an entrance fee (150 ARS) and are lucky if you can take a photo without people in it. However, this garden is particularly beautiful, as a bright red color appears everywhere, which contrasts with the green meadows and the pond. When you enter the Japanese Garden, you feel like you have arrived in a completely different place.

The Rosedal Garden is also a classic of the places visited in Palermo. Most pictures are taken here on a radiant white bridge, which many find very romantic. Unfortunately, I didn't visit the Rosedal, but based on the pictures and stories of our hostel guests, I can only recommend it.

As mentioned in another blog post, the Parque de Punta Carrasco, the Parque de la Memoria, and Chinatown are also located in Palermo, but are better reached by bus or taxi.

What interests many tourists in Buenos Aires is its nightlife. In addition to Puerto Madero, Palermo is definitely the best place to spend the night. Especially at Plaza Cortazar, also known as Plaza Serrano, there is a huge selection of good bars. Since Palermo is very busy at night, it is also a very safe neighborhood at this time, so you can walk the streets of Palermo Hollywood and Palermo Soho without any problems. Well-known clubs in this neighborhood are Niceto Night Club and Kika Nightclub, of which I only visited the latter once. There, they initially played a lot of electronic music, and later almost exclusively reggaeton and cumbia, which I really liked. As in (I think) all clubs, the entrance fee for women was 100 ARS cheaper than for men. One bar that I visited at night with my colleagues is called Chupitos. I have never seen such a crazy cool bar in Germany. You could order various specialty shots for 70 ARS, which were 'served' in different ways: One variation was 5 shots in rainbow colors with increasing alcohol content. Another variation was to drink four shots at the same time, which were glued to skis. So you had to stand side by side in a row and lift the skis to drink at the same time.

The last variation I tried was a special shot where you had to stand with your back to the bar while the bartender sat on the counter behind you. Then you had to lay your head back and he poured the spirits from the bottle into your mouth. You had to keep them in your mouth while everyone around you counted down from 5 and then the bartender shook your head like a cocktail. Of course, there were many more different offers that you could order. But if you tried every single one of them, you wouldn't come out of this bar alive.