Palermo is without doubt the hippest part of Buenos Aires. Once it was a quiet residential neighborhood whose narrow cobblestone streets were lined with trees and low Spanish-style homes. But in the mid-1990s, artists, designers, architects and film producers took advantage of its affordability to set up shop. Today, it feels like every boutique is a former bakery, every hotel a former town house and every gallery a former garage.

Palermo is the city’s largest and greenest neighborhood and is subdivided into several smaller but distinct units. Palermo Chico, Palermo Viejo, which further subdivides into Palermo Soho, Palermo Hollywood, and Las Cañitas. With nearly 350 acres of parks, wooded areas, and lakes, designed by French landscape architect Charles Thays in 1874, Palermo provides a peaceful escape from the rush of downtown. Families flock here on weekends to picnic, suntan, bicycle, roller blade, and jog. The Polo field, where the most important polo matches in the world are held, and racetrack make this area the city's nerve centre for equestrian activities.

We recommend: Palermo Forest and Lakes, Botanical Garden, Galileo Galilei Planetarium, Japanese Garden, Buenos Aires Zoo and MALBA museum.