True story. On a Saturday, we decided to walk from busy Plaza de Mayo to our hotel, Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center. We started north on Calle San Martin, which looked like the shortest route. Soon we noticed that no stores or offices were open and the only people on the street appeared to be vagrants. Uneasy, we began walking faster. Coming across Galerias Pacifico, we entered the comfort and safety of a major shopping mall (see my review, “One of Buenos Aires’ nicest”). Later, we exited onto Calle Florida, not Calle San Martin, and — viola! — shops galore and people everywhere.
What a difference a block makes!
You can find just about everything in the stores along this pedestrians-only shopping street or among the vendors on the street itself. (Except what we were looking for, a woman’s swimsuit, but we did finally find two stores that had them.)
What I’ll remember most, though, is the money-changers. You can’t walk 10 steps without someone shouting “Cambio!” at you.