NEIGHBORHOODS > RECOLETA

Recoleta

The neighborhood’s name derives from the Convent of the Recollet Fathers, originally from France and members of the Franciscan Order, who settled in the area at the beginning of the 18th century, founding a convent and a church dedicated to Our Lady of Pilar, as well as a cemetery on an adjacent plot.

At the beginning of the 1870s’- much like neighboring Retiro – the area saw an influx of wealthy families who, due to the yellow fever epidemic, were fleeing the San Telmo neighborhood were they had resided for centuries. Mansions and palaces in the French Beaux Arts style sprouted throughout the neighborhood, garnering Buenos Aires the nickname of the “Paris of America”.

The neighborhood’s most visited place of interest is its cemetery, designed by the Frenchman Prosper Catelin and inaugurated in 1822. It houses the remains of many illustrious Argentinians and most presidents, including Nicolás Avellaneda, Bartolomé Mitre, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, and Carlos Pellegrini, to name a few. Today the cemetery is the place with the highest density of sculptures in the world. Still, the most notable feature remains the ebullient nightlife displayed just across, on Presidente Ortiz Street, home to many internationally renowened restaurants and clubs.

Recoleta also stands out for its large cultural spaces and historical monuments, among them the National Museum of Fine Arts, the National Library, and the Recoleta Cultural Center.

Although much of Recoleta is built up, the neighborhood is peppered with squares and parks. The area has remained one of the most elegant in the city, housing family mansions, embassies, prestigious hotels, as well as high-end new developments.

Notables