Florida Street

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Florida Street today
Historical photo with horse-drawn carriages

The Florida Street (in German: Florida Street) is an elegant shopping street in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires . Sections of it have been a pedestrian zone since 1913.

description

Calle Florida begins as a continuation of Calle Perú on Avenida Rivadavia , crosses Calle Lavalle, the street of the movie theaters, and ends at Plaza General San Martín in the Retiro district . It is about 1000 meters long and runs in a north-south direction. The San Telmo district and the San Nicolás business center are within easy reach.

Florida Street is one of the main tourist attractions in Buenos Aires. Numerous retail stores and malls sell leather goods, jewelry, books, and souvenirs. Since the Argentina crisis , prices have become particularly attractive for foreign visitors.

From Monday to Friday, the street is popular with working people from the nearby financial district who spend their lunch break there or do some shopping after work. In the evening you can watch street performers there, including tango dancers and singers, " living statues " and comedians.

The most famous building on Florida Street is the Galerías Pacífico shopping center , which takes its name from the British company Ferrocarril Buenos Aires al Pacífico located in the building . This operated a railway line that connected Argentina with Chile and the Pacific Ocean .

The Di Tella Gallery on Florida Street was one of the focal points of the pop art scene in Buenos Aires in the 1960s and 70s . There are also numerous restaurants, cafés and tea salons in the street. However, with the restoration of Puerto Madero in the 1990s and increasing petty crime, Calle Florida lost its attractiveness for evening dining and other evening entertainment.

The writer Jorge Luis Borges lived for a while in the neighborhood of Calle Florida and liked to stroll through the deserted street in the early hours of the morning. He was also a sharp critic of the street remodeling in the 1970s. Since he was already blind then, he found the garbage cans, flower pots and newspaper kiosks to be unfamiliar obstacles. In his opinion, he was also influenced by the aesthetic feelings of his friends, who saw the new design as a break with tradition.

Transport links

The best way to get to the street is by subway . Five lines have stops near Florida Street. Many bus routes to the city center also stop in the area. The train station of Retiro , starting from the long-distance buses and three major rail lines, is located near the northern end of Florida Street. The Constitución train station can also be reached from Florida Street on the C subway line .

Individual evidence

  1. www.buenosaires.com History of Florida Street ( Memento of the original from July 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.buenosaires.com

Web links

Commons : Calle Florida  - collection of images, videos, and audio files


Coordinates: 34 ° 36 ′ 27.6 ″  S , 58 ° 22 ′ 29.9 ″  W.