Buenos Aires proper (Capital Federal) is divided into 48 barrios (or neighbourhoods), with all distances measured from Congreso - the National Parliament and official heart of Buenos Aires (and Argentina). All our casas are within eight short blocks of Congreso.

 

Casas Rosa y Jasmin are formally in Balvanera, but because we are in the part closest to the Facultad de Medicina (Medical School), our area is often refered to as Facultad. Maggie's Casa is in Montserrat.

 

Our closest neighbours are:

You don't have to walk far from our casas to find some of the best milongas in town. Both El Beso and Porteno y Bailarin in are in Riobamba, only 3 blocks away towards Obelisco.

 

Both are world famous in the tango milieu, but you wouldn't know that from passing them on the street - the red doorway of El Beso (left) is currently surrounded by dug-up pavement.

 

And the shopfront of Porteno y Bailarin looks like a tourist bar. (See photos right.)

 

Oh, but inside......... It's what dreams are made of!

 

 

Feb 9 to 16, 2009, the 3rd International Encuentro of Tango Milonguero will be held at El Beso (see their Milongueando website).

 

 

Nearly every block holds its own supermercado, which also sells fruit and vegetables, and has a butcher who will cut your carne for you while you wait.

 Several of the big chain  supermarkets (Coto, Disco, Jumbo, Carrefour, see discussion) are within 4 blocks of our Casas, but the queues can be horrendous, and the staff grumpy.

 

So for a small quantity of items we recommend the locals supermercados.

 

Or you can buy on-line (in Spanish), and for a small fee your items will be delivered to the casa.

 

Small things like sweets, cold drinks, cigarettes and phone cards can be bought from the kioscos that are everywhere. The kioscos on Corrientes (1 block away) stay open 'til quite late at night.

 

There are also farmacias on most blocks, many specialising in Bach Flowers and homeopathic or herbal remedies.

 

Most blocks have a lavaderos / lavanderias which will wash (and, for little extra) iron your clothes. Many are also tintorerias (dry cleaners), and some will mend or alter clothes, although not usually while you wait..

 

You don't have to leave the casa to eat if you are feeling lazy or tired, because Buenos Aires has a great tradition of delivering 'just cooked' meals to our homes.

 

But if you want to go out, there are plenty of good basic restaurants within two blocks of our casas. We like Naude Laja and Maral (1 block away on opposite corners of Uriburu and Tucuman, pictured above), but when we want empanadas or pizzas a la piedra, we always order in from Zapi - they cook to order, so everything is crisp and fresh (2 blocks in Tucuman y Junin).

 

There are also many kosher restaurants around Casas Rosa y Jasmin. For security reasons these are rarely pictured on the web, but we will give you a pamphlet for kosher dining should you be interested, or you can check the list at Beit Jabad Recoleta (most on their list are in walking distance). See also our section on Jewish Buenos Aires.

 

If you are vegetarian, here is the Happy Cow list of all the vegetarian places in (generally carnivorous) Buenos Aires.

 

When you want to go further there's always the kilometer of wall to wall restaurants at Puerto Madero (just jump on the subte B and get a 10 peso taxi back when you are too full to walk), the great line-up outside Recoleta Cemetary (you could walk back for exercise) or you can check out the various restaurant guides - Chowhound, Lonely Planet, Frommers, Trip Advisor, the Freedman blog (all in English),  or the Oleo Guide by barrio (in Spanish) - very comprehensive but we don't always agree with their ratings, so try for yourself.