Caminito and La Boca

The Old Port Barrio Of La Boca And Its Painted Street, Caminito, Laid Out As An Open Air Museum By The Painter Benito Quinquela Martin In 1959 · Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires

La Boca is the old port neighbourhood at the mouth of the Riachuelo, where Genoese and other European immigrants lived in houses built of corrugated iron and ship timber, painted with whatever paint was left over from the boats. Caminito, a short pedestrian lane of those houses, was turned into an open-air museum in 1959 by the painter Benito Quinquela Martin, and it is now the most photographed street in Argentina: bright tin facades, balconies with painted figures, tango dancers performing for tips and souvenir stalls. Around it are the things that make the barrio more than a set: the Bombonera, the steep-sided stadium of Boca Juniors, one of the most intense football grounds in the world, with its club museum; the Quinquela Martin museum of port paintings; and Fundacion Proa, a serious contemporary art space on the waterfront. It is also a poor neighbourhood, and a few blocks outside the tourist streets it is not safe for visitors, especially after dark. Seen in daylight, it takes two or three hours and is worth them.

Caminito, La Boca, Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires, C1169, Argentina

The painted streets are busiest from late morning to late afternoon and are best visited in daylight only. Museums close on Mondays or keep short hours on some days; confirm. On Boca Juniors match days the whole barrio fills around the stadium and traffic stops.

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