San Isidro

San Isidro is the most attractive of the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires, built on a low bluff above the river where colonial families kept country houses and later the British community settled, leaving behind rugby and rowing clubs, tea rooms and large gardens. Its centre is the Plaza Mitre, faced by the neo-Gothic cathedral completed in 1898, whose brick spire is visible for miles, with a weekend craft fair on the square and cobbled streets running downhill toward the water past nineteenth-century houses. The Quinta Pueyrredón, a colonial estate turned museum, sits among old trees nearby, and a riverside walk with parks and boat clubs runs along the coast toward Tigre.

What you actually see

• The neo-Gothic cathedral - the brick spire above Plaza Mitre.
• The colonial streets - cobbles and old houses running down to the river.
• Quinta Pueyrredón - the historic estate house and its grounds.
• The riverside walk - parks, clubs and views over the Plata.

When to go

Year-round; spring and autumn are ideal, and the weekend craft fair on the plaza is when the centre is liveliest. Summer afternoons are hot but the riverside is breezy. Museums close on some Mondays.

Honest expectations

This is a wealthy residential suburb rather than a sight-heavy destination, and the pleasure is walking rather than visiting. Restaurant prices are high. Most travellers combine it with Tigre rather than making a separate trip.

Nearby

Tigre and its delta lie north; central Buenos Aires is south along the coast.