2022
As part of our advocacy, #OneAccessibility, we will share information about differently able and profile one location with accessible trails. Look out every week for this enlightening post.
The city of Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina. Literally meaning “good airs”, it’s also described by some “the Paris of the south”, “the city of many passions”, or “the city of books”. it’s a place you can always find many diverse things to do. You can choose whether to explore its historically rich areas, check out its various museums, tour famous football stadiums, visit events that celebrate different cultures, and more.
Thankfully since Argentina signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities accessibility has really taken into account when it comes to new public infrastructure, but there are still popular and/or touristic areas and places that not everyone can enjoy because of its lack of accessibility.
Although many of these non-accessible places are so because of the architecture style when they were constructed centuries ago, there are some modern buildings, like museums, that simply didn’t take accessibility into account as they were planned.
Besides accessible trails, places like cultural centers and museums in the city have incorporated hearing loops in some of its areas, which is an assistive listening technology for people with reduced ranges of hearing that wear hearing aids. Audio descriptions in videos are also shown in many places, and there are employees that know sign language in some.
Tactile maps of areas of the city are available in Tourist Assistance Centers, as well as in some museums, along with information in braille.
Guided tours for people with disabilities are also offered in some museums.
Here are some of the most popular accessible places you can visit while on the city of Buenos Aires, divided by neighborhoods:
San Nicolás
It’s often called microcentro. It is the home of some of the most known spots in the city, and also where many offices are located and where everyone is going during morning rush-hour.
Some of the well-known accessible places in this area include:
- The Obelisk. Very few people get the chance to actually enter and see the city from the top, but the streets and photo points surrounding it are accessible so everyone can take selfies with it.
- The Colón Theater. One of the ten best opera houses in the world. It offers guided visits for people with disabilities, hearing loops, and has an accessible entrance, seating, and bathrooms.
- The Kirchner Cultural Center. It has public rooms and areas where music, expositions, and more are always being showcased. It offers guided visits for people with disabilities, hearing loops, has an accessible entrance, areas, and bathrooms.
You can check more places in my list Accessible tourism in Microcentro.
The Historical center
Really close to microcentro, it’s where the Spanish settled in the 1500s. One of the accessible places in this area is Plaza de Mayo, May Square. Surrounding it are the most antique places in the city. Some of them are:
- The Casa Rosada, the Pink House. A construction that joined the old post house and presidential headquarters, and where is now the Government House. It can be accessed with tours sometimes. It offers guided visits for people with disabilities, has an accessible entrance, areas, and bathrooms. It also has a museum that has an accessible entrance, areas, and bathrooms. And there are also employees that know sign language.
- The Cabildo. Where the council administration gathered in the 1500s, it has been remodeled many times. It has an accessible entrance and bathrooms and it’s partly accessible, as the upper floors can only be accessed using stairs.
You can find more places in my list Accessible historical tourism in BA.
La Boca
“The Mouth" in English, where many immigrants that came from the Italian city of Genoa in the 19th century settled.
Unfortunately the most popular area of La Boca isn’t accessible: Caminito. Literally meaning “little path”, is a street with many colourful buildings where the immigrants lived, but it’s cobbled so wheelchair-bound people would find it hard to roam on their own.
Despite that, the area still has some accessible interesting places to visit, including the Stadium of Boca Juniors. Boca Juniors is the club Maradona once played for. It’s also known for the wild crowd. It’s completely accessible.
You can see more of the accessible spots in my list Accessible tourism in La Boca.
Recoleta
One of my favorite areas, it’s very green and spacious.
Here are some of it’s accessible places:
- The Recoleta Cemetery. One of the most visited places in the city. You can see the incredible graves of people who belonged to the most rich families of Argentina, or had important titles. The grave of Eva Perón is the most popular one.
- The National Museum of Fine Arts. It permanently showcases more than two thousand pieces of art, from many different times. It is completely accessible, including accessible bathrooms, offers guided visits for people with disabilities, and has employees that understand sign language.
