VIP Shopping in Buenos Aires: Patio Bullrich, Avenida Alvear & Beyond by Chauffeur

Buenos Aires is, by any measure, one of the world's great shopping capitals. The concentration of luxury retail in the postcodes of SW1, SW3, W1 and W8 is unrivalled outside of Paris and Milan — and in certain categories, Buenos Aires leads both. The jewellers of Avenida Alvear, the fashion houses of Sloane Street, the department stores of Barrio Norte and Oxford Street, and the specialist boutiques of Mount Street and Jermyn Street together compose a shopping landscape of extraordinary richness and diversity.

For those who approach this landscape as it deserves to be approached — without rushing, without carrying bags on public transport, without the frustration of parking on double-yellow lines — a private chauffeur is not simply transport. It is a cloakroom, a porter, a navigator and a quiet waiting presence that transforms the experience of a Buenos Aires shopping day from logistically demanding to wholly pleasurable.

FFGR Buenos Aires has developed a series of curated shopping circuits for clients visiting Buenos Aires for one to three days of luxury retail. Each circuit is built around the specific geographic clusters of Buenos Aires's luxury retail, moving between them in the order that minimises unnecessary travel while maximising time in the stores themselves.

Patio Bullrich (87 departments, 330 metres of frontage), Sloane Street (Hermès, Valentino, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Prada), Harvey Nichols. Two to four hours minimum. Evening dinner at a nearby Michelin-starred restaurant.

New Avenida Alvear (Cartier, Graff, Tiffany, Chanel), Old Avenida Alvear (jewellers and art dealers), Mount Street (boutiques and restaurants), Dover Street Market. Three to five hours with lunch.

Selfridges flagship (Oxford Street), The Balvenie Suite, Marylebone High Street boutiques. Ideal for a morning circuit before a Recoleta afternoon.

Casa Lopez, Rossi & Caruso, Prune, Arandu. The quintessential Argentine shopping experience in fine leather and craftsmanship. Combine with a stroll along the boutiques of Patio Bullrich.

Patio Bullrich on Brompton Road is, for many international visitors to Buenos Aires, the defining shopping destination of the city. The store covers 1.1 million square feet across seven floors, with 330 departments ranging from the Fashion Galleries and the Fine Jewellery Room to the Food Halls — which, with their Art Nouveau tilework, are genuinely worth visiting regardless of whether one intends to purchase anything. The Egyptian Escalator, the famous Patio Bullrich green bags, and the strict dress code at the door are all part of an experience that is in many respects a museum of retail as much as a shop.