With 20.1 bookstores per 100,000 population, Buenos Aires is a haven for literature fans. People read on the subway, at cafes, and on park benches. And, despite the rise of digital formats, print books continue to be relevant and cherished. So, if you are planning to visit Buenos Aires and are a keen reader, you must visit these bookstores.

With its cobbled streets, wrought iron balconies, and eclectic architecture, San Telmo is Buenos Aires’ oldest and most historic neighborhood. And, although it is the smallest one with an area of half a square mile, it is packed with fascinating local history and culture.

Imagine spending days, even weeks, in the vast plains with only your horse and your loyal dog for company. Herding cattle during the day, sipping mate next to the campfire at night. The need for human interaction will be met at the nearest pulpería, although near and far are relative terms in the Argentinean Pampas. Deliver the cattle to the port first or take it to a distant pasture and only then you can relax and stock up on staples. These taverns known as pulperías were one-story constructions with clay brick walls and a roof made of wood and tin. In rural establishments, the pulpero -- proprietor -- stood behind a wide wooden counter protected by iron bars, well beyond the reach of sharp knives in the event of a fight. There was no need for that kind of protection in urban pulperías. The third type was the itinerant taverns, or pulperías volantes. These consisted of huge wagons that crisscrossed the [...]

When Buenos Aires became the capital of Argentina in 1880, the mayor, Torcuato de Alvear, decided to modernize the city in order to leave its Spanish colonial past behind. People of his generation and social class – the upper crust— venerated European powerhouses like England and France and looked down on the local criollo culture, the mix of Spanish and indigenous cultures.

The reddish-pink ramparts around the Marrakech medina enclose a thousand years of history. The Almoravids, a confederation of Berber tribes, conquered North Africa and Muslim Spain in the 11th and 12th centuries and established Marrakech as their capital. The new city became a thriving political and economic center, as well as a multicultural and multiethnic crossroads.