Parts of it have a European feel with cute little cafes, French food, museums, world class artwork, a multitude of beautiful city parks and wide tree lined avenues.
The reason for the Parisian influence is because in 1870 yellow fever ravaged Buenos Aries and killed about 10% of the local population.
The extremely wealthy citizens of Buenos Aires then moved north of the city where it didn't flood and mosquitoes didn't flourish.
At the time, the land was mostly farms and summer homes, which meant that whole new neighbourhoods (Recoleta, Retiro and Barrio Norte) could be built from scratch for these very wealthy citizens.
To provide a bit of background, this was a time when Argentina was one of the wealthiest countries in the world and the elite were "UBER RICH".
Where did their money come from? The land between Buenos Aires and the mountains is incredibly fertile. The third most fertile land in the world, which meant agriculture was very lucrative.
Adding to that, in 1856 new chilled ships were able to take agricultural goods, mostly beef, to the huge European market. This made Argentina one of the wealthiest countries in the world at the time.
These incredibly wealthy elites looked to Europe for design inspiration for their new neighbourhoods.
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So in the late 1800's and early 1900's these magnificent mansions were built to replicate Europe's most prestigious city at the time, Paris.
The homes were status symbols and ways to show off their wealth and power.
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So then what happened? Markets crashed in the 1930's, shortly after these incredible homes were built. Wealthy families lost their fortunes. Most of their mansions were sold or demolished.
Remaining mansions have become government buildings, embassies or hotels.
For some reason, I'm feeling very Parisian and think I might need to do a little shopping.
Fortunately, I only have one suitcase, which is already stuffed.
I guess I will have to make do with what I have. Siiiiigh.
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