El Ateneo Bookstore - Buenos Aires, Argentina Travel Guide

One of the grandest bookstores of the world.

Location
Recoleta neighborhood

Address
Santa Fe 1865
Recoleta

Phone/Contact Info
+54 11 4811 6104

I bet your neighborhood bookstore does not look anything like the one I am about to show you. This is El Ateneo, a massive bookstore located on Avenida, Santa Fe. What is unique about this bookstore is that it occupies a former theater. This magnificent building was called the Grand Splended Theater, it was built in the early nineteen hundreds. Many famous tango singers performed here, and the first movie theater with sound in Buenos Aires was here.

In December 2000, the theater was converted into El Ateneo bookstore. This building was declared the cultural Patromonia Buenos Aires and it still conserves it grand ambiance. In the dome there is a mirror by Orlandi which celebrates the end of the first world war. The majority of the books are in Spanish, but there is an English session with popular novels and classical works, as well as, many English books scattered through out the bookstore. Our books can be enjoyed in any language.

On the second floor you can find classical and jazz music, and down at the basement you can find popular music and children's books. If you want to sit and read here, you could come to the cafe which used to be the stage or sit at one of the balconies. There are several El Ateneo bookstores, this one is located in the Grand Theater on Avenue da Santa Fe. I am Veronica de Aboitiz showing you Buenos Aires.