Recoleta: The Ultimate Guide
Recoleta is considered by many to be the most affluent neighborhood in Buenos Aires. It’s also home to big-name city attractions and a superb dining scene.
Recoleta sits just northeast of Buenos Aires’ city center, bordering Almagro, Palermo, and Retiro. It takes its name from the Monastery of the Recollect Fathers (Convento de Recoletos Descalzos), built in the early 1700s around the same time as the Basílica Nuestra Señora del Pilar. Back then, the area was isolated, quiet, and unaware of the changes that were on the horizon.
Life in Recoleta began to shift in the late 1800s, when a yellow fever outbreak (1871) pushed wealthier families to higher, healthier ground, with less affluent residents moving south. These ambitious newcomers occupied the area’s large estates, later subdividing the land and constructing the elegant, European-influenced homes and stately mansions that define the barrio now.
Over centuries, Recoleta has transformed into a hub of culture and sophistication. It’s synonymous with its well-heeled residents and chic avenues lined with stylish cafés, luxury hotels, and architectural treasures. Whether you’re into art or history, shopping or dining, it’s a must-visit stop on any Buenos Aires itinerary.
Things to See and Do
High on many Buenos Aires to-do lists is a visit to the emblematic Recoleta Cemetery. It’s a veritable city of the dead, where crypts, mausoleums, and statues rub shoulders around a network of cobbled lanes. Here you can walk among the resting places of everyone from former presidents and military generals to wealthy families and celebrities. The most coveted, albeit subtle, of them all is the crypt of Eva “Evita” Perón. Next door, the Basílica Nuestra Señora del Pilar impresses with its baroque altars and religious art.