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Buenos Aires
Photo: Martin Morrell
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First-time visitors tend to associate Buenos Aires with tango, steak, and wine—that trifecta of local passions—but the Argentine capital’s French buildings, Italian food, and Spanish nightlife also tell the story of a city with one foot in Latin America and the other in Europe. Beyond the “Paris-of-South-America” clichés, this is a city of world-class art, exceptional cuisine, and internationally acclaimed design. After a 2001 crisis battered the nation’s economy and the value of its currency, B.A. became one of the world’s few high-gloss/low-cost travel destinations; the resulting influx of visitors and expats transformed the city, in some ways arguably saving it from an even worse downturn. In recent months, however, acute inflation has confounded the country’s once-robust recovery. The days of Buenos Aires as a bastion of bargains have passed—at least for now—yet its physical and cultural charms have never been more evident.
Don't Miss
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Wandering among the Art Deco and Art Nouveau mausoleums that fill the stunning Recoleta Cemetery—especially in the early morning (it opens at 7 a.m.), when no one’s there except for the cats and the women who feed them.
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A late-afternoon stroll through Palermo Chico, the exclusive neighborhood of French-style mansions that house embassies, TV celebrities, and the merely wealthy. Finish with a stop at the Floralis Genérica, a giant metal flower sculpture in the United Nations Plaza that opens and closes with the sun.
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Staying up late. Dinner starts at 9:30 p.m. at the earliest, and nightlife begins at midnight. You’ll have a lot more fun if you pretend you’re a Porteño (as locals are known) for at least one evening.
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Tourist resources for Buenos Aires
The Web site for Buenos Aires’s English language daily newspaper, www.buenosairesherald.com, is a good start on the pressing issues of the day. (A full, paper version is available on newsstands.) T... More
Taxis in Buenos Aires
Subways close down around 11 p.m., so after dinner you’ll need to hail a cab. A glowing red “LIBRE” sign on the windshield means a cab is available; many locals will take cabs only with “Radio Taxi... More
Buses in Buenos Aires
The city’s above-ground transport system might look a mess—more than 200 crisscrossing bus lines, each with its own color and design, owned by a handful of competing companies, often with overlappi... More
Getting Around Buenos Aires
If you’re staying in the city, it’s simply a bad idea to rent a car—Argentine drivers are largely immune to stop signs, lane markers, or speed limits, and the number of one-way streets (and strikin... More
Bus travel to and from Buenos Aires
The train service in Argentina is abysmal, but the in-country buses are spacious, inexpensive, and clean, with bedlike seats. Most buses leave from the cavernous Retiro bus station near Plaza San M... More