Travel Insider.
IN THE heart of Plaza de las Naciones Unidas, on one of Buenos Aires’ major thoroughfares, Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, stands a flower the height of a seven-storey building. Its enormous petals, made of gleaming stainless steel, are designed to unfurl during the day and fold up at night. “But it doesn’t always work that way,” says local Dan Korngold. “Sometimes the flower remains closed during the day and sometimes it’s wide open at night.” Shrugging, he adds, “You can never predict it.” That’s pretty much the gist of Buenos Aires. The sultry Argentine capital serves up surprises at every turn. Plan to spend a day strolling wide boulevards flanked by Spanish Baroque architecture and instead you’ll stumble upon neighbourhoods with narrow cobblestoned lanes and houses painted in vivid blues, flaming yellows and searing reds. Soak up the quiet on leafy suburban streets by day then watch them spring to life at night at a speakeasy tucked behind a sushi joint, say, or one where you need a password to enter. Find the ultimate parrilla (traditional Argentine grill), only to have someone tip you off about the city’s restaurantes a puertas cerradas (closed-door restaurants) – private residences where renowned chefs entertain locals. It’s kind of like turning up at Heston Blumenthal’s home for dinner. The unpredictability can be intoxicating and challenging in equal measure. In a pulsating metropolis where few people speak English, how do you unravel its secrets? Well, like that flower – a sculpture by late Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano – Buenos Aires will eventually open its heart. You just need to know where to look.