On the south side of Buenos Aires at the estuary of the Riachuelo river and built by early settlers from Genoa in Italy, La Boca is probably the best known barrio in the city. Famous for its football club Boca Juniors and as the birthplace of the tango, it’s the neighborhood not to miss when you travel to Buenos Aires.
La Boca’s cultural and touristic heart beats on the few blocks around Caminito. This small street on the waterfront has managed to preserve some of its original houses with their different bright colors for almost every wall. This tradition dates back to the dockworkers bringing back left over ship paint from the shipyards they worked at to use on their walls, normally not being enough to paint the entire house in one color.
Soccer fans can not leave La Boca without walking a few blocks more towards La Bombonera, the stadium of the most popular team in Argentina and Diego Maradona’s former club. Though you can try to visit a match on game days, the stadium and its museum are open on all other days of the week as well for a guided tour on the history of the club.
Lezama Park to the north of the Bombonera is believed by historians to be the landing site of Pedro de Mendoza during the first settling of Buenos Aires in 1536. The former Lezama family mansion in the park is now the Argentine National Museum of History and well worth the visit. On Avenida Almirante Brown that runs alongside the park, the Ave Tango cultural center has the Flor de Milonga tango lessons on Tuesday night, followed by an evening of showing your newly learned moves on the dance floor.
Foodies lastly will have to pass by 64 Caffarena street to visit El Obrero restaurant. This bodegon serves authentic Buenos Aires or “Porteño” food in a decor that has basically been unchanged since it first opened in 1954.
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