[BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA]– I’ve stayed in Buenos Aires three times now, sometimes for nearly a week, other times just for a night or two on the way for some beach time in Jose Ignacio Uruguay or some exploring in Salta and Jujuy provinces of northwest Argentina. Here’s my overview of the best things to do Buenos Aires. What to do in Buenos Aires. Where to stay and eat in Buenos Aires. And all the cool things to do I could find.
Not everything under the sun, just the best things I’ve experienced and would recommend. I mostly omitted the typical stuff, except some of my favorite things to do.
Most people don’t have a visual in mind when you ask them about Buenos Aires. Many might conger up a typical big, congested, grungy poor Latin American city, like Sao Paulo, Lima or Quito or Bogota. Unless they’ve been there, they’d have no idea that Buenos Aires looks more like Paris, Milan or Madrid than Latin America.
So many Spanish and later Italian immigrants came here in the 18th & 19th centuries that the city resembles more where they came from than here. Big wide boulevards, great parks, beautiful ornate buildings with plaster and balconies. And a Western European order to the street pattens and neighborhoods rather than chock-a-block independent development.
Also, in the early days they hired many famous French architects to design most of its major buildings, which left Buenos Aires as one of the most beautiful cities in South America. Not dinging the other great cities, just pointing out what makes Buenos Aires so special.
I think that’s why I feel so much at home here.
So many beautiful neighborhoods, each with its own personality, depending on who settled there. With grand boulevards and a street grid that look more like they were designed by Baron Haussmann.
The first thing you should do is plan your Sunday around visiting the San Telmo antique markets. It is my favorite market in the world and my favorite stop each time I come to town. I always walk away with things to take home.
Taking over the San Telmo neighborhood on Sundays, the shops, streets, alleys and parks fill with vendors selling anything and everything. Mostly for cheap.
Don’t miss the San Telmo market day on Sundays. Build your vacation around it.
There are artists and street performers, musicians, booths, stores, snack stands and dedicated stores, all flinging open their doors on Sundays. The best part about it is you can stop at one of the many parrillas and have a nice long lunch for a break, then go shop some more.
Recoleta is the always-ritzy neighborhood on the northern side of the city. Some of the fanciest buildings, townhouses, shops and hotels are all located there. Just gorgeous architecture everywhere.
And, as every single guide will tell you, take a stroll through the Recoleta cemetery and see the abundant past that made Buenos Aires the capital of South America. Elaborate family crypts that look like miniature buildings, one family trying to outdo the other.
El Ateneo is always called one of, if not the prettiest bookstore in the world. I agree. Built inside an 19th century theater, with books lining the floors, balconies and basement. It’s a great place to escape the heat, or swing by after seeing the Teatro Colón on a hot sweaty day.
There’s even a cute little cafe on the former stage.
You can’t miss it, you’ll hear it first, everywhere. Tango music. Practiced in the streets, in bars and special dance halls, the lamenting sound of the tango accordion is the soundtrack of Buenos Aires, like Bossanova is to Brazil.
Palermo is my favorite area of Buenos Aires. Tree-lined streets with low-slung buildings, it’s very neighborhoody. This is where are the cool people hang out. Very hip shops, outdoor cafes, art galleries and a surprise on the other side of every wall.
There are actually three neighborhoods called Palermo: Palermo Soho, Palermo Hollywood and Palermo Viejo.
Palermo Hollywood got its name because that’s where a lot of Argentina’s television and film studies started. And Soho because of all the shops and cafes.
All tree-lined boulevards with low-slung buildings filled with cool houses, hip shops, great galleries and cafes and restaurants of every flavor under the sun.
This is where I’d want to live if/when I move to Buenos Aires.
If there were Olympic medals given out for dog-walkers, I think Argentina would take home the gold. Buenos Aires is such a dog-loving city with lots of hard-working people, almost every time you go out for a walk, you’ll pass some calm group of Good Boys silently panting by. Such a blast.
I still haven’t figured out how they pick up each dog to join the pack.
Porteños love a good cafe. A strong coffee and a medialuna 🥐 which is like a croissant, but tender-soft and buttery, not as flaky. They melt in your mouth. There are cafes and bakeries on every corner, some functional, some modern but seek out the classic institutions like Cafe Tortoni or Cafe Las Violetas for the best history lesson.
