Caminito

Caminito is a curving pedestrian street of a hundred and fifty metres in La Boca, the old port district settled by Genoese immigrants who built houses of corrugated iron and painted them with leftover ship's paint, which is why the block is a patchwork of blue, yellow, red and green. Abandoned when the rail line closed, it was reclaimed in the 1950s by the painter Benito Quinquela Martín, who turned it into an open-air museum of murals, sculpture and colour and gave it the name of a tango. Today it is intensely touristic: tango dancers pose for tips, restaurants have touts, and stalls sell souvenirs, but the colours, the tenement architecture and the nearby Quinquela Martín museum still repay a visit.

What you actually see

• The painted houses - corrugated iron tenements in patchwork colour.
• The street art - murals, reliefs and sculptures along the walk.
• The tango dancers - performers working the street for tips and photos.
• The Quinquela Martín museum - the painter's collection nearby.

When to go

Year-round in daylight hours, ideally mid-morning before the biggest crowds. The area is best avoided after dark and away from the tourist blocks, which is standard local advice rather than alarmism.

Honest expectations

Caminito is small, crowded and heavily commercial, and prices in the surrounding restaurants are inflated. Photographs with dancers are expected to be paid for. The wider La Boca neighbourhood requires the usual city-centre caution.

Nearby

La Bombonera stadium is a few blocks away; San Telmo lies north.