Parks and Plazas Abound in Buenos Aires

By Roy Heale

One of the beautiful aspects of Buenos Aires is the numerous parks and plazas that allow for outdoor enjoyment and relaxation.

The lush park Barrancas de Belgrano was designed by the famous French-Argentine landscape and park architect Carlos Thays, who designed many open spaces in the city. It spans several city blocks and is overlooked by highrise apartment buildings. The same neighborhood had an ancient eighteenth century Franciscan chapel close to where now stands a City Government building. Currently a memorial plaque marks the place where the chapel was located.

 

Las Barrancas de Belgrano is located on the slopes of the old river banks which, until the early nineteenth century, delineated the River Plate when it was in flood.

With mature trees and grassy slopes, the Plaza has over sixty species of trees and plants including ombúes, palms, magnolias, paradise, lime, oak, honeysuckle, coral trees, banana trees, and more. It also has laneways built with nineteenth century cobblestones, benches for resting, a playground for children, tables for playing board games. Many people meet there for various exercise routines including gymnastics, Tai Chi, and aerobics. Among the sculptures is an exact scale replica of the Statue of Liberty, produced by the same creator of the statue of the same name in New York---Frenchman Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. It also has a large bandshell where neighbors gather to dance the tango, musicians perform, which hosts frequent music recitals on warm summer evenings.

 

For more about the green space options in Buenos Aires visit my application at:
 www.GPSmycity.com or search iTunes for Gpsmycity applications.