The painted houses
In old ship's paint.
DerHexer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Werner Bayer — CC BY 2.0 · DerHexer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Eric Bousquet — CC BY-SA 3.0
Caminito, the little walkway, is a short lane in La Boca at the mouth of the Riachuelo, now an open-air museum of painted houses. In the 19th century it was the bed of a small stream, then a railway line; when the railway closed in 1954 it became a neglected dump, until the painter Benito Quinquela Martín, a son of the district, covered its walls in bright colours over the following years and set up a small stage there. The lane takes its name from a famous 1926 tango by the composer Juan de Dios Filiberto. La Boca's houses are built of corrugated iron and wooden planks, first put up for port workers, many of them Italian immigrants from Genoa, who painted them with leftover ship's paint. Today the lane is full of painters, street tango dancers, restaurants and shops. It is very touristy but lovely for photos. Visit by day and stay on the tourist streets around Caminito, as some nearby streets in La Boca are not safe; taking a taxi is best. The Boca Juniors stadium, La Bombonera, is close by.
In old ship's paint.
Dancers outside the cafés.
Boca Juniors' stadium nearby.
La Boca, south Buenos Aires
The Caminito tourist area is fairly safe by day, but nearby streets may not be, so arrive by taxi, stay within the tourist area and avoid the evening.