Shopping Overview

Fashion-obsessed porteños head to Avenida Alvear and Calle Quintana in La Recoleta for haute couture; Avenida Cabildo (from the 1600 block to the 2200 block) in Belgrano and Avenida Santa Fe (800 to 1500) in El Centro for ready-to-wear, vintage, and club clothing; Calle Florida, also in El Centro, for leather goods; and Avenida Córdoba (4400 to 5000) in Palermo for discount goods. Malls, galerías (arcades), and chain stores, many of them local, abound. So do boutiques and open-air markets.

Looking for handicrafts? Keep an eye out for traditional ponchos, mate kits, boleadoras (gaucho lassos), wood carvings, and alpaca products. Silver jewelry, Brazilian emeralds, and semiprecious Argentine rodocrosita, "rose of the Inca" stones -- which range in color from pink to red -- should also make your list.