Veronica grew up in Buenos Aires and we lived there together for a year and a half before coming to the U.S.
To help friends and family traveling there, we’ve been working on this guide to Buenos Aires and greater Argentina for some time now. We figured that it’s time to broadly share this to the world at large. So here it is. Enjoy!
READ FULL GUIDE: The Ultimate Guide to Buenos Aires
I recommend you Google all of these places for exact addresses. I tried to include reliable websites too. Let us know if you have any questions and we hope you enjoy Buenos Aires! 🙂
Best neighborhoods to stay at (in our humble opinion):
- Palermo Soho —-> more touristy and active (lots of restaurants, cafes, bars)
- Recoleta —> older demographic live here, upscale, not as active as Palermo Soho
Must visit destinations:
- Obelisco (obelisk) at the intersection of Corrientes and 9 de Julio Avenues downtown (micro centro). https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/atractivo/obelisco
- Corrientes Avenue has lots of theaters, shop, restaurants, bars. One of the main avenues in the city https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/atractivo/calle-corrientes
- Teatro Colon: it’s considered one of the best opera/tango theaters in the world. They have tours (they have them in English and Spanish, from Monday-Sunday, starting every 15 min. You need to reserve on their website) http://www.teatrocolon.org.ar/en/content/guided-tours https://bit.ly/2EKtqP0
- Casa Rosada and Plaza de Mayo (our White House) they offer tours, but not sure if they offer them in English. Make sure you go during the day, as it is not the best area at night. https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/atractivo/plaza-de-mayo https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/atractivo/casa-de-gobierno-casa-rosada
- Metropolitan Cathedral: In the Cathedral is the Mausoleum of San Martin, who freed Argentina, Peru and Chile. Make sure you go during the day too. https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/atractivo/catedral-metropolitana
- Avenida de Mayo: historic buildings, cafes and beautiful architecture. Check out Cafe Tortoni (historical cafe) and Palacio Barolo, but there’s a lot more! Check the link below. https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/en/article/thirteen-stops-make-avenida-de-mayo
- Congress: Make sure you go during the day too. https://bit.ly/2TJNz06
- Plaza Francia (in Recoleta) on weekends there’s a huge artisan fair (very touristy and pricey) https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/recorrido/recoleta
- Recoleta cemetery – Evita and many other important figures of Argentina are buried here. Beautiful tombs, and is one of the best cemeteries of the world. They have tours in English. http://www.cementeriorecoleta.com.ar/
- Centro Cultural Recoleta: located right next to the cemetery. They have art, photography and other nice exhibits. https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/atractivo/centro-cultural-recoleta
- Floralis Generica and Law School (across Plaza Francia) https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/atractivo/floralis-generica https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/atractivo/facultad-de-derecho
- Biblioteca Nacional (in Recoleta) https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/atractivo/biblioteca-nacional
- Palermo and Palermo Soho
- Neighborhood Guides
- La Boca neighborhood (go on a Saturday or Sunday, otherwise you’ll miss the action) there’s a fair, tango dancers, parrillas and local food. Make sure you go during the day, not too safe at night. During the day is fine though. https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/recorrido/la-boca-0
- San Telmo neighborhood: historic neighborhood. Beautiful architecture and there’s a farmers market on the weekends and also a fair. You will find all kinds of antiques, art and artists. Truly beautiful. Start at Plaza Dorrego, the epicenter of the action. Go during the day.
- Puerto Madero neighborhood: the newest and most modern neighborhood. Check out Puente de la Mujer (Women’s Bridge). Great restaurants of all kinds but keep in mind they are pricey.
- Retiro train station and plaza San Martin: its architecture is truly a masterpiece. Make sure you go during the day. It’s better to go during the day. Keep an eye on your bags as there are cases of pickpocketing in this area
- Tango – Milongas: tango is a huge part of our culture and identity. Milongas are the places where people go to dance tango. There’s usually a live band and you can watch people dance. Some men might ask you to dance, just politely say “no” and they will leave 🙂
- La Viruta – https://lavirutatangoclub.com/shows/
- La Catedral del Tango – https://www.facebook.com/catedral.tango/