Buenos Aires Palermo Chico And Barrio Parque

Just across Palermo’s northern border with Recoleta, tiny Palermo Chico, one of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods, centers on Plaza Chile and hosts many of the city’s embassies, as well as the excellent Museo de Arto Decorativo . Stretching north from here, the layout of the winding, leafy streets of Barrio Parque was designed by Carlos Thays ; beautiful mansions and villas line the streets and provide a stunning, if imposing, place to wander.

Plaza Chile. Like most of Palermo’s string of beautiful green spaces, Plaza Chile is an excellent refuge from the frantic traffic of Av. Libertador. Bordered on one side by the Chilean embassy, the Plaza is also surrounded by some of the striking mansions of the wealthy porteño elite, as well as the Casa Grand Bourg (see below). In the Plaza’s northwest corner, a semicircle of statues, all erected in 1950, commemorate a number of the heroes of the Chilean War of Independence (1810-1818), as well as several Chilean authors. The Plaza focuses on a statue of Bernardo O’Higgins, who—despite his Irish-sounding name (his father was born in Ireland)—was the Chilean equivalent of José de San Martín, the liberator of Argentina himself. After leading the independence effort, O’Higgins became the first leader of free Chile and launched several radical reforms, such as the establishment of democracy and the abolition of titles of nobility. He would later participate, along with San Martín, in independence efforts elsewhere in South America in countries like Peru. (S Agüero.)

Instituto Nacional Sanmartiniano. Located just across the street from Plaza Chile, this beautiful white mansion, known as the Casa Grand Bourg, houses a cultural center mainly devoted to José de San Martín, Argentina’s most famous independence hero. A reproduction of Martín’s villa near Paris, where he lived in exile for over a decade later in his life, the house is only open to the public for readings and lectures during the hours listed below; see the website for the current schedule. (Mariscal Carilla and Alejandro Aguado. S Agüero. ☎4801 0848; www.sanmartiniano.com. Open M-F 10am-6pm.)

Parking Problems. The people who wave cars into parking spaces along Palermo’s streets are called cuidacoches. These workers typically charge between AR$7-8 per car, earning an average of AR$300 per night. However, a 2004 law illegalized their activity, enforcing a punishment of AR$200-400 or up to two days of volunteer work. Recently, tensions between Palermo residents and the cuidacoches have run high over their “rental” of parking spaces for AR$8-10 per night. Finding a parking spot back at home doesn’t seem like such a hassle anymore.