Known locally as Puerto Nuevo or “New Port”, the Port of Buenos Aires is located in the city’s Retiro neighbourhood and serves as Argentina’s main maritime port. It is operated by the Administración General de Puertos and lies alongside the historic Puerto Madero barrio.
More than 10 million metric tonnes of cargo are shipped from the Port of Buenos Aires every year, together with ferry services to the Uruguayan cities of Colonia del Sacramento and Montevideo. There are also passenger services to the popular weekend destination of Tigre which lies to the north of Buenos Aires, while international cruise ships dock at the newly-built Benito Quinquela Martín Terminal. The old port area of Puerto Madero lies adjacent, and its red brick warehouses have been transformed into upmarket loft apartments, hotels, office space and restaurants, while the leafy walking trails and lagoons of the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur lie to the east. Bustling scenes of the port and its workers were a favourite subject of the renowned Argentine painter, Benito Quinquela Martín, who was born and lived in the nearby La Boca neighbourhood.
The Port of Buenos Aires lies a short walk across Plaza San Martin from the Retiro-Mitre Station, a major railway terminus in the city. It also has its own subway station which connects with El Centro to the south and neighbourhoods across the city.
Although Buenos Aires was founded as a port in 1580 by Captain Juan de Garay, it wasn’t until the late 19th century that a modern port was built, known as Puerto Madero. By 1907 it became insufficient to meet growing demands, and work commenced on the Puerto Nuevo. When it was inaugurated in 1925, it was the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.