- The National Library Mariano Moreno. The most valuable library of Latin America. Even though the ramp at the entrance is too steep, it's accessible inside and has accessible bathrooms. There also are guided visits for people with disabilities.
- The Recoleta Cultural Center. My favorite place, it has great áreas and interesting exhibits. It has accessible entrance and bathrooms, and most of its areas are accessible, with few exceptions. It offers guided visits for people with disabilities, and has hearing loops.
For more accessible places in the area, here’s my list: Accessible tourism in Recoleta.
Puerto Madero
Definitely one of the most popular areas for tourists. There is a riverfront that’s kind of hard to get to in a wheelchair in one of the sides, but the east riverfront is perfectly accessible. It has different kinds of businesses and a natural reserve.
The landmark of the area, which is also an important landmark of the city, is accessible: Woman’s Bridge
These are some other accessible places in Puerto Madero:
- The South Coast Ecological Reserve. A protected natural reserve. It's fully accessible and has hearing loops in some areas.
- The Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Art Collection. A completely accessible art collection that also offers guided visits for people with disabilities.
And in this list you can check out more of them: Accessible tourism in Puerto Madero
If you want to know more about Puerto Madero’s Accessibility, including businesses, you can check out the recap of our accessibility meet up there: Accessible Puerto Madero.
Palermo
A neighbourhood so big, it’s comprised of smaller ones 🙂
I organized my first accessibility meet-up in one of them, Palermo Soho.
These are only a few of the many accessible places in this area:
- The Japanese Garden. It proudly lets every visitor know just how accessible it is. Its areas are completely accessible, including bathrooms, parking, and restaurant. It also offers guided visits for people with disabilities.
- The Planetarium Galileo Galilei. It is completely accessible, offers guided visits for people with disabilities, has hearing loops, and employees that understand sign language. Truly inclusive education.
- The Botanical Garden Carlos Thays. Beautiful, and with more than six thousand species, a botanics library, a collection of statues and, many, many more great areas. It's completely accessible.
The rest of the accessible places are on my list Accessible tourism in Palermo.
Belgrano
A mostly residential and comercial area, that mixes modern buildings with antique houses. Here are some of the interesting and accessible places to go:
- Barrio Chino. Our chinatown, although the name literally means Chinese Neighbourhood. Its streets are accessible, and some businesses too.
- River Plate Museum. The museum of Boca Juniors biggest rival, whose Stadium was mentioned earlier. This museum is accessible, but lacks accessible bathrooms. It offers guided visits for people with disabilities, has information in braille, and has employees that know sign language.
You can check out more accessible places on my list Accessible tourism in Belgrano.
You can get to Buenos Aires by the Ezeiza International Airport, or the Jorge Newbery Airport if you come from another place in Argentina. Both of these are accessible, with elevators and adapted bathrooms.
Another option, if you’re coming from Uruguay, is to get by ferry. It will drop you off at Buquebus, which is completely accessible.
From every spot, including the airports, you can choose to take public transportation, as most buses are accessible. Although the subway doesn’t get you everywhere, most stations are accessible too, just make sure to check first.
You can also move around the touristic spots in the city with the hop on hop off City Sightseeing Bus, which is accessible for wheelchair users.
And if you’re wondering where to eat while you visit, here are some recommendations: 9 Great Accessible Restaurants in Buenos Aires.
Thank you for reading!
If you have any question, suggestion or contribution, feel free to comment below.
Read last week's round up here.
#CityChallenge
Wow what a informative post is it, now anybody who wants to visit Buenos Aires, specially a person with different abilities, he/she can access any place easily by reading your post. A great use of Google maps lists,Really impressive.
Muchas Gracias and Shukriya 🙏 for your wonderful feature @Jesi .
You are a fantastic team member #OneAccessibilityalliance .
