Calle de los Suspiros (Street of Sighs) in Colornia
Founded by the Portuguese in 1680, Colonia, Uruguay, with its UNESCO World Heritage historic quarter is an easy ferry ride from Buenos Aires and a picture-perfect way to spend a day away from the bustle of the city. Doing a little research, I chose the Buquebus ferry service over ferries operated by Colonia Express. Buquebus operates out of a large modern terminal in Puerto Madero.
I bought Buquebus tickets online, opting for Business Class as it was only about $10 more per person and allowed first on and first off privileges. I’d read there could be a line at immigration at times and, since I only wanted to do a daytrip and didn’t have time to waste, that was a deciding factor.
Business Class on Buquebus turned out to be a surprisingly posh experience. We breezed through security and customs (exiting Argentina and passing Uruguay passport control a few feet apart in the Buenos Aires terminal) and initially missed the special Business Class lounge behind a door just in front of us before turning left around the open atrium of the terminal, then to the right towards the large Turistica Class waiting area. Realizing our mistake, we returned to the Business Class lounge just in time to board. True to the billing, all Business Class passengers were ushered onboard first and to the second deck Business Class seating overlooking the small ship atrium with its duty-free shop. Crew handed out flutes of sparkling wine at the top of the steps indicating the open seating beyond consisting of large leather chairs clustered around tables, all surrounded by large windows. Very nice!
Aboard the Buquebus ferry: Business Class seats upstairs and duty-free shopping and money exchange below
The trip to Colonia from Buenos Aires takes about 1h15m and we were soon docking. David and I were first off the boat. We stopped by the nearby tourist center (just across the parking lot and to your left as you leave the terminal), grabbed a map of the historic walled city and were off. We walked past the old wooden Colonia train station down a road towards the main gate to the old city a short distance beyond. Crossing over a footbridge and through the gate, we were soon in the large main cobblestoned plaza flanked by colonial buildings. Palm trees, flowering plants and orange trees heavy with fruit adorned the area. Vendors had set up tables offering trinkets and souvenirs. Guitar music played and a scattering of people enjoyed the sunshine in cafes that dotted the left side of the plaza that leads to the iconic lighthouse.
Historic Colonia is small and easy to walk. The “must-sees” really aren’t and you could enjoy the town without climbing the lighthouse, going inside the colonial church or walking down cobbled Calle de los Suspiros (the Street of Sighs). We did visit the church (Iglesia Matriz) and check out Calle de los Suspiros, but we opted to skip the lighthouse other than to view it from outside.
Iglesia Matriz : The current church was built in 1810 on the site of Portuguese churches dating back to 1680. It is one of the oldest churches in Uruguay.
We enjoyed just roaming the streets, enjoying empanadas and cold local craft beers (gluten free by default) in a café, browsing the shops, and admiring the wide tree-line avenues just outside the historic center (Someone planted a lot of trees a long time ago and would be pleased to see how they’ve grown!)
In warmer weather and if the spirit moves you, I understand there are nice beaches nearby. There are also wineries to visit with tours on offer for those who want to spend more time in the area. I’m sure an enjoyable overnight in Colonia can be had, but we preferred to get back to Buenos Aires before dark and were very happy with our afternoon in Uruguay.
Practical info: Obviously passports are necessary to cross the border between Argentina and Uruguay, so don’t forget to bring those.
I bought tickets online just a day or so prior to our daytrip. I’d been checking and saw that the ferries were not full. This could change in the summer. Buquebus offers other destinations from Buenos Aires, including Montevideo.
Buquebus asks that travelers arrive 90 minutes prior to departure of their ferries. We did so, but had plenty of time to spare. We were there in September (roughly equivalent to March in the northern hemisphere), though, and I could imagine crowds being larger in the summer.
Since we were traveling Business Class, we avoided a long line of people waiting to board in Colonia, and were allowed on the ferry as soon as we arrived (about an hour prior to departure). Passport control was quick and efficient (but again, we were traveling in September, not the height of summer).
Most places we visited took credit cards, but otherwise prefer Uruguayan pesos. Most would also take Argentine pesos and US dollars, but exchange rates might not be good. We didn’t change money given our short visit, but there was a currency exchange service on the Buquebus ferry.
We used Uber to get to Puerto Madero from our apartment in Recoleta. It was rush hour when we returned and no Ubers were available. There were taxis around the port, but we opted for a longish (40 min.) ramble back as it was a beautiful evening. Still, just a heads-up for anyone wanting to return during rush hour.
