The park, formerly known as the "Field of Glory," was renamed in honor of Argentina´s hero José de San Martín in 1878, upon the hundredth anniversary of his birth.
Following remodeling works by British architect Edward Taylor and Argentine archiect José Canale, the fort, bullring and other buildings that existed in the lands were demolished in 1883.
In 1889 French urbanist and landscaper Charles Thays was commissioned to give the plaza its approximate current form. Numerous Ombú, Linden, rubber plants, magnolias, ceibos, jacarandas, Floss Silk trees, and –oddly– sequoias, were planted.


Plaza San Martín and its surroundings acquired their current physiognomy in 1936, when Charles Thays' son, Carlos León Thays designed the esplanade surrounding the monument. The trees planted by Thays made this park one of the most beautiful in Buenos Aires.


Some of Argentina's wealthiest and most aristocratic families built their residences and mansions around the square, which rivaled in elegance with the ones in the nearby neighborhood of Recoleta.

San Martin Palace: originally the house of the Anchorena family, today the palace belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship.

Military Circle (Paz Palace): José Camilo Paz –founder of La Prensa newspaper– ordered the construction of his family mansion based on the plans made by the French Louis Sortaris. Since 1938, it has been the venue of the Military Circle, an army club, and the National Museum of Weapons.



Plaza Hotel: Industrialist Ernesto Torquinst decided to build a hotel at the level of those in Europe and New York. Architect Alfredo Zucker was in charge of this work, inaugurated in 1908. It was remodeled in 1913 and 1978. The hotel is one of the most traditional and luxurious in Buenos Aires.

Kavanagh building: In 1934, Corina Kavanagh ordered the construction of a skyscraper to the architects Sánchez, Lagos and de La Torre. They designed a step building made of reinforced concrete in a rationalist style. When the building was opened in 1936, it was the highest in Latin America.


Santísimo Sacramento Basilica: Aristocrat Mercedes Castellanos de Anchorena, owner of the Anchorena Palace, ordered the construction of this basilica, thinking that if she lived in a palace, her God should also deserve one. It was finished in 1916, designed by French architects Coulomb and Chauvet in a neo-gothic/romantic style. Tha white marbel facade represents Blessed Pedro Eymard with 2 kneeling angels. Its altar is one of the biggest in South America, with ornaments made of marble, blue granite, bronze and Venetian mosaic.


Retiro Train Station: Inaugurated in 1915 based on the project developed by a team of English engineers and architects, in a French academicism style. The metallic structure of the platforms was manufactured in Great Britain.

Monumental Tower (formerly The English Tower): donated by the British community in Argentina in 1916 for the centenary of Argentina´s independece. The clock has a diameter of 4.5 meters and a pendulum of 100 kilograms of weight. It was built with materials brought from England.

Monument to Malvinas War Soldiers: located on Leandro N. Alem Avenue, this memorial pays homage to the soldiers of the Malvinas War. It is made of 25 plaques with the names of all the soldiers who fell in combat in that war in 1982:

See also: Monument to General San Martín and A visit to the magnificent Palacio Paz

To see more pictures of Plaza San Martin and Retiro Neighborhood, visit my Retiro Photo Album.

At the beginning of the XIXth century, Palermo was a site with farms and country estates. During the decade of 1830, the governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas, buys extensive plots of land and builds a colonial house and a religious chapel, in the intersection of the present avenues del Libertador Gral. San Martín and Av. Domingo Faustino Sarmiento. When Rosas is defeated in the Caseros battle in 1852 by Justo José de Urquiza, governor of Entre Ríos, the zone is completely abandoned and neglected. The colonial house is destroyed at the end of the century.

During the presidency of Domingo F. Sarmiento, in the year 1874, the "Parque Tres de Febrero" is created on those lands, in commemoration of the anniversary of the Caseros battle. At the same time, the Zoo and the Botanical Garden are also created. Some plots of lands are handed over to Argentine Rural Society for its annual cattle farming exhibitions, which take place every year up to these days; to the Argentine Racetrack, and to the Polo Association for the practice of these sports. In the XXth century, the construction of the Golf Course is permitted, as well as many sports clubs in the area, the Planetarium, the Islamic Mosque, the Velodrome, among others, which made the original "Bosques de Palermo" be reduced to less than half its original size.

