10/12/2023
The barrio of San Telmo is one of the most historic & fun neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires. During my walking tour of the city, we arrive here midday when its vibrancy is in full swing.
Named after Saint Pedro Gonzalez Telmo, patron saint of sailors, (the San Telmo church is in photo 10), this neighbourhood was the suburb of the wealthy in the mid-19th century. A series of yellow fever epidemics in the 1870’s led everyone to flee & move north, forming the new neighbourhoods of Retiro & Recoleta.
During this same period, there was a huge influx of European immigrants to Buenos Aires, many of whom moved into the abandoned mansions, transforming San Telmo into a working class neighbourhood of cheap tenement housing. Artists also flocked in, of course, and ALL of this put together helped transform San Telmo into what it is now beloved for: a bohemian haven for music, cafes, restaurants, antiques, & tango.
The ‘Must-sees’ of San Telmo:
🥑Mercado San Telmo - SInce 1897, this market is still the place to get anything & everything. All types of fresh produce, bread, cheese, meat, antiques, vinyls, leather goods, & wine can be found here. It’s also a hot spot for ‘next level’ street food!
🪭Sunday Street Market - every sunday since 1970, over 10 blocks of San Telmo fill up with vendors of artesanal food & crafts, souvenirs, street performers, and of course the many people who come to visit.
💃Plaza Dorrego - this main square of the barrio is a great place to enjoy an artesanal cerveza or limonada & watch some street tango!
🪗Historic architecture - San Telmo’s streets are lined with ‘Casas Chorizos’, long, narrow, & highly ornate mini-mansions. They often have a large patio in the center, where the city’s elite used to hold parties & practice tango. Their open design made them easy to convert into multi-family dwellings, often with shops on the main floor.
🧉Cafés, Restaurants, Nightlife - In San Telmo, high end steakhouses & cocktail bars sit shoulder to shoulder with teeny pizza joints & vegan juice bars. Everyone’s tastebuds are happy here.
Sound good?