Basílica Nuestra Señora del Pilar and the weekend craft market
We kicked off three weeks in South America (mostly Argentina and Chile) in Buenos Aires. With my Spanish minor and years working with Spanish-speaking clients near the Mexican border decades in the past, my Spanish was beyond rusty. Years of living in France and focusing on French doesn’t help, so David and I spent the weeks before this trip watching Argentinian and Chilean movies and shows to try to revive our Spanish. (He’d studied Spanish some years ago, too.) I love the language and listening and reading was a big help, but wow are those accents different from the Mexican Spanish I learned! Still, it had been awhile since I was in a Spanish-speaking country and I was looking forward to the challenge. And I was really excited about Iguazu Falls and the farthest-flung reaches of this trip, Rapa Nui/ Easter Island(!!).
But back to Buenos Aires, a city I’d wanted to visit for ages: We arrived on a comfortable American Airlines business class flight from JFK at Buenos Aires’ big Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EXE) at 2:30pm. After reading lots of warnings about Buenos Aires taxis, I’d arranged for pick-up with Manuel, a driver recommended by our AirBnB hosts. I figured we’d be tired from the 11-hour flight and it would be nice to not worry about either scams or any potential problems with finding the apartment. (Note: I read too many warnings about Buenos Aires taxis to ignore.) There’s free wifi in the airport, but my T-Mobile international service was good as always and I was able to coordinate with Manuel on WhatsApp without problem. He was reliable and the price was right, so I used him 3 more times for airport transfers.
Settling In I knew I wanted to stay in Buenos Aires’ swank Recoleta neighborhood and jumped to book when I found an AirBnB with a balcony overlooking the famous Recoleta Cemetery across the street. If unfamiliar with Buenos Aires, it may sound odd to want a view of a cemetery, but this cemetery is a top site, really beautiful and located in the center of many of the Recoleta attractions. The one-bedroom apartment turned out to be easy to find, modern, in a nice building, and at a really great location. The only downside was the noise from restaurants/bars downstairs that blared music to the wee hours. Fortunately, I’d read reviews about the noise that all said the music couldn’t be heard in the bedroom. Happily, that was true and we slept well the five nights we spent there. Anyone trying to sleep on the pull-out couch in the living room would have a different experience!
Recoleta Cemetery viewed from our balcony
As soon as we’d gotten the keys from our host and settled in, we headed out to browse the nearby restaurants which lined the street in both directions from our building’s front door. We had lots of options and were charmed by one that perpetually had a couple dancing the tango on the wide sidewalk although we ultimately chose another whose friendly waitress beckoned us in.
With chores taking up our first day (see “Practical Info” below), we didn’t have time for much that afternoon, so I opted for a walk to El Ateneo Grand Splendid an amazing bookstore in a former theater. El Ateneo exceeded expectations and we loved browsing the books and just taking in the spectacular building. There’s a charming café on the old stage and multiple stories of books and music. I couldn’t resist a bilingual book of short stories. Passing a local brewpub on the way back to the apartment, David was intrigued so we stopped in to try our first Patagonia beers.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore
We spent a full day exploring Recoleta starting with the Basilica Nuestra Señora del Pilar then strolling the nearby parks to marvel at the immense ficus trees near the end of Avenue Alvear. The huge trees, some with trunks wider than the average car is long, are a big part of the lasting image I have of Buenos Aires. I posed for David as if holding up a branch larger than most normal tree trunks before coming across the iconic statue doing the same thing.
Beyond the green plaza parks, we crossed the wide painted footbridge to the steps of the classical law school and on to the giant steel flower known as the Floralis Genérica. Normally, the flower opens and closes with the sun, but it was undergoing repairs when we were there. It was actually kind of fascinating to see it open with workmen bustling over it like ants.
Floralis Genérica
The September weather was gorgeous if a bit chilly. After months of Texas heat, we relished the coolness so put off indoor things like museums and decided to reserve the walled-in cemetery for our last full day, too. Instead, we walked the length of Avenue Alvear to the French Embassy admiring the familiar French architecture of the neighborhood.
Buenos Aires is a nice walking city and we definitely kept our Fitbits busy logging steps. A sprawling crafts market opens on the weekends in the parks and plazas around the Basilíca de Nuestra Señora del Pilar next to the Recoleta Cemetery. Art, clothing, jewelry, knives, lots and lots of mate cups and bombillas, and more fills booth after booth. Homemade baked goods and more tempt visitors.
Speaking of mate (mah-tay) cups, we knew going in that yerba mate is the national drink of Argentina and very popular, but that still didn’t prepare us for just how popular it is. We saw people with mate cups and metal bombilla straws everywhere, usually with a thermos of hot water tucked under their arm. The cups themselves can be really beautiful, made of tooled leather, gourds, ceramic and more sometimes with special stands. Looking like a cup full of dried lawn clippings, it’s a bitter drink and definitely an acquired taste.
