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Buenos Aires, Argentina > Buenos Aires attractions > Calle Florida | Florida Street Calle Florida | Florida StreetCalle Florida (between Avenida de Mayo and Plaza San Martín)
 A street performer gets caught in the wind to the bafflement and delight of passing shoppers. Photo by Clare Nisbet. When the giant South American cruise ship tours dock in nearby Puerto Madero, most tourists alighting head directly to Calle Florida. This is where the tourists of Buenos Aires come to shop for fur, leather, souvenirs, and whatever great deal they can get their hands on. A trip down the pedestrian-only street could take up a couple of hours, an entire day, or multiple trips depending on a person’s affinity for sideshow style street performance, battling for sidewalk space, and, of course, shopping. The strip begins at Avenida de Mayo just west of the Plaza de Mayo where the seemingly endless array of kioskos, retail stores, and street madness begins. In the evening, local artisanos gather here to sell their wares from blankets. As the walk continues the stores unfold in the many galerías leading off the street and major retailers like the department store Falabella hold fort. Shoppers can stop and rest at many of the cafes like Havanna or the famed Café Richmond. Anyone taking a stroll is likely to find street tango or some street performance on the corner of the other intersecting pedestrian street, Calle Lavalle. One of the most elegant buildings in the city is the Galerías Pacífico located farther down Florida on the corner of Avenida Córdoba, which is also home to the Centro Cultural Borges which hosts some of the best art (of all media) exhibitions in town. Those who make it this far through the hectic shopping, the insistent offers of “great deal on leather jacket”, and the tempting post-devaluation prices will be rewarded when they reach the Plaza San Martín designed by Carlos Thays of Jardín Botánico fame. Florida is hectic, frenzied, buzzing, and above all – fun. It is a retail therapy haven with something for everyone and a surprising home to some wonderful architecture so visitors should look up from their credit card receipt once in a while to take in the sights and sounds of the European influence in the city. —Calle Florida | Florida Street review by Clare Nisbet
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