Libreria Ateneo Grand Splendid
The Ateneo bookstore is one of the most beautiful places in the City. A highly recommended walk for book lovers.
The famous magazine National Geographic considered the Ateneo Grand Splendid Bookstore as the "prettiest in the world". It was also chosen by the British newspaper The Guardian, as the second most beautiful bookstore in the world (the first is a bookstore in the Dutch city of Maastricht).
The Ateneo is a very traditional bookstore chain in Buenos Aires. In 2000, the company rented the Grand Splendid theater (it was closed) and after restoration they opened as a large branch.
Currently it is the most beautiful bookstore in the city, with a wide range of books, with reading areas, a cafeteria and a space dedicated to children's books.
The Ateneo Grand Splendid is the bookstore with the greatest quantity and variety of books in Buenos Aires, has more than 120 thousand titles. The bookstore is visited by more than 3 thousand people a day and sells more than 700 thousand books a year. Over time it became a tourist attraction in the City.
The bookstore preserves the ancient splendor of the theater, with the dome decorated with frescoes, the original railings, the decoration intact and the curtain on the stage.
People can sit in comfortable chairs to read any book without obligation to purchase. In the area that was the stage there is now the bar and café with different tables and a piano that is used at certain times of the day to accompany the reading with music. Reading sectors also operate in the boxes.
In the basement there is a sector dedicated to children's books. And the upper floor is dedicated to samples and exhibitions.
History of the Grand Splendid Theater
The Grand Splendid Theater was built in 1919 by Max Glucksman. It had four rows of boxes and a stall for 500 people. Great tango personalities Carlos Gardel, Ignacio Corsini and Roberto Firpo (who dedicated the tango Gran Splendid to him in 1927) paraded through the theater.
Inside, the dome was painted by Nazareno Orlandi. And it is an allegorical representation of Peace, painted in 1919 with a celebration for the end of the First World War. Peace is represented by a sensual female figure next to a staircase surrounded by flowers. It also has garlands of flowers and clouds that the cruel war has left behind and doves, angels and nymphs surround the figure of La Paz.
How to get to the Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore
Colectivos (Buses) : 10, 12, 37, 39, 101, 108, 124, 132, 150, 152.
Subway Line D: Callao Station (walk 4 blocks).
📍Location: 1860 Santa Fe Av., Caba
👉Phone Number: (54 9 11 ) 4813-6052
⏰ Hours: Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays and holidays from 12 to 9 p.m.