Knives, mate cups and bombillas, leather goods and more
You could spend hours in the Recoleta Cemetery, admiring the architecture of the elaborate tombs and drawn in by the details of lives lived and gone. I was particularly curious about the large tomb visible from our apartment window. It was a bit of a let-down to realize it was the final resting place of a banker, not some famous personality. The tombs themselves can be fascinating if sometimes macabre with coffins visible through often dirty and cracked glass or the rusting filigree of an old iron door. I’ve always been a fan of historic cemeteries and this one reminded me of those beautiful Paris cemeteries I know so well.
En route to the impressive Teatro Colón opera house in the San Nicolás area, we checked out a small food market drawing lines of locals. The opera house itself was lacking lights when we arrive due to an electrical problem so we continued on the Plaza Lavalle park behind it to admire yet another enormous tree and the beautiful Templo Libertad synagogue. We got our worst meal in Buenos Aires at nearby Le Petit Colón. At least the friendly and apologetic waitress made no excuses for the inedible chicken, comped our lunch and offered espressos on the house. Hopefully, our experience was a fluke because it really is a pretty location.
We spent our last afternoon in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (National Fine Arts Museum) across from the law school. It’s a lovely building with a nice collection of art and is free on Sundays.
We broke up our first five nights in Buenos Aires with a daytrip to Colonia, Uruguay, which I’ll write about in another post. Walking back from the port gave us a chance to explore the high-rise business side of Buenos Aires around Puerto Madero and then more far-flung reaches of Recoleta.
We also spent three nights in a gorgeous jungle lodge in Puerto Iguazú in order to visit both the Brazilian and Argentinian side of Iguazu Falls. That will be the subject of future post, too. I scheduled a one-night stay when we returned to Buenos Aires from Puerto Iguazú to hedge against any delay causing us to miss our onward flight to Santiago, Chile. Wanting to experience another part of Buenos Aires, I booked us into a boutique hotel in the lively Palermo Hollywood neighborhood. Arriving before lunch, we had an afternoon to wander on foot, try a local craft beer bar and stroll the lush Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays. Rendez-Vous Hotel Buenos Aires turned out to be just what I had in mind. Our corner room with arched windows on two sides felt both quaint and elegant and was quiet despite the road outside. It was an easy ride to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP), the smaller regional airport, for our flight to Santiago.
Practical Info ATM Hassles: After a tasty “promo” meal of chicken and mushrooms and a craft beer at Bartola on our first afternoon, we spent some frustrating time with the local ATM’s. Our attempts to get several hundred dollars worth of pesos were rejected repeatedly (and not by our bank), with instructions to choose a lower and lower amount. And the fees are outrageous. At one point, a machine wanted to limit our withdrawal to approximately $50 with a $13 banking fee and a poor exchange rate! We soon learned this is common throughout Argentina and Chile. Happily, our bank refunds the ATM fees, but we were stuck with the exchange rate. Credit cards are accepted most places, but we needed cash for some things I’d planned and I’d read not to count on ATM’s in Puerto Iguazú to have cash. Eventually, we made the best deal possible and headed to a grocery store.
Groceries: I’ll give a quick shout-out to the nice Disco grocery store on Ave. Pres. Manuel Quintana. It’s fairly large and very modern with a great selection of wine and a bakery area with a selection of empanadas among the usual grocery store fare. A particularly kind and helpful lady at self-checkout, in particular, had us coming back to this store.
Recoleta Cemeteryis open daily, 8am to 6pm. Free guided tours in Spanish take place at 11am and 2pm Tuesday to Friday, and at 11am and 3pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Entrance costs and you can pick up a map to do a self-guided tour. Entrance for foreigners is 16,100 Argentine pesos (about $11.36 USD).
Restaurants:We enjoyed some good restaurants in Buenos Aires, but our favorite was the classically traditional Fervor for steaks and Argentinian wine. With its aproned waiters, black-and-white tiled floor, dark paneling and red leather banquettes, it felt much like being back in Paris. Its two-story, open-at-the-center layout even echoed my old neighborhood favorite Café du Commerce. And those steaks! The food was delicious and perfectly cooked, the service excellent.
Other Buenos Aires restaurants that stick in my mind are José Luis for a seafood break from ubiquitous Argentinian beef and La Querencia for casual, home-style local cuisine.
Safety: All in all, we enjoyed our time in Buenos Aires and felt safe in both neighborhoods we stayed in. I’ve read plenty of warnings about crime and places to avoid in most South American cities, including Buenos Aires. I have no doubt the warnings should be taken seriously, and we did. We also drove past some really wretched slums just minutes away from luxurious hotels and shops. The city is a mixed bag, but we had no concerns while sticking to nicer areas during populated hours.
