Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood

Palermo is the largest district of Buenos Aires, and its two most famous sub-neighbourhoods, Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood, are where the modern city goes to shop, eat and stay out late. Both grew out of Palermo Viejo, an old residential area of low houses, many of them the long, narrow casas chorizo built around side patios, on quiet streets shaded by plane trees and jacarandas. From the 1990s artists, designers and restaurateurs began moving in, and the area was transformed. Palermo Soho, south of the railway line, centres on Plaza Serrano, officially Plaza Julio Cortázar, a small square ringed with bars and cafés where a design and crafts fair spills across the square and nearby spaces on weekends. Its surrounding streets, such as Honduras, El Salvador, Gurruchaga and Armenia, are lined with independent fashion labels, design shops, bookshops, concept stores and ice-cream parlours, with colourful murals and street art on many walls. Jorge Luis Borges spent part of his childhood in the area, and the street where his family lived is now named after him. Palermo Hollywood, across the tracks to the north, took its name from the film and television studios and production companies that settled there, and it has become the city's restaurant capital: celebrated parrillas, modern Argentine tasting menus, natural wine bars, specialty coffee roasters and speakeasy cocktail bars, many of them in converted houses with patios and roof terraces. The district stays busy late into the night, in the porteño way, with dinner rarely starting before nine and bars filling after midnight.

How to explore: Palermo is best on foot. Start in the afternoon around Plaza Serrano, when the shops open and the neighbourhood comes to life, and wander the grid of streets without too much of a plan, stopping for coffee or ice cream along the way. On weekends, the design fair around the square and its nearby spaces adds stalls of crafts, jewellery and clothing. Then cross the railway into Palermo Hollywood for an aperitif and dinner. The area is also a good base for street-art spotting, and guided street-art and food walks are offered by local operators if you want context.

Eating well: this is the place to try a great parrilla, the Argentine steakhouse, with the provoleta, morcilla and chorizo to start, a cut such as ojo de bife or entraña, and a bottle of Malbec. Popular restaurants fill quickly, especially from Thursday to Saturday, so book ahead for dinner, or go early by local standards, at around eight, when tables are easier to find. Lunch menus offer the best value. For a more casual evening, the neighbourhood has plenty of pizzerias, empanada spots and wine bars.

Practicalities: the area is safe and busy by day and evening, but keep phones and bags close on crowded streets and at outdoor tables, where snatch theft can happen. The Subte line D stops at Plaza Italia and other stations nearby, and taxis and app rides are easy to find. Palermo Soho and Hollywood sit between the Palermo parks and the rest of the city, so they combine naturally with MALBA, the Museo Evita, the Rosedal and the Japanese Garden in a long Palermo day.