Cafe Tortoni has been in operation since 1858 in a gorgeous soaring room, with tuxedo-wearing waiters, tango music and hundreds of tables. Is it touristy? Yes. Is it authentic? Sí. You’ll see tourists in shorts and t-shirts and old ladies dressed to the nines, sipping on their cortaditos.
Porteños don’t really eat breakfast, but they love their baked goods and there are bakeries on every corner. Seek them out.
The best part of Cafe Tortoni is all the art lining the walls. A history of Buenos Aires in faded pictures, smoke-stained wallpaper, paintings and artifacts. A story every two feet.
On my first trip in 2005, the redevelopment of Puerto Madero was just kicking off. Once an abandoned bunch of dockyards and giant brick Victorian-era warehouses, the whole area was undergoing a massive transformation, led by the opening of the Faena Hotel and its entertainment.
At the time, the Faena and a handful of restaurants and Santiago Calatrava’s famous bridge were the big and only draws here, but it has been crazy to watch it blow up on each visit over the years, despite all the financial troubles over the last many years.
Many companies have built their headquarters towers and dozens of high-rise luxury condo builds stand huddled together, with views all across the city. It’s almost like the Docklands in London. Or Hafen City in Hamburg.
My favorite part about Puerto Madero is how they embrace the industrial past, way ahead of its time when they renovated it. Instead of tearing down the dock cranes, they dramatically lit them. Turning each crane into a work of art. Check it out at night, when it is most dramatic.
(photo from Wikipedia, see credit)
The world-famous Teatro Colón is something else. A masterpiece. Right up there with the best theaters of the world and perfectly preserved. It’s famous for its operas, concerts and ballets. The best part is you don’t have to go to a performance to see it, it’s a great place to duck into on a steamy or rainy day. You can book a tour in advance, they happen every couple of hours.
The acoustics are pitch-perfect, especially for such an old palace. You can stand in the middle and snap your fingers and someone can hear them across the room.
MALBA is the epicenter of modern art in Buenos Aires, it’s the MOMA of Buenos Aires. There are classics that are part of the permanent collection, but always a surprising new exhibition. I make a stop every time I come here and am always blown away.
La Boca has a crazy past and was the birthplace of sexy tango dancing. A rough and tumble, seedy and not seedy neighborhood — consider it the Naples of Buenos Aires — known for its colorful characters and buildings. The whole place is like a postcard rack.
Continuing my pursuit of visiting all the restaurants of my favorite chef, Francis Mallmann, one year, after an all-night flight, I had a five hour layover at the Buenos Aires airport on my way to the Salta region in wild northwest Argentina.
Instead of a boring long layover at the airport, I arranged to take a car into the city to have lunch at his famous restaurant Patagonia Sur in BA’s colorful La Boca neighborhood, then head back to the airport and continue my journey. Patagonia Sur is one of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires, if not one of the best restaurants in South America.
I asked my travel agent to make a reservation and when I got there, I pushed a doorbell with a bzzzzzz, they unlocked the door and let me in. There was no one there but the extremely nice waiter, who led me to my table.
After a while, I still noticed nobody else had come. I asked “Where is everybody? There’s no one else here.” and he replied: “We’re normally not open for lunch, but you had made a reservation so we opened up early for you.”
I asked “Where is everybody? There’s no one else here.” and he replied: “We’re normally not open for lunch, but you had made a reservation so we opened up early for you.”
I think that’s a perfect example of the extremely gracious hospitality I’ve found at Francis‘s other restaurants.
I had the best seat in the house to drink it all in. Sumptuous deep blood red curtains and a leather-colored stucco walls. A golden glow from the sun streaming in and the vintage light fixtures. My favorite: the Buenos Aires-perfect faded black and white tiles. This restaurant has been open for decades but still feels so fresh and perfect. I wish my house looked exactly like this. It’s more priced for foreigners than locals, but still a fantastic experience.
Here’s my other post I made about Patagonia Sur.
Sucre is one of my favorite places, I’ve been twice now. Sucre is totally hip, amazing food. Cranking music. Fun service. The lighting is so cool, almost like eating in silhouette. And it’s one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants of Latin America for years in a row. Here’s the Michelin review of Sucre.
I’ve eaten at Cabaña Las Lilas in Puerto Madero a couple of times, but I don’t have any photos. It’s a big place with lots of outdoor seating.
