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Buenos Aires, Argentina > Buenos Aires attractions > Bosques de Palermo Bosques de PalermoLibertador (@ Sarmiento)
 One of many family-oriented activities to be had in the midst of the great parks of Palermo is the rental paddle boats, bikes and carts. Photo by Greg Roden The park is not only an attraction in itself, but contains many of the popular visitor sites in Buenos Aires like the Rosedal, the Galilieo Galilei Planetarium, the Eduardo Sívori Plastic Arts Museum, and is only a stone’s throw away from Plaza Italia, the Japanese Garden, Zoo, and the Botanical Gardens. Designed with the help of prominent French landscape designer Carlos Thays, the park was first inaugurated in 1875 and has since provided porteños a place to exercise, relax, picnic, and play for over a century. As the “Central Park” of Buenos Aires, the Bosques de Palermo (Palermo Woods) encompasses an impressive 198 acres on the northwest side of the city. Besides expansive green lawns dotted with everything from pine trees to palms, the park contains two manmade lakes, sculptures, rose gardens, and both running and biking paths, enclosing much of the Parque 3 de Febrero, the largest individual park within the Palermo Woods. Named in commemoration of President Sarmiento’s defeat of a rival general on February 3, 1852, the park is a lot more than just a place to relax in the sun. Visitors here can rent rollerblades for $5AR for a half hour, or paddle and pedal boats on the lake for $10AR per half hour. Cart bikes are also available for a romantic ride for two or the entire family. Park-goers can also go for horse drawn carriage rides around the entire Palermo parks area. The activities do not stop there; check out free aerobic dance classes on the plaza along Av. Sarmiento on the weekends, or rent ping-pong and tennis equipment for $10AR per half hour. Bring a basketball to play on the courts or get in on a street game of hockey. For a more individual pace, check out the exercise equipment, like the pull-up bars, along the running path around the park. And for something completely, ask your taxi driver on a Friday or Saturday night to go through the park on a “paseo por la Zona Roja.” After sundown and well into the later part of the night, Parque 3 de Febrero turns into the Red Light District of Buenos Aires with an impressive display of the city’s transvestites (not recommended for the little ones). —Bosques de Palermo review by Jennifer Roglà
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