In part I of my barrio guide, we looked at the trendier neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. Here’s a look at some of the less well known and less touristy parts of town.

Las Canitas is a small yet fashionable quarter tucked between Belgrano and Palermo (bordering Avenida Luis Maria Campos and Avenida del Libertador). Polo fields and a bevy of restaurants buffet the de facto neighborhood. The gastronomical scene here is well known to Portenos and savvy expats alike.

San Telmo is the classic old Buenos Aires barrio. It’s got low-slung, elegantly decayed buildings, and a faintly precarious air. Parts can be dodgy, but that hasn’t stopped the tourists from flocking in. The warren-like cobbled streets are reminiscent of Europe and there’s a distinctly bohemian-punk yet melancholy, feel to the place. Moody Tango bars, art galleries, pubs and hostels populate the barrio. It’s where you go to feel like a nonconformist, an artist or an original.  Highlights include the Sunday feria, Plaza Dorrego, La Puerta Roja and Amerika.

Puerto Madero is a new addition to Buenos Aires. Located by the docks, this neighborhood was once a cargo terminal. Today it is quickly becoming one of the city’s poshest districts, with American style cafes and clean, wide lanes. Towering glass apartment complexes loom over the boardwalk lined sandwich vendors and the ecological reserve. Despite big name architects like Phillipe Starck and a steady injection of foreign cash, the area still is sparsely populated. It has yet parallel the style and verve of the other neighborhoods.

Belgrano lies to the north of Palermo and was once the nation’s capital, albeit for a matter weeks. The neighborhood is densely populated and can be divided into four districts: Belgrano R, Belgrano C, central Belgrano and Bajo Belgrano. Avenida Cabildo, a heavily commercialized thoroughfare runs through the heart of Belgrano. Belgrano R is a leafy residential area, with large, detached homes; here you’ll find wealthier Argentines and expatriates. Belgrano C plays host to Buenos Aires’ Chinatown or what some refer to as China street, as in actuality, it’s a small strip lined with Asian stores and restaurants.

Downtown and Microcentro: The downtown area of Buenos Aires is split into el Centro and el Microcentro. These are comprised of the neighborhoods of San Nicolas and Montserrat. Much of the city’s financial sector is located here, as are many national government buildings. This area is dense and crowded with narrow, bustling streets and distinctive buildings. Attractions include Plaza de Mayo, the Casa Rosada, Florida Street and the Obelisk on Avenida Julio de 9.

The Up and Coming ‘hoods

Almagro: This is a busy yet friendly neighborhood. Filled with trees, Almagro is a place for families. There are several parks nearby and don’t forget to check out the classic café Las Violetas.

Villa Crespo: Real estate agents have taken the liberty of branding this barrio Palermo Queens, in hopes of attracting a trendier clientele. The neighborhood, according to the inmobiliarios, is delineated by Avenidas Cordoba and Corrientes to the south, with Thames and Julian Alvarez streets marking the eastern and western boundaries. The area is unassuming and lined with narrow ‘chorizo’ style houses which extend back from their slight facades. You can find dozens of outlet stores west of Cordoba and leather shops on Murillo. Villa Crespo is home to a number of hip, puerta cerrada bars and restaurants (e.g. Club Silencio), giving the barrio a considerable cool cache amongst those in the know.

Boedo, with its greying brick buildings and narrow streets, is a somewhat scruffier affair than its more gentrified compatriots San Telmo and Palermo. However, if you’re looking for that bohemian air, Boedo’s got it. Formerly a hothouse for Tango, the neighborhood is experiencing an artistic revival, with low-key bars and underground restaurants percolating through the barrio’s more grubby parts.

The Most Popular Neighborhoods

When you hear mention of Barrio Norte, it’s in reference to a somewhat amorphous area comprising parts of Recoleta, Palermo, Balvanera and Retiro. Barrio Norte, as the name suggests, is located in the northern reach of the city, and centers around Santa Fe Avenue. In and of itself it’s not an actual barrio, but rather a catchall term for the more affluent, middle class part of the city spanning from Palermo to Plaza San Martin.

Recoleta

Buenos Aires is often called the Paris of Latin America and it is in the well-heeled, jacaranda-lined neighborhood of Recoleta that this cliché rings most true. Recoleta’s streets present a striking scene with belle époque apartment buildings housing ritzy boutiques, cafes and art galleries. It is in this neighborhood where you’ll find Evita Peron interred amongst the Art Deco and Modernist styled mausoleums at the Cementerio de la Recoleta. Recoleta is also home to the ultra-chic Alvear Palace Hotel and the Four Seasons. Comparisons to New York’s Fifth Avenue are apt. Recoleta is nothing if not polished, elegant and exclusive; of course, it is one of the more expensive places to live in the city. Points of interest include the beautifully fin de siècle French ice palace or the Palais de Glace, the Buenos Aires Design Center snug alongside Recoleta’s cultural center, La Biela Bar, a classic Porteno bar, the National Library, and the Museum of Fine Arts.

Palermo

Palermo, a rambling and leafy neighborhood, with large parks and narrow running tracks, is often touted as being a hothouse of all that is trendy and cool.  As the largest neighborhood in Buenos Aires, it has been subdivided into several distinctive enclaves: Palermo Chico, Palermo Soho, Palermo Hollywood, Palermo Viejo, and Palermo Freud.

Palermo Freud, (aka Palermo Sensible or Guadalupe, or simply Alto), is so named for the high concentration of psychoanalysts and psychiatrists in the area. This part of Palermo incorporates the trendy shopping mall Alto Palermo, and runs along Avenida Santa Fe, a main transportation route and commercial center. Plaza Guemes on Boulevard Charcas, a pedestrian street lined with cafes, is at the heart of Palermo Freud.

Palermo Viejo runs from Avenida Santa Fe south to Avenida Cordoba and continues east to Colonel Diaz. Many of the buildings have been recycled, their Spanish style facades renewed with more modern touches. The area has a large Armenian population; communities from Poland, Lebanon and Ukraine are also present. An Armenian cultural center hosts dinners each Friday, and you can find a string of falafel joints and Arab confiterias on Scalabrini Ortiz.

Palermo Chico is elegant, but also seriously upmarket. Skirting avenida Figueroa Alcorta and San Martin de Tours, this terrain is home to the famous and the wealthy—e.g. mayor Mauricio Macri and TV personality Susana Gimenez. Palermo Chico is also where you’ll find a slew of embassies, all housed in meticulously kept mansions.

Palermo Soho is the area surrounding Plaza Serrano aka Plazoleta Cortazar, in the neighborhood’s southwestern corner.  It’s a recently gentrified district, with glamorous and eclectic boutiques, émigré bars, designer shoes, an ecstatic nightlife, and a hip, boho edge. While the moniker and the glitz might give you the impression that Palermo Soho is very commodified, the breezy, warm-hearted élan of the residents, the presence of cracked facades and old world style homes sitting in dilapidated repose lend Soho its charm.

North of the railroad tracks at Juan B. Justo and skirting Cordoba and Dorrego, Palermo Hollywood, so called for its numerous production studios, is best known for its happening night life. The zone is filled with trendy clubs, ethnic restaurants, cafes and discos.