Recoleta, one of Buenos Aires’s most elegant and wealthiest enclaves, has the look and feel of a traditional European city. A magnet for tourists and the well-heeled, the neighborhood, or barrio, is home to tree-lined boulevards, museums and galleries and French heritage-style buildings, which house some of the city’s most expensive homes.
Boundaries
Recoleta is by the River Plate, directly northeast of the city center. The district’s borders are Montevideo and Uruguay streets in the southeast; Córdoba Avenue to the south; Mario Bravo and Coronel Díaz streets, Las Heras Avenue and Tagle Street to the west; Saldias railway station to the north and the River Plate in the northeast.
Price range
The most affordable studio apartments start from US$200,000, according to Adriana Massa of Sotheby’s International Realty in Argentina. "A 538-square-foot one-bedroom apartment can cost between US$180,000 and US$350,000. The average price per square foot is US$260 but most apartments sell for between US$278 and US$464 per square foot," she said.
Alvear Avenue is considered one of the city’s best residential streets and home to the famous five-star Alvear Hotel and many elegant apartment buildings. Sotheby’s International Realty is selling a 2,583-square-foot two-bedroom apartment with parquet flooring and high ceilings on this street for US$1.38 million, or US$534 per square foot. Located opposite the Alvear Hotel, the traditional French-style building is considered to be one of the neighborhood’s best addresses, according to Ms. Massa.
The district’s stately mansions or townhouses typically start at US$3 million and can go up to US$15 million, according to Ms. Massa. "Properties in need of work tend to be cheaper but you will need to factor in renovation costs," she said.
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Previously owned by old-money families, these single-family homes are rare because many have been divided into upscale apartments or converted into foreign embassies and opulent hotels, according to Ms. Massa. "The Brazilian and French embassies, for example, were previously family homes," she said.
Carolina Dumais of ReMind Group, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate, added: "These houses can be as large as 21,500 square feet and have more than seven bedrooms."
Housing stock
Grand French and Italian-style apartment buildings and converted mansions, built in the late 19th century and early 20th century, dominate the area.
Townhouses are typically grand and French in style, with white stone facades and arched windows. Most have gardens but they tend to be small, and a few select properties include outdoor pools.
Apartments in traditional buildings often have original features such as wooden flooring, fireplaces and high ceilings, but they lack amenities, such as parking spaces.
New residential developments are springing up in the neighborhood, and they are increasingly offering deluxe amenities. Pavilion, a 12-story building on Marcelo T. de Alvear Street offering one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments, comes with a communal pool, multimedia room and entertaining space.
What makes it unique
Recoleta is historic, leafy, cosmopolitan, convenient. Everything you need is at your doorstep and the city center is a short walk away.
It also has a wealth of cultural attractions and landmarks that includes one of the city’s most famous sights, the Recoleta Cemetery. Made up of a maze of "streets" lined with marble mausoleums and statues, it is the resting place of many famous names, including Eva Peron.
The district is home to Recoleta Cultural Center, a 19th century convent-turned-venue that hosts exhibitions and cultural events, such as the Tango Festival, and includes a cinema and a large auditorium.
A church in the cultural centre in the Recoleta district in downtown.
EyesWideOpen / Getty ImagesThe city’s principal art gallery, the National Museum of Fine Arts of Argentina, is located on Museum Mile, which runs along Avenida del Libertador. Over the road lies Plaza Francia, a public park that hosts an artisan fair, and the National Library of the Argentine Republic, the country’s largest library, is a few blocks away.
Luxe amenities
"It has all the best hotels, traditional buildings and trendy and traditional restaurants, such as La Bourgogne at the Alvear Palace Hotel," said Ms. Massa. "There is also a high-end shopping mall known as the Patio Bullrich and some of the best shops in town. There’s everything from high-end shops, such as Hermes and Max Mara, to local well-regarded boutiques."
The most famous hotel of all is the Alvear Palace Hotel, a Belle Epoque-style building that, according to multiple reports, has hosted the likes of Al Pacino and Sophia Loren.
There is also the five-star Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt and the Four Seasons.
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As mentioned before, the Patio Bullrich shopping mall has almost 90 retail outlets, including designer brands such as Kenzo and Christian Dior.
One of the best fine dining spots in the district is Alvear Palace Hotel’s La Bourgogne, which serves French cuisine. Highlights also include the Four Seasons’s Elena, which has an Argentinian menu, and Fervor, a steak and seafood restaurant.
Casa Cavia, a hip concept shop and restaurant in a 1920s building, is a short walk away in the neighboring district of Palermo.
Who lives there?
Mostly professionals working in a huge range of sectors, including banking and diplomacy. The former president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner; the TV and film actress Graciela Borges; and the actor, comedian and theater director Antonio Gasalla are said to reside in the neighborhood.
Notable residents
The area was once home to one of Latin America's most famous writers, Jorge Luis Borges. The fiction writer and journalist Adolfo Bioy Casares and the poet and short fiction writer Silvina Ocampo also used to live in the neighborhood.
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Outlook
Argentina’s economy is still in the doldrums, but things have started to improve. The policies of the new president, Mauricio Macri, have brought some optimism, and confidence has started to return to the property market, according to local agents.
"The market was a lot more buoyant in 2016," said Ms. Dumais. "Activity levels are up and foreign buyers and investors are buying once again. The city is now seen as an attractive place to invest, as prices are still affordable but look likely to increase over the next few years."
"Developers are very active at the moment because buyers are returning to the market," added Ms. Massa. "Prices are stable but clients are more confident and more ready to invest. Sotheby’s is increasingly taking inquiries from foreign buyers."