Palermo neighborhood is so big, that it is divided into several quarters, all of them with their own features, which will require a separate description each. They are called:

Palermo Viejo/Soho
Alto Palermo
Las Cańitas
Palermo Chico
Palermo Hollywood
La Imprenta
Bosques de Palermo
Plaza Italia

Decorative Arts Museum
Evita´s Museum
Latin American Art Museum (MALBA)
Eduardo Sivori Museum

Parks:
Rose Garden
Japanese Garden
Botanical Garden
Eco Parque Buenos Aires
Las Heras Park
Plaza Alemania

Monuments:
Spaniard´s Monument
Garibaldi´s Monument
Urquiza´s Monument
Jose de San Martin Monument

Other attractions in Palermo:
Palermo Racetrack
Argentina Polo Field
King Fahd Islamic Center
Argentine Rural Society
Paseo Alcorta Shopping Mall
Alto Palermo Shopping Mall
Planetarium

In its beginnings it was inhabited by the workers of the nearby port of Buenos Aires. They settled around Plaza Dorrego and on Defensa Street, considered as the oldest street in the city. The neighborhood grew, becoming the place of residence of many of the wealthiest and most traditional families in Buenos Aires.

During the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1871, these families abandoned their mansions, which still exist, and moved to the North of the city. These large houses were occupied by immigrant families, and became what we know today as “conventillos”, communal houses in which each room was occupied by a whole family.

Today many of these old houses have been restored, and hold stylish shops, hotels, loft-style apartments, hostels, and art galleries. This part of the city was chosen by many Antique dealers to establish their shops, especially on Defensa Street.

Its location is convenient for visiting Puerto Madero and the Center of the city, and it’s closer to the International Airport, but it’s a little farther away from other commonly visited places in Buenos Aires like Palermo or Recoleta. Most of the apartments for rent in this area are old renovated houses and lofts. There are also many youth hostels and new hotels.

Main attractions in the neighborhood:

San Telmo Antiques Fair: at Plaza Dorrego, on Humberto Primo and Defensa. It takes place Every Sunday, from 10 am to 5 pm. More than 70 stalls where you can find long plays, vintage clothes, jewels, post cards, almanacs, books, lamps, cutlery, and all kinds of antiques and curiosities. 

This weekly event also gathers many street performers like tango dancers, musicians, living statues, mimes, and other artists who set up their stalls all along Defensa Street, from Plaza Dorrego to Plaza de Mayo.

Dorrego Square (Plaza Dorrego): limited by Defensa, Humberto Primo, Betlehem and Anselmo Aieta, it’s considered as the oldest square in Buenos Aires after Plaza de Mayo. It was declared as National Historic Monument.

Lezama Park: this huge park, on one of the natural hillsides of the city, has an amphitheater, a garden of statues, and a monument to conqueror Pedro de Mendoza. It also holds the National Historic Museum.

Mercado San Telmo: with its main entrance on the corner of Carlos Calvo and Bolívar, this century-old market is worth visiting for its intact original architecture. The interior is made of an excellent iron structure roofed with tin foil and glass. There´s a food market as well as some antiques shops inside. It was inaugurated in 1897.

Historic Cafés: the bar at the corner of Humberto Primo and Defensa was founded in 1870, and the bar "Británico", at Brasil and Defensa, was created in 1928.

Pasaje "La Defensa": Defensa 1179. This is a traditional house of late XIXth century colonial Buenos Aires, characterized by a central patio around which the different rooms where distributed. Today it hosts a commercial center and antiques shops.

Nuestra Sra. de Belén Church - San Pedro Gonzalez Telmo Parish: Humberto Iº 340. This old temple, started in 1734, suffered many restorations. In 1943 it was declared as National Historic Monument. Its architecture mixes post-colonial, baroque, neoclassical, and Italian styles.

Engineering School: Paseo Colón 850. Neoclassical style building, a copy of the Law School building in Recoleta.

Monument "Canto al Trabajo" (Ode to Wok Monument): Paseo Colón 800. Work of Argentine sculptor Rogelio de Yrurtia (1879-1950). Sculptural group of 14 bronze human figures carrying a heavy stone.

Museum of the Cinema: Defensa 1220. This museum is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 10 am to 5 pm, and holds a films library, collections of posters, clothes, photos and documents.

Secretariat of Agriculture Building: Paseo Colon 922. A superb building complex, in Neo-Gothic style.