The first time, it was my first day in BsAs and I was a rube. There was a big commotion at the other end of the dining room with a large, boisterous party, with bodyguards. The waiters were all scurrying like nervous mice. The waiter said “Do you know who that is??? It’s Maradonna!” Being an ignorant American non-sports rube, I asked “Who?” “He’s the greatest futbol player of all time. All the waiters are going crazy. He’s now kind of a drunk and cokehead, but still a lot of fun… and tips very well!”
(Photo from their website)
Definitely go to Don Julio — everyone I’ve sent there has loved it. And here is NatGeo’s list of the best places to find a steak in Buenos Aires. Everyone raves about El Preferido in Palermo, a Don Julio offshoot. And La Carnicería.
I went to Casa Cruz for the first time in 2005, a year after it had opened. Passing through the tall, velvety drapes, it was like entering a whole different world. Just sitting there you feel sexy. I loved it. Just so dramatically lit, it influenced me forever in restaurant lighting design.
(Photos from the Casa Cruz website)
I ate at El Mercado while staying at the Faena and it is fantastic. Glorious design, impeccable service. And definitely book an after dinner show at the Rojo Tango, their famed R-rated modern take on tango. Very sexy.
(Photo from the Faena website)
Here is Michelin’s list of the top 49 restaurants in Buenos Aires. Here’s a list of the top places to eat in Buenos Aires by SeriousEats.
When I first went to Buenos Aires in 2005, the Puerto Madero waterfront redevelopment was just starting its transformation from abandoned docks to one of the fastest, fanciest parts of Buenos Aires. The Faena Hotel and entertainment complex was the starting point and had only been completed for a short time. Now the whole area is surrounded by shiny new skyscrapers and condos.
When I first saw pictures of the soaring lobby of the Faena Hotel in a travel magazine, I just knew I had to go there. Originally, it was called The Faena Hotel & Universe, which showed the ambitions of Alan Faena at the time.
The Faena is consistently in the Top 20 hotels in South America and they’ve recently opened a screaming successful outpost and design district in Miami, with another planned along the High Line in New York City.
The Faena Hotel is the brainchild of Philippe Starck and the impresario Alan Faena and their investor Chris Burch. The NYTimes described it as “what might happen if David Lynch and Ian Schrager had a lovechild.”
But when I read about how it was built inside a restored Victorian era warehouse/factory and saw pictures of all the details, I just had to check it out. At the time, boutique hotels were still something new, but I knew something cool was going on when I walked in and there was no reception desk and you checked in with an Experience Manager.
I thought it was a gimmick at first, but really what they did there at that time was something really unique. Each day, your Experience Manager would ask what you wanted to do and would give you advice on where to go, how to get there, make arrangements.
The Faena is expensive for BA, but I still remember it often. And definitely book an after dinner show at the Rojo Tango, their famed R-rated modern take on tango. Very sexy.
The rooms are equally sexy and decadent. Alan Faena — who I met a week later at a restaurant in Jose Ignacio — dramatically always wears all white suits and top hats and a white cane. The rooms feel just like that. Dramatic rich, Valentino red drapes and accents, the rest of the room in white.
The design is something that still stays strong. A really perfect pool, too.
Algodon Mansion was to me, the absolute perfect hotel. With only a handful of rooms, a cool little bar area and a Parisian exterior, it felt like living in a private home or Ambassador’s residence. A mansion, hence the accurate name.
The location can’t be beat right in the heart of Recoleta, within walking distance to nearly everything. I could live here.
Every single person I know that has stayed there raves about Home hotel. Go stay there, I will next time. Let me know in the Comments below.
And I hear good things about Hub Porteño. Here is Forbes Travel list of best hotels. Here is CNTraveler’s top 25 hotels in Buenos Aires. And Mr & Mrs Smith’s vetted list of top hotels. And The Telegraph’s always dependable reporting on the top hotels in Buenos Aires.
— Last Visited December 2005, March 2011, February 2014; Post Created December 2024 —
Here’s the 36 Hours in Buenos Aires from the NYTimes. And here’s the NYTimes article in 2004 that brought me to Buenos Aires the first time, when everybody and their brother was visiting Buenos Aires.
Here’s a big post I made about the incredible, wild and woolly northwest provinces of Salta and Jujuy here. And another post on cool places to stay in Salta. And how to walk across one of the biggest salt flats in the world there. And all the jaw-dropping things to see in Jujuy and Salta.
Leave me any suggestion you have in the comments below.
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