Walks in Buenos Aires - The Sidewalks

The city of Buenos Aires is a beautiful place to take long walks. The architecture variety that you will see around is outstanding. It is a very dynamic city, with traffic, and movement all around. You will notice that properties next to each other may or not have anything to do in terms of style with the properties right next to them. This happens because they might have been built in a different era... or just under different architectural designs.

Fruit shop in Abasto neighborhood

Buenos Aires does not have many restrictions in terms of architecture styles. Although the city restrictions have got tighter over the past decades, they still allow 'magic' to appear, and of course what has been built already stays. You will see 20-floor buildings next to one-story houses, different trees in any size, houses reconverted into stores, or restaurants, etc. The famous La Casa Minima is a good example of this diversity. Being only 2.5m wide and 13m deep it is the narrowest property in Buenos Aires. It is said that it used to belong to a slave who bought the property when freed in 1813.

La casa minima

The sidewalks in the city reveal this same variety, since it is almost impossible to find one block that has the same tiles all across the sidewalk. If you find one, please let me know.

Many sidewalks have quite a bumpy terrain. This is normally the product of big tree roots making their way into the sidewalk floor. Some roots even stick out in some parts, generating obstacles  This is one of the reasons behind the appearance of many loose tiles, which will squirt dirty water when you step on them. Be careful!

Also, depending on the time of the year, the sidewalks will be covered by different leaves, flowers, seeds and fuits. When spring starts in September/October a great part of the city gets covered with purple jacaranda flowers. It's really beautiful and my favorite time of the year.

Jacaranda flowers everywhere

Dog poop is another adversity that you may randomly find in the streets. Many Buenos Aires neighborhoods are recognized by the great amount of dogs per capita that they have. Palermo, Belgrano, La Boca, San Telmo and Caballito are among these. Even though there is an increasing number of dog owners collecting their dog poop, you will still find poop around... and you might step on it. It is not a huge deal, and some say it actually means good luck. So good luck!

152 bus stop in Nuñez - Atitude

Since some neighborhoods are more prone to floods when heavy rains occur, their sidewalks were built about 3ft / 1 meter above the street level. This of course would prevent water from overflowing sewers and street currents to get into the properties. If you walk around the neighborhoods of La Boca and Barracas you will notice these interesting tall sidewalks right away. In some cases, since the drainage infrastructure has been improved over time, some parts of these tall sidewalks were removed. Hence, high and low sidewalk parts coincide within the same block. It is quite impressive to see these areas, as you notice how the new and the old coexist with a few steps in between. This photo with a friendly dog will give you an idea of what I am talking about.

Elevated sidewalk - Barracas neighborhood