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• National Arms Museum - Museo de las Armas

https://wander-argentina.com/the-national-arms-museum/

Gun-Ho! — The National Arms Museum (Museo de las Armas)

Streetside view of the Buenos Aires National Arms Museum

The National Arms Museum of Buenos Aires displays one of the largest arms collections in all of South America.

The military museum located in the neo-Renaissance style Palacio Paz is stocked with over 2,000 weapons and artifacts ranging from ancient armor to pistols to canons.

A project started in 1904 under Argentine president Julio Roca and Minister of War Pablo Ricchieri, the Museo de las Armas de la Nación Teniente General Pablo Riccheri, overlooks Plaza San Martín near the center of Buenos Aires.

The historic landmark building is an ornate example of the Renaissance-inspired architecture that gives the Retiro neighborhood its European flavor.

The sprawling 18-room mansion, originally known as ‘Palacio Paz,’ was built for the Paz family, founders of La Prensa newspaper.

In 1938, the society of ex-military officers, Círculo Militar, purchased the building.

Inside the Arms Museum
Canons on display at the National Arms Museum
From the richly decorated swords of 12th century noblemen to the advanced assault rifles of today, the objects featured in this museum reveal the nation’s history through its iconic leaders, difficult battles and military technological advances.

Chain mail as seen in the National Arms Museum of Argentina
Two imposing engraved suits of armor guard the entrance into the first room of the exhibition where visitors are introduced to relics from various countries including ancient crossbows, shields, breastplates and chain mail.

A room named after José de San Martín, everyone’s favorite Argentine hero credited with liberating Argentina from the Spanish, features historical firearms dating to the settlement of Buenos Aires in 1536.

An exhibition dedicated to the Falklands/Malvinas War displays the uniforms, equipment, and weapons used during the bitter conflict over the sovereignty of the islands, such as the Argentine manufactured light automatic rifle as well as model fighters and cruisers lost during the war.

A room dedicated to Asian weaponry is dominated by figures of soldiers clothed in elaborate ceremonial armor wielding Samurai swords.

This part of the collection includes weapons from Southeast Asia, China, Turkey, Persia and India.

Fancy Guns, Toy Soldiers & Equine Gasmasks
A display of a costume-made horse gasmask from the Argentina Arms Museum

History majors and war buffs will enjoy the ‘Hall of Arts,’ dedicated to battle artifacts and the decorated guns of Argentina’s past presidents.

The younger crowd will enjoy the miniature toy soldier exhibition of various military uniforms throughout history.

Another curiosity are the custom-designed horse gas masks.

Beyond the Artifacts – Tours & Courses
Guided tours are available upon request as are annual courses on topics such as, ‘History and Technical Evolution of Weapons.’

Visit the Círculo Militar website for more details.

— by Valerie Sarron

—> those who are interested in military stuff should miss the changing of the guards at the Casa Rosada, Cabildo and Casa Rosada in the Plaza de Mayo.

Also don’t miss the Casa Rosada Museum in the old fort beneath the Government House.

The National Arms Museum —$
Santa Fe 702
Retiro
Tel: 4311-1071/79 –ext. 179

• Hours: Monday to Friday from 1:00-7:00 p.m.
• Entrance Fee: AR -$

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• Neighborhoods - Almagro

From: Rick Jones, May 11, 2007

Re:  I have a friend in that is leaving this week and we wanted to go somewhere Sunday other than Tigre, La Boca, San Telmo, or Recoleta.  Does anyone have any ideas?

I just spent the better part of the day walking around Almagro, and had an absolute blast.  I was sorry when it started getting dark and I had to call it quits.

The boundaries are listed here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almagro%2C_Buenos_Aires 

Enjoy. Rick Jones

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• Neighborhoods / Differences / Likes-Dislikes

From: diana, July 11, 2007

I'm new in this group. Want to say something about where to live in  Bs As. There's lot of places in BA where to enjoy peace and trees and you  are really near from abasto and the subway. I live in a big house whith a big yard full of plants, and a terrace  where I make asados and my children can play and enjoy the swimming  pool, and I really enjoy the silent nights and afternoons under the  big trees, it is a "barrio", and in ten mintutes or so you can be in  Abasto, there's no polution, and no noise of colectivos, you have to  check it out. There is another world here in BA than Palermo and San Telmo and  Recoleta, and is Cheap!!!

From: Justin Martindale

Re: Everyone says to stay in the Recoleta, Barrio Norte, Palermo, or Belgrano.  I am attracted to Abasto, since there is so much Tango, and the Azucar Abasto for salsa, and the Abasto Shopping, and Corrientes Street seems fun. But I am told it is not safe at night.

 The area around Abasto isn't dangerous; it is a little tacky however. I live 10 blocks from Plaza Miserere (Once) in Barrio Balvanera and I never feel like I'm in any danger at whatever time of day or night. An upside of the area is that it is about half as expensive to buy into or rent than Recoleta, Norte, Palermo, etc.  Come to BsAs and check it all out and if you feel comfortable there, live there. Live where you want.  Americans tend to live around each other and Americans live in Palermo, Recoleta, Norte, etc. Buenos Aires as a whole is not nearly as dangerous as any big city in California.

From: Benjamin J. Schwartz, September 03, 2006

Like you say, San Telmo, Recoleta and Palermo are all obvious choices. You won't be far from convenience in any of these neighborhoods, however, Palermo does leave some people feeling a bit distant from the center. I wouldn't live there for that reason. But that's just my opinion. 