To see more pictures of San Telmo, visit my San Telmo Photo Album

Coleccion Fortabat Museum, Olga Cosentini 141
Museum of Reproductions and Comparative  Sculptures Ernesto de la Carcova

This neighborhood accounts for many tourist attractions, like Recoleta Cemetery, The National Museum of Fine Arts, the artisans´fair, the Decorative Arts Museum, The Flower, the colonial Del Pilar Church, among others. There are also great restaurants, bars, cafés, and stylish shops. This is a nice area to stay, for walking along the streets, visit the numerous art galleries and museums, or just seat and relax to have a coffee and people watch at one of the terraces outside the Recoleta Cemetery or at the Buenos Aires Design Center.

This area of Buenos Aires used to be a working class neighborhood, with old houses and narrow streets. It was originally called “Palermo Viejo”, or “Old Palermo”, since this was one of the oldest quarters in Buenos Aires. It is comprised by the streets of Costa Rica, Godoy Cruz, Malabia and Gorriti. It is a part of the large Palermo Neighborhood.


A few years ago some designers started to renovate these old houses and abandoned factories to set their businesses and shops. That´s how this neighborhood started to transform, to become the new trendy fashion area of Buenos Aires. It changed its name to Palermo Soho, for its resemblance to the Soho in New York and London. It has also some resemblance with the new trendy Marais district in Paris.

This is a lively area, with many bars, restaurants, sushi clubs, coffee shops, wineries, and “parrillas”. There are also many art galleries, antiques, furniture and decoration shops. You will find many small shops with original designs, as well as big national and international brands in originally decorated houses. Beware that international brands are expensive. Try to find the smaller shops that offer original creations.

Pick up the free maps that you will find in any of those shops with all the information about the area.There are two artisan´s and artist´s fairs on weekends: one in Plaza Cortázar (Serrano & Honduras), around which there are also many shops where independent designers offer their creations, and the other one on Plaza Palermo Viejo (Costa Rica & Armenia).

Many new hotels have opened their doors in this area, specially boutique hotels, bed & breakfasts, and youth hostels. There is also an increasing offer of apartments for rent. Despite all this movement, it is still a quiet neighborhood, with tree lined streets, little traffic, and a tranquil atmosphere.

Limited by Del Libertador, Luis Maria Campos, Federico Lacroze, and Chenaut avenues, and only 20 minutes from the center of the city by Line D of the subway, "Las Cañitas" has always been a very quiet, safe area, where people can still enjoy birds singing in its tree-lined streets. Las Cañitas is not an official “neighborhood” of Buenos Aires, but it is truly one of the many sectors in which Palermo is divided. For over 100 years, it was only a quiet space surrounded by open lands, mostly used to prepare horses for the nearby Palermo Hippodrome Racecourse, and where many horse stables where established.

This changed a little since the decade of the 1990's, when many bars, restaurants and discos opened their doors and made this a newly renovated, trendy area of Buenos Aires, considered as a fashionable gastronomic zone. Which started with only some restaurants and bars, became one of the most visited areas by young people and lovers of good cooking. With two or three per block, there are restaurants, bars, pubs and discos with a variety of choices for every taste and every age, from Mediterranean to Asian, to some of the best "Parrillas" where to enjoy the traditional Argentine meats.

Las Cañitas has also become a fashionable district, with exclusive fashion boutiques, outlet shops, wineries, leather and horseback riding equipment shops, bookstores and art galleries. There's also a small shopping center, "El Solar de la Abadia" (photo below), on Av. Luis Maria Campos and Maure, built on a recycled old ice factory. A spot worth of a visit in Las Cañitas is the old Abbey of San Benito, facing the shopping center.





Another commercial area near Las Cañitas, in the limit between Palermo and Belgrano, is called La Imprenta, after the old Press where the programs for the Racetrack where printed, in Maure and Migueletes, an area where you can find some nice trendy boutiques, restaurants, ice cream parlors, design shops, jewelries and cafes.

One of the most important spots in Las Cañitas is the Campo Argentino de Polo, the official Polo field where the world famous Argentine Open Polo Championship takes place every year from November to December. Music shows, military exhibitions and festivals also take place in the Polo Field throughout the year.

There are many apartments for rent in the area, especially newly built lofts and high rise apartment buildings. Those apartments facing the Polo field have one of the best views in Buenos Aires. Some of the old houses have been renovated to be converted into trendy boutique hotels and Bed and Breakfasts.

Barrancas de Belgrano: One of the most beautiful parks in the city, has 67 species of plants: ombus, palm trees “ceibos”, plane trees, paradise, lime and oak trees, magnolias, etc. Among the sculptures scattered in the park, there is a replica of the Statue of Liberty by its original creator, French sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi.