San Telmo is and probably always will be the heart of Buenos Aires. The oldest neighbourhood of the city dates back to the 17th century and saw its heydays during the 19th century with its booming construction of lavish mansions. Later, abandoned by the rich, the barrio became a welcoming hotspot of European immigrants. Today, filled with a rich history, cobblestoned streets, crumbling houses with beautifully detailed facades, San Telmo has developed a bohemian vibe. Filled with artists, street art, hip cafés and boutique hotels, San Telmo is a must-do in the city. This vibrant and eclectic barrio will be your perfect place to stay for your visit to Buenos Aires.

Things to do in San Telmo

Sunday Feria

The most popular activity in San Telmo is the Sunday Feria. Every Sunday, Calle Defensa and Plaza Dorrego become pedestrian and are transformed into a huge open-air market filled with antique stalls, impromptu tango hotspots, street performers, artisans and souvenir shops.

Museums

Due to its historical importance, the barrio is home to numerous museums. Whether you are a modern art lover, Museum of Modern Art (MAMBA), a fashionista, Clothing Museum (Museo Nacional del Traje) or more into odd museums like the Puppet Museum (Museo Argentino del Titere) or the penitentiary. El Zanjon de Granados are mysterious ruins hallways and tunnels that date back to the 1500s. San Telmo has something for every type of culture and history lovers.

Mercado de San Telmo

We all love a good farmer’s market with its fresh products and foodie stalls. Not only the Mercado de San Telmo has these elements, but it is located under a beautiful building with a glass dome and arches. The market has been declared a National Monument due to its historic significance.

Comic Strip Walk

This is the circuit to do for the comic strip aficionados and for the Mafalda lovers. The walk takes you through Monserrat, San Telmo and Puerto Madero neighbourhoods along with the most famous Argentine graphic humour transformed into sculptures and graffiti The most popular stop is the sculpture of Mafalda which is located in the heart of San Telmo, at the corner of Defensa and Chile.

Bars and restaurants

San Telmo is filled with bars and restaurants that will be perfect to either kickstart your day or to end your night. Argentina has been surfing the craft beer wave for a while now and has an extraordinary selection of artisanal beers. We stopped at the 1989 bar for a good craft beer and at Lo del Frances for one of the best beef empanadas we had in all our trips!

San Telmo’s vicinity

San Telmo is closely located to other interesting barrios. To the south, you will find La Boca with its ever-famous colourful buildings in Caminito. To the east, there is Puerto Madero which is arguably the most modern part of the town with Puente de la Mujer and the ecological reserve on the water. The posh Recoleta is not very far away either.

Buenos Aires in general has a good public transportation network with many buses and the subtle (the metro system) so it will be easy to go in and out from San Telmo.

Stay at the L’Adresse Hotel

Architecture and history

The historic charm of San Telmo and Buenos Aires combined into a hotel. The building of hotel was built in 1889 by a wealthy family but like many others of that time, fled Buenos Aires due to the yellow fever epidemic. Since then, the hotel has been transformed into apartments, hotels and even a conventillo. These changes are visible through the detailed architecture of the exterior of this bygone era. The owners took 3 years to renovate this hotel.

You will often hear that Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America, well this charming hotel is owned by a French couple and the European flair is very present giving a unique ambiance to the hotel. L’adresse is relatively new as it opened its doors in 2016, and will for sure capture you.

The patio

The architectural style of the building is a Casa Chorizo, which is characterized by an outdoor patio bordering the rectangular layout of the building on one of its long sides. The whole layout of the rooms borders the patio. The patio is pleasantly decorated with different types of plants.

Having a private patio gives a great summer feeling to the hotel. I loved the decoration and that you could enjoy the summertime drinking a glass of wine or having your breakfast on the patio. Heads up, since it’s a Casa Chorizo, some rooms are on the back end of the hotel, meaning when raining, you will have to go through the rain.

Rooms

This Buenos Aires hotel has 15 rooms in total with 3 types of rooms, the city rooms, the superior rooms and 1 room perfectly adapted for the mobility reduced guests. Each room has its own unique look, colour palette and paintings. The wooden floors and other wood touches keep a warming colour through the hotel.

The city rooms are the smallest rooms and are located on the upper floors, 2nd and 3rd floors (be mindful that the hotel does not have an elevator so you will have to carry your suitcase or backpack through the stairs). The rooms are decorated with hip colour accents, photography and art. The hotel describes these rooms as vibrant as the porteños (inhabitants of Buenos Aires) nights. These are sometimes called the double room.

The superior rooms are bigger and more elegant, giving homage to the wealthier times of the mansion with its wooden floors and high ceilings. The Superior Triple Room is for triple or quadruple occupancy. These might be perfect for families. Finally, the last room is like the superior rooms but completely adapted for the reduced mobility guest with mobility bars, and wider doors for example. Of course, they all are Non-smoking rooms.

We stayed 4 nights in a city room, and it was simply perfect. We loved the slick design with the blue accents and the very comfortable bed. Our room had a hint of a soccer theme with a piece of art of Maradona and other hints of l’Albiceleste, the Argentinian national soccer team.

All the rooms have their private bathroom with complimentary toiletries such as shampoo, hair conditioner and soap. The room has a deposit box, TV, Air Conditioning, phone and free Wifi. The small hotel also has room service. I was pleasantly surprised that the room had power transformers which was a relief since we had forgotten ours!

Breakfast

The property offers a delicious complimentary breakfast. Since the owners of the hotel are French, the breakfast has homemade French pastries such as madeleine and clafoutis. The orange juice is freshly squeezed every morning to ensure its freshness. The menu also features eggs, cheese, homemade yogurt, homemade jam and artisanal dulce de leche that will go perfectly with your media luna (Argentinian take on croissants). There is also a big selection of fresh fruits. The items of the breakfast change often so you will always have something new to delight in.

Other services

While the hotel does not have big common parts, these are very cozy and will make you feel right at home with the warm tones of the wood and blue colour splashes. In the stylish sofas, you can play board games or read the many books and magazines at your disposition (in English, French and Spanish). Don’t forget to look up and marvel at the lamps.

You can also enjoy a nice glass of Argentinian wine or a mate tasting. Mate is a highly popular drink in Argentina, but it is hard to find in cafés or tea houses since everyone has their own mate all the time. I find that it is a great idea that the hotel has mate tasting, that way, you can try it and understand how to make your own. You cannot leave Argentina without trying some mate!

If you rented a car, the hotel has a close-by parking lot. Other services with a pre-booking required are airport shuttle service, Laundry service, Massage & Baby-Sitting for your children. The concierge team will help you with renting a car, booking excursions, a restaurant and a show or a tango class.

The Staff

The staff is extremely friendly. Most of the staff is trilingual (French, Spanish and English) and will make sure to help you and make your stay in the city unforgettable. They recommended we visit places that were not on our itinerary but that we really enjoyed such as the Usina del Arte. They will also tell you where to do currency exchange and will be happy to answer all of your questions or any special requests (please note that these can bring additional charges.)

Verdict?

Practical information for Buenos Aires

IS IT DANGEROUS?

Buenos Aires is one of the safest cities in South America. However, there are some petty crimes in some areas, especially during the San Telmo feria so do take some precautions with your wallet, camera and cellphone. Also, there is a police station only a block away from the l’Adresse hotel, so don’t worry about safety there.

TAP WATER

You can drink tap water so ditch your plastic bottle and fill your reusable bottle at the hotel.

WHEN TO GO

Argentina has 4 seasons, so it all depends on which season you prefer to travel. Do keep in mind that the summers are very hot, and the winters are chilly but not too cold.

CURRENCY

The currency of the country is the Argentinian Peso. The sign is $ (so don’t get mixed up with USD or CAD). Due to the monetary crises that have constantly beat Argentina in the past decades, it is very hard to find pesos outside of the country since they need to stabilize their monetary reserves. I would suggest exchanging money upon arrival. You can also pay with a credit card in most places.

power

In Argentina, the power plugs and sockets are of type C (characterized by 2 pins) and I (characterized by 3 pins, it kind of looks like a crying smiley face). The standard voltage is 220 V and the standard frequency is 50 Hz.

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Disclaimer: We enjoyed our stay at the l’Adresse Hotel with a discount in exchange for visibility. A big thank you! All opinions are my own.

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