San Telmo looks a bit like Khao San Road in Bangkok at times with the backpackers muddling about with 30 kilo packs on their backs and stomachs.  I wonder sometimes just what it is they need so badly for a trip to South America. But I digress. I too stayed in San Telmo when I first arrived.  It's a charming and very convenient and inexpensive place to live. Thus many newcomers are attracted to it. For me after a couple of months the novelty wore off and I got tired of seeing every English-speaking visitor in  town walking past my apartment with a copy of Lonely Planet in their hands.  When I first arrived, San Telmo reminded me a little bit of the Mission in San Francisco. It has a little edge, and is somewhat dilapidated, but has a  pretty cool bohemian thing going on with Argentines and foreigners alike.  There are artists, musicians, poets, writers, and film-makers all carving  out a happy little life in this old neighborhood. 

Palermo reminded me a little bit like a post-bohemian yuppified version of The West Village in New York. Lots of very tidy little shops and streets, with cozy cafes, restaurants and affluence all around you. Nothing particularly downtrodden about this part of town. A lot of Argentine actors and famous people hang-out here to see and be seen. Definitely there is a scene here, but it kind of seems a bit contrived to me, and if I may say so,  Hollywoody. That said, a person could certainly enjoy passing a few months in Palermo. And it's such a huge neighbourhood it's kind of unfair of me to paint it with one big brush, because in fact every little corner: Plaza  Guemes, Plaza Serrano, Palermo Chico, Palermo Nuevo, Las Canitas, and  Palermo Hollywood all have their own distinct feel. 

Recoleta is the older, monied set, and to some extent a pretty thriving gay community in the Santa Fe/Callao area. Recoleta and Retiro certainly have some very nice locations and few people would regret staying in them. They are close to the center, and offer every neighbourhood convenience you might  be looking for. I guess to continue my US City comparison I would say Recoleta in some places reminds me a little of the Upper East Side in New  York, but on a munch smaller, and less grandiose scale. There are some dazzling tree-lined streets, but they aren't really the majority in my opinion. 

The guidebooks seem unable to suggest anything beyond these three locations,  but there are lots more options. Almagro will give you a nice, 'real' and economical portrait of the city. But you might miss the glitz of the other addresses. Some people thing Belgrano is a paradise of coffee shops, plazas, shopping, museums and restaurants. Others say it is too far from the center, overly hygienic and boring. Still others think Microcenter is the place to be. I think Congreso and Montserrat are very nice and economical, but potentially noisy places to stay.  I hope this helps a little.  Cheers, Benjamin  www.schwartztravelbuenosaires.com /  info@schwartztravelbuenosaires.com

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• Neighborhoods / Locations / Map finder

From: Eric Northam, June 11, 2009

Here's a post on neighborhoods in Buenos Aires with a clickable Google map of the 48 official neighborhoods.

http://www.moveglobally.com/blog/2009-06-buenos-aires-neighborhood-guides-beyond-san-telmo-recoleta-palermo/

A very cool interactive map with links to other things about neighborhoods.

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• Networking / Starting a Business in Buenos Aires

From: Richard Wilen, January 24, 2007

Re:  Are there any events or organizations that you can recommend that would be great for meeting people involved in business?

try www.escapetoargentina.com 

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• Noise in the City - Some humor (although true!)

From BANewComers: Rick Jones August 18, 2005

The choice of what neighborhood you stay in is nowhere near as important as the choice of what room you stay in.  You do not, under any circumstances, want a room that faces the street.  For Buenos Aires is among the noisiest cities in the Milky Way galaxy, principally because of the street noise.

There is an urban myth that eskimos have 23 different words for snow.  The portenos must have at least that many different words for street noise.  For instance...

-The sound of a taxi driving without his lights at night beeping before he runs you over is different from the sound of a taxi beeping to indicate he has absolutely no intention of stopping for a stop sign.

-The sound of a dozen motorbikes without mufflers delivering food on your block late at night is different from the sound of an equal number of cars without mufflers idling outside in the morning rush hour.

-The sound of two busses drag racing each other down a street in the early morning hours is different from the sound of a bus stepping on the gas to make it though a light that turned red three seconds ago.  


(By the way, busses play an interesting part in Argentine philosophy.  A essay question that first-year  philosophy students in Buenos Aires are frequently asked to consider is, "If a dozen busses roar by a bedroom window at three o'clock in the morning and no one is there to be woken up, do they still make a sound loud enough to awaken the dead?")

You have undoubtedly heard that there are more psychoanalysts per capita in Buenos Aires than anywhere else in the world.  What is often not mentioned is that this is because the entire population is slowly going mad from sleep deprivation due to the street noise. This is also why portenos eat dinner so late...no one can sleep, so they just go out to eat.

That aside, it's a great city.  I go there often, and even recently bought an apartment there.  I just make sure that wherever it is I (try to) sleep, it is as far away from the street as is physically possible.  (And I have been known to sleep with both earplugs and Bose noise-cancelling headphones on.)

Cheers,

Rick Jones

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• Non-Alcoholic Wine and/or Beer

From: Justin Martindale, September 03, 2006

There is a brand called Liberty which is better tasting than O'Doul's or Sharps in the US, but it doesn't match up to Clausthauler or some of the other European brands. You can buy Liberty in most grocery stores and La Madelaine serves it (Avenida Santa Fe and Callao.).

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• Notary office for documents generated in Argentina - Administerio de Relaciones

From: Peter J. Macay, November 15, 2009

To verify a document that was generated in Argentina, you go to a public notary's office, Administerio de Relaciones, Arenales 800 (a very ugly government building that looks like a prison).  You don't need an apostille on a document generated in Argentina, you just need to get it notarized locally.  Apostille's are for international documents that are generated somewhere